How to Scan Receipts into Excel: Free Receipt Scanner Guide
· 6 min read
To scan receipts, take a clear photo of each one (or scan it to PDF), then let a receipt scanner read the store, date, items, tax and total into a spreadsheet you can sort and total. With the free receipt scanner you can choose up to 10 receipts at a time and download one Excel file with a row per receipt and a second sheet listing every item.
This guide covers how to photograph receipts so they read well, what ends up in the spreadsheet, how to handle faded till slips, and a simple way to organize receipts so they are ready when tax time or an expense claim comes around.
How do you scan receipts with your phone?
You scan receipts with your phone by laying each one flat on a dark surface in good light and taking one photo with the whole receipt in the frame. Hold the phone straight above the paper, avoid shadows and glare, and keep the print sharp. A clear JPG or PNG photo is all a receipt scanner needs.
A few habits make a big difference:
- Contrast helps. White paper on a dark table gives the cleanest edges.
- Flatten it first. Press a crumpled receipt under a book for a minute, or lay it under glass.
- One receipt per photo. Several receipts in one picture confuse the reading.
- Scan early. Thermal till paper fades with heat and time, so photograph receipts the day you get them.
If you already have a scanner, a 200 to 300 dpi scan saved as PDF works just as well. A PDF with several receipts, one per page, is fine too: each page (up to 6 per file) is read as its own receipt.
How to scan receipts into Excel, step by step
- Photograph or scan the receipts as described above.
- Open the receipt scanner and choose or drop up to 10 files (JPG, PNG or PDF, up to 15 MB each).
- Set the date order if needed. If your receipts print dates like 03/04/2026, choose day first or month first so the date is not swapped. Otherwise leave it on automatic.
- Wait while each receipt is read. The text is read on your device first, then the fields are found.
- Look at any receipt marked for checking. Each one shows whether its items, tax and total add up.
- Download Excel, CSV or JSON. For more than 10 receipts, run the next batch and download again.
What goes into the receipt spreadsheet?
The Excel file has two sheets. Receipts has one row per receipt and Line items has one row per item, with the file name on both so you can match them.
| Column on the Receipts sheet | What you get |
|---|---|
| File | The photo or PDF the row came from |
| Date | The receipt date, written as YYYY-MM-DD |
| Seller | Store name, plus address and tax ID when printed |
| Currency | Only when a symbol or code is printed |
| Subtotal, discount, tax, total | Copied as printed |
| Paid by | Card, cash and so on, as printed |
| Check | "ok", or "check" when the numbers do not add up |
The Line items sheet lists each item's description, quantity, unit price and amount. Amounts are real numbers in Excel, so SUM, filters and pivot tables work straight away. The CSV download has one row per receipt (file, date, seller, currency, subtotal, tax, total, paid by), which suits most expense and accounting imports. JSON is there if you want to feed the data into your own system.
How does the receipt scanner check the totals?
The receipt scanner adds up the items and compares them with the printed subtotal, then checks that subtotal, minus any discount, plus shipping and tax gives the printed total. If something does not match, the receipt is marked "check" so you know exactly which ones to compare with the paper.
This matters because photos are read by OCR (optical character recognition), and OCR can mistake a 3 for an 8 on a worn receipt. You do not have to reread every line; only the marked receipts need a look. A total that equals the subtotal is accepted, because many shops print prices that already include tax.
Tips for faded, long and crumpled receipts
- Faded thermal receipts: if you can still read the text, the scanner often can too. Very faded slips lose characters, and the totals check will flag them.
- Long receipts: one photo is fine if the text stays readable when you zoom in. If not, a flatbed scan reads better.
- Handwritten receipts: these read poorly. Type the amounts in yourself.
- Language: the OCR is set up for English receipts.
How to organize receipts after you scan them
The easiest way to organize receipts is to scan them on a fixed day, keep each month's photos and spreadsheet in one folder, and add a category to every row. Once a month you then have a sorted expense list that matches your bank or card statement.
A routine that works for most small businesses and freelancers:
- Collect paper receipts in one envelope or tray during the week.
- Scan weekly. Run them through the receipt scanner in batches of 10.
- Name the folder by year and month (for example 2026-10) and save the photos and the Excel file there.
- Add a Category column to the Receipts sheet (fuel, meals, office, travel) and fill it in. A pivot table on Category and Total then shows where your money went.
- Match against your bank. Convert the month's statement with the bank statement converter and tick each card payment that has a receipt. Anything left over is either missing a receipt or not a business expense.
Supplier bills are a different job: the invoice OCR tool reads invoices and purchase orders the same way, and our invoice OCR guide explains how.
Ways to scan receipts compared
| Method | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Typing receipts by hand | A handful a month | Slow, and typos are easy to miss |
| Excel's Data from Picture | One receipt, as a table | One image at a time; you still decide which number is tax or total |
| A receipt scanner | Batches of receipts | Check the receipts it marks |
How long should you keep receipts? (US)
In the US, the IRS says to keep records that support your tax return for 3 years in most cases, and longer in some situations, such as 6 years if you leave out income worth more than 25 percent of the gross income on your return and 7 years for a bad debt or worthless securities claim. The details are on the IRS page How long should I keep records.
The IRS does accept records kept electronically, but under Revenue Procedure 97-22 the stored images must be complete, legible and easy to find. So keep the photos themselves, not only the spreadsheet: the spreadsheet is your summary, the image is the evidence. Outside the US, check your own tax authority's rules, and check your employer's expense policy too.
Is it safe to scan receipts online?
Your photos stay in your browser. A digital PDF's text is read directly, and a photo is read by OCR on your device. Only the text goes over an encrypted connection to our own AI server, which finds the fields, uses the text once and does not save it. There is no account to create.
Scan your first batch now
Take photos of this week's receipts, drop them into the free receipt scanner, look at any marked "check", and download your expense spreadsheet in a couple of minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I scan receipts to Excel for free?
Photograph each receipt flat and in good light, then drop up to 10 photos or PDFs into the TradingForms receipt scanner. When they are read, press Excel to get a Receipts sheet with one row per receipt and a Line items sheet with every item.
Can I scan receipts with my phone?
Yes. A clear JPG or PNG photo from your phone camera is enough; no scanning app is needed. Lay the receipt on a dark surface, hold the phone straight above it and keep the whole receipt in the frame.
Does the IRS accept scanned receipts?
The IRS accepts records kept electronically when the stored images are accurate, legible and can be found and reproduced, as set out in Revenue Procedure 97-22. Keep the images themselves, not only a spreadsheet of the amounts. This applies to US federal tax; other countries have their own rules.
What is the best way to organize receipts?
Scan them on a fixed day each week, keep each month's photos and spreadsheet in one folder named by year and month, and add a category to every row. Once a month, match the receipts against your bank or card statement so nothing is missing.
Can it read faded or handwritten receipts?
Faded thermal receipts often read well if you can still see the text, and the totals check flags any receipt whose numbers do not add up. Handwritten receipts read poorly, so type those amounts in yourself.
Is the receipt scanner free?
Yes, with no sign up. Each receipt counts as one use of a fair use limit per hour, which keeps our own AI server fast for everyone; run another batch later if you reach it.