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Budget Collab / Scan a receipt and it’s in your budget

Scan a receipt and it’s in your budget

Paper receipts pile up in wallets and car door pockets until they’re useless. Snap one with Budget Collab and it becomes a categorised transaction, with the photo attached for later.

What the scanner reads

  • Store name, so the transaction is easy to recognise later.
  • Date, so the entry lands on the day you actually spent.
  • Total, including tax.
  • A suggested category, such as groceries, dining or transport.

You check the result and can change anything before it’s saved. The receipt photo stays attached to the transaction.

How to scan

  1. Open the receipt scanner from the home screen.
  2. Take a photo with the in-app camera, or pick an existing photo or screenshot from your gallery.
  3. Crop to the receipt if needed.
  4. Review what was read, choose the account you paid with, and save.

Tips for a clean scan

  • Flatten the receipt and shoot it on a darker surface for contrast.
  • Keep the total in the frame. It’s the one number that matters most.
  • Scan thermal receipts soon. They fade within weeks, and the saved photo won’t.
  • Long receipts are fine. Crop to include the store name at the top and the total at the bottom.

Why keep receipt photos in your budget

The photo is useful long after the purchase: returns and exchanges, warranty claims, work expenses, splitting a bill fairly, and preparing documents for taxes. Because it’s attached to the transaction, you find it by searching your budget, not your camera roll.

Shared budgets make it better

When you scan a grocery receipt into a shared budget, your partner or housemates see it right away, with the photo. No more “did you get the milk, and how much was it?”. For small teams, receipts attached to business transactions make month-end much simpler.

Scans by plan

The free plan includes 1 receipt scan a day. Personal Premium and the business plans include 10 a day.

Questions

Can I scan a receipt I already photographed?

Yes. The scanner has a gallery button, so you can pick an existing photo or screenshot instead of taking a new one.

What if it reads something wrong?

You review every field before saving and can correct the store, date, total or category in one tap.

Where are receipt photos stored?

Receipt photos are stored securely in the cloud with the transaction, so you can find them later from your budget.

Does scanning work offline?

No. Reading a receipt needs a connection. You can still add the transaction manually offline and it will sync later.