7 Best Receipt Scanner Apps in 2023
Tim is a Certified QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) Pro, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and CPA with 25 years of experience. He brings his expertise to Fit Small Business’s accounting content.
Eric is a staff writer at Fit Small Business and CPA focusing on accounting content. He spends most of his time researching and studying to give the best answer to everyone.
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
Neat is our best receipt scanner app because of its built-in cloud storage, document management system, outstanding optical character recognition (OCR) features for high-quality image capture, and automatic data capture to reduce data entry time. Other top picks include QuickBooks Online for receipt scanning within accounting software and Shoeboxed for assisted receipt scanning.
Here is our complete list of the best receipt scanner apps:
- Neat: Best overall receipt scanner app with unlimited scans and cloud storage
- QuickBooks Online: Best receipt scanner within accounting software
- Wave: Best free receipt scanner
- FreshBooks: Best receipt scanner for service-based businesses
- Shoeboxed: Best receipt scanner for assisted receipt processing
- Zoho Expense: Best receipt scanner for Zoho Books users
- Dext Prepare: Best receipt scanner for accountants and bookkeepers
Best Receipt Scanner Apps Compared
Provider | Pricing | Number of Document Scans | Accounting Software Integration | Document Management System | File Sharing Within the App | Cloud Storage for Receipts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $200 per year | Unlimited | QuickBooks Online | ✓ | Unlimited | Unlimited |
 | $30 to $200 per month | Unlimited | Is an accounting software | N/A | N/A | Unlimited |
 | Free | Unlimited | Is an accounting software | N/A | N/A | Unlimited |
 | $17 to $55 per month | Unlimited | Is an accounting software | N/A | N/A | Unlimited |
 | $29 to $89 per month | 50 to 300 documents per month | QuickBooks Online, Xero, Wave | ✓ | N/A | Unlimited |
 | $0 to $12 per active user per month | 20 to unlimited scans | Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online & Desktop, Xero, Sage Accounting | N/A | N/A | 5GB to Unlimited |
 | $27 to $80 for five to 30 users | 300 to 4,000 | QuickBooks, Xero & Sage Accounting | ✓ | N/A | Unlimited |
Note: All receipt scanners above have optical character recognition (OCR) features and smartphone camera scanning capabilities.
Neat: Best Overall Receipt Scanner App With Unlimited Scans & Cloud Storage
Pros
- Clean and easy-to-understand user interface (UI)
- Combines high-grade scanning, multiple capture options, and human verification for accuracy
- Reporting system based on different categories like expense, sales tax, and spending details
- Fixed monthly pricing
- Integrates with QuickBooks Online and Xero
Cons
- Not a complete bookkeeping system
- No invoice reconciliation
- Scanning two-sided documents can be difficult
- No monthly plan
Features
- Unlimited email and chat support for basic accounts
- Unlimited file storage for all kinds of business documents
- Advanced document management through custom search filters
- File sharing and collaboration
- Data extraction from documents
- Data verification with 99% accuracy
- Expense tracking and reporting
Why We Chose Neat
Neat is our best app because of the features that come with receipt scanning. We find its document management system and file organization helpful for archiving documents properly. Through its keyword search feature, it makes it easy for users to locate these documents without going through each file folder—in case you need to pull up receipts from past years, you can search for them easily.
QuickBooks Online: Best Receipt Scanner Within Accounting Software
Pros
- Track profit and loss (P&L) by class, location, or project
- Access to an extensive network of independent QuickBooks ProAdvisors
- Includes mileage and expense tracking plus receipt scanning through the mobile app
- Capture and categorize receipts using the mobile device or online web interface
- Set up customized email address to send receipts
Cons
- Need to upgrade plans to add additional users
- More expensive than its direct competitors
- No variance analysis for estimated and actual project costs
Features
- Complete bookkeeping system
- Class and location tracking for income and expenses
- Mileage, expense, and bill tracking
- Reconcile bank accounts with our without bank feed connection
- Wide selection of financial and accounting reports including reports by class or location
- Sales tax tracking per transaction
- Form 1099 generation
Why We Chose QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online has receipt scanning capabilities on top of its accounting features. We chose QuickBooks Online because we believe it can be a cost-effective solution if your business doesn’t have accounting software yet. For a price of $85 per month, you get our choice for the overall best small business accounting software plus receipt scanning. However, we recommend using a third-party provider for document management.
Wave: Best Free Receipt Scanner App
Pros
- Free accounting and invoicing features plus receipt scanning using the mobile app
- Supports unlimited users
- Handles multi-currency transactions
Cons
- Very limited features
- Not ideal for large businesses
- No time tracking and audit history
Features
- Easy to set up
- Simple and easy to use even for small business owners without accounting experience
- Banking, A/R, and A/P management
Why We Chose Wave
Because Wave is free, it’s a great choice for small businesses on a limited budget or home-based businesses, like those selling homemade food and products. You can also use Wave to track self-employed income and expenses. And with its receipt scanning feature, you can upload receipts for proper accounting and categorization.
FreshBooks: Best Receipt Scanner for Service-based Businesses
Pros
- Email receipts to FreshBooks using unique email handle
- Receipt auto-scanning
- Auto-categorize expenses after scanning
Cons
- No file sharing
- Additional charge for adding more users
- No inventory features
Features
- Excellent project accounting features for service-based businesses
- Customize invoice design, such as adding logos and
- Easy to use even for freelancers without bookkeeping experience
- Integration with Gusto for payroll
Why We Chose FreshBooks
FreshBooks is our top choice for service-based freelancers wanting to DIY their accounting. Because of its easy-to-use interface, freelancers without an accounting background can learn how to use the platform easily. Aside from its user-friendly environment, it comes with a receipt scanner through a mobile app. Freelancers who often work outside or in coworking spaces can capture receipts of daily expenses easily using their smartphones and then upload them to FreshBooks.
Shoeboxed: Best Receipt Scanner for Assisted Receipt Processing
Pros
- Contains mileage tracking and expense reporting
- Use Magic Envelope™ to send receipts to Shoeboxed for scanning
- Unlimited file storage
- Integrates with QuickBooks Online and Xero
Cons
- Processing of receipts is limited
- Support page is outdated
Features
- Assisted receipt scanning from Shoeboxed by sending physical receipts using Magic Envelope™
- IRS-accepted digital receipts
- Unlimited users
- QuickBooks Online integration for Professional and Business plans
- No fees for documents returned (applies only when the user sends documents via Magic Envelope™)
Why We Chose Shoeboxed
We like Shoeboxed because businesses can save time by mailing Shoeboxed envelopes full of receipts to be scanned. We find it perfect for small businesses with fewer than 10 employees but have a lot of receipts and documents to process. The assisted receipt scanning features would reduce the workload of the business’ in-house bookkeeper.
Zoho Expense: Best Receipt Scanner for Zoho Books Users
Pros
- Integrates perfectly with more than 40 other Zoho business apps
- Best for travel expense approval and review
- Unlimited receipt scanning and storage in Premium and Enterprise plans
Cons
- Can be expensive for small teams that process few bills from vendors
- Interface can be overwhelming
- Steep learning curve
Features
- Multicurrency support for expense tracking and reimbursements
- Mileage tracking
- Corporate card reconciliation
- Seamless integration within the Zoho Suite
- Audit trail reports
- Integration with popular enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
- Single sign-on (SSO) for Enterprise plan users
To learn more about Zoho’s accounting app, read our Zoho Books review.
Why We Chose Zoho Expense
Zoho Expense is our best receipt scanner for Zoho users because it integrates so tightly with all the other Zoho apps, especially Zoho Books. Integration between Zoho apps makes it easy for businesses to use their tools without limitations. Although Zoho Expense is primarily an expense tracker, it has a competent receipt scanner through the mobile app. If your business is using Zoho Books, we recommend going for Zoho Expense and not looking elsewhere.
Dext Prepare: Best Receipt Scanner for Accountants & Bookkeepers
Pros
- Integrates with major accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, and Sage Accounting
- Extracts information from receipt line items
- Capture receipts and make expense reports using the mobile app
- Classifies documents as to cost, sales, or bank
Cons
- Not a complete accounting software
- Limited bank statement extractions for all plans
Features
- Data exports into PDF or CSV files
- Invoice tracking and purchase order matching
- Line item extraction from receipts
- Automated expense reports
- Advanced search filters
Why We Chose Dext Prepare
Dext Prepare offers a special plan for accounting firms. This software can help your accounting practice manage client files in one place. With its automated data extraction, your associates will be able to focus on other tasks rather than entering data into the system manually. We believe Dext Prepare is best for small and medium accounting firms, but if you aren’t an accounting firm and are interested in it, it offers monthly plans for small businesses.
How We Evaluated Receipt Scanner Apps
We examined the core features of a receipt scanner to guide us in reviewing its suitability for your business. These features are:
- Multiple capture options: The app must have multiple ways to capture information from receipts. It can either connect to a scanner or use your smartphone’s camera to scan images.
- OCR-ready for line item extractions: Capturing data from receipts is a tedious thing to do manually. Hence, receipt scanners must have OCR capabilities to extract information from receipts. Moreover, it must have intelligence features to include extracted information into fields or categories correctly.
- Easy to review and modify: Aside from scanning features, the app must also provide a dashboard, analytic tools, and search functions to review, track, and modify entries quickly. Moreover, categories and tags must be present to improve data filtering.
- Cost: Some bookkeeping and expense tracking apps have a built-in receipt scanner. However, you may choose a third-party scanner as long as it gives more benefits amid an additional charge.
- Document management system: For stand-alone receipt scanning software, we checked if it has a document management system that can help you organize scanned documents into folders and tags for easy access.
- Accounting software integration: The receipt scanner app must integrate with your accounting software to transfer reports and documents for accounting for a more efficient workflow. (Note: we didn’t apply this criterion in evaluating QuickBooks Online and Wave because they’re accounting software systems.)
When To Use a Receipt Scanner App
- Your team works remotely: Do you allow remote employees to buy their own supplies and charge them to your business? Using a receipt scanner can help you process expenses even if you work remotely.
- You want to reduce paper use in your business: Traditionally, you’d have to prepare vouchers for reimbursements, which only means using more paper. With a receipt scanner, you can eliminate paper use and process everything from expense recording to reimbursement through the receipt scanner app.
- You want to declutter your office: The sight of receipts piling on your desk isn’t a pleasant view. Almost all professionals would hate to go over hundreds of receipts daily. Instead, you can scan these receipts and throw them away afterward.
- You want a faster and easier way to keep track of receipts: After you scan receipts, you can usually attach them to transactions. This makes the receipt very easy to find if the transaction is ever questioned.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to choose the best receipt scanner?
Look for the best receipt scanner that caters your business’s monthly capacity. As much as possible, go for unlimited scanning. Moreover, the receipt scanner must-have features that reduce data entry, such as optical character recognition and auto-entry into fields.
Are digital receipt scanners safe to use?
Yes, as most digital scanners use advanced security features, such as SSL and MFA, to keep sensitive information protected.
Are receipt scanners worth it?
Yes, especially for businesses that process a lot of physical receipts. However, you can still go for free receipt scanners if you don’t process a lot of receipts daily, such as fewer than five per day.
Bottom Line
Choosing the best app to scan receipts requires a deep analysis of your business process and requirements. Each app in our guide has promising features and functions. In choosing software, don’t forget to consider relevant factors, such as whether it meets your most crucial needs and your budget, and the overall benefit it can bring to your company as a whole. Then, go back to this list and find the software that best fits the bill.
