Getting the most out of ReceiptSpark

1. Get started in 1 minute

1. Create a free account with your email. No card required.
2. Open the tool and drag in a photo of a receipt or a PDF invoice.
3. Wait a few seconds: the AI reads the document and fills a row in the table.
4. Review the data, fix anything that needs fixing and click Export to Excel.

The free plan includes 10 documents a month, enough to see whether it fits your workflow with real receipts.

2. Formats and limits

3. How to take good photos of receipts

Photo quality has the biggest impact on the result. Quick tips:

• Put the receipt on a flat, plain-colored surface (a table, a blank sheet of paper).
• Good light, no shadows over the paper and no flash glare.
• Shoot straight on, with the receipt filling most of the frame and no edges cut off.
• If the receipt is very long, take one vertical photo; don't split it into two.
• Thermal receipts fade with heat and time — photograph them soon.

4. Batch upload

You can select or drag many files at once. ReceiptSpark processes them two at a time and shows each one's status ("Waiting", "Reading…", "Done"). Results appear in the table as they're ready, so you can start reviewing without waiting for everything. Each document uses one credit; if you run out mid-batch, it stops and offers to upgrade.

5. Reviewing the table before export

• Amber cells: values the AI isn't sure about. Click and fix them; the color clears when you edit.
• Red mark on the left of a row: the numbers don't add up (subtotal + tax + tip ≠ total). Check the subtotal, tax and total.
• Row highlighted in yellow: possible duplicate of another row (same vendor, amount and date).
• Every cell is editable: click, type and press Enter. The totals row recalculates automatically.
• Pick or change the expense category and the type (Expense / Sale) with the dropdowns on each row.

ReceiptSpark saves you the typing, not the judgment: always review before you export and before you hand anything to your accountant.

6. Exporting to Excel or CSV

Excel (.xlsx): a file with a "ReceiptSpark" sheet, sized columns and a totals row. CSV: comma-separated with a BOM, so Excel and Google Sheets open it with clean columns and accounting software imports it with no setup. The Firm plan also includes export templates shaped for QuickBooks, Xero and other common software.

7. Receipts without a tax line

Many small-store receipts only show the total. If the tax rate is visible, ReceiptSpark computes the subtotal as (total − tip) ÷ (1 + rate/100) and the tax as total − tip − subtotal, and marks those fields as estimates (in amber) so you can check them. If no rate appears, you'll need to enter it yourself.

8. Expenses vs. sales

Each row has a Type: "Expense" (money your business spent) or "Sale" (an invoice your business issued to a customer). It matters for the summary: sales tax on expenses is what you paid, sales tax on sales is what you collected and may owe. ReceiptSpark guesses the type from the document and you can change it per row.

9. Common problems

"We couldn't read this document"

The photo is too blurry, dark or skewed. Retake it following the tips in section 3. You're not charged a document when it fails.

The vendor it detected is my own business

This happens on invoices where the customer is more prominent. Fix the "Vendor" field by hand: it's whoever issues the document and gets paid.

The date is in the wrong format

ReceiptSpark normalizes to MM/DD/YYYY. A receipt with a day-first date can confuse day and month; check it and edit if needed.

I've run out of documents this month

Wait for the monthly renewal or change plan from your account. Paid plans activate instantly.

10. Privacy of your documents

The file you upload is processed and the temporary file is deleted from the server as soon as the job finishes. We don't store your receipts unless you turn on original-file history on the Firm plan. Full detail is in the privacy policy.