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Receipts
Managing Receipts

Managing Your Receipts

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Overview

Learn how to efficiently organize, search, filter, and manage your uploaded receipts in Akili Apps. Master receipt management to streamline your expense tracking and tax preparation.

What You'll Learn

  • Viewing and organizing receipts
  • Searching and filtering receipts
  • Editing receipt information
  • Bulk operations on receipts
  • Deleting and archiving receipts
  • Receipt statistics and insights

Accessing Your Receipts

Receipts Page

  1. Click Receipts in the main navigation menu
  2. View all receipts with attached images
  3. See receipts as thumbnails or detailed list
  4. Access filtering and search tools

From Expense Details

  1. Navigate to any expense with a receipt
  2. Click on the receipt thumbnail
  3. View full-size receipt image
  4. Edit expense information from receipt view

Viewing Receipts

List View

Default view showing receipts in a detailed list:

  • Thumbnail: Small preview of receipt image
  • Vendor: Merchant or business name
  • Amount: Total expense amount
  • Date: Transaction date
  • Category: Expense category
  • Status: Verified, pending, or flagged
  • Actions: Quick edit, download, delete buttons

Gallery View

Visual thumbnail grid for browsing:

  • Large receipt thumbnails in grid layout
  • Hover to see basic information
  • Click thumbnail to open full-size view
  • Perfect for visual identification

Detailed View

Click any receipt to see full details:

  • Full-Size Image: Complete receipt image
  • All Expense Fields: Description, amount, tax, category
  • OCR Confidence: Accuracy score
  • OCR Text: Raw text extraction
  • Line Items: Individual items if detected
  • Metadata: File size, upload date, last modified
  • Edit Option: Modify any information
  • Download: Save original image file

Searching and Filtering Receipts

Search Functionality

Use the search bar to find receipts:

Search by:

  • Vendor Name: "Staples", "Tim Hortons"
  • Description: Keywords from expense description
  • Notes: Text in notes field
  • OCR Text: Any text detected on receipt

Search Tips:

  • Searches are case-insensitive
  • Partial matches work ("Tim" finds "Tim Hortons")
  • Use quotes for exact phrases
  • Searches across all receipt text

Filter Options

Narrow down receipts using filters:

Date Filters

  • Custom Date Range: Select start and end dates
  • Quick Filters:
    • Today
    • This Week
    • This Month
    • Last Month
    • This Quarter
    • This Year
    • Custom Range

Category Filters

  • Select one or multiple categories
  • Categories Include:
    • Office Supplies
    • Meals & Entertainment
    • Travel
    • Vehicle Expenses
    • Professional Services
    • Marketing
    • Equipment
    • Utilities
    • And more...

Amount Filters

  • Minimum Amount: Show receipts above specified amount
  • Maximum Amount: Show receipts below specified amount
  • Amount Range: Combine min and max for range

Status Filters

  • Pending: Recently uploaded, needs verification
  • Verified: Reviewed and confirmed accurate
  • Flagged: Marked for review or attention

Vendor Filters

  • Select from list of your vendors
  • Type to search vendor names
  • Multi-select for multiple vendors

Sorting Options

Sort receipts by:

  • Date (newest first, oldest first)
  • Amount (highest first, lowest first)
  • Vendor (alphabetical)
  • Category (alphabetical)
  • Upload Date (recently uploaded first)

Combining Filters

Use multiple filters together:

  • Example: "Show all meal receipts over $50 from last month"
  • Example: "Find all Staples receipts this year under $100"

Editing Receipt Information

Edit Single Receipt

  1. Click on the receipt to open detailed view
  2. Click Edit button
  3. Modify any fields:
    • Vendor name
    • Amount
    • Tax amount
    • Date
    • Category
    • Description
    • Notes
  4. Click Save to update

Quick Edit from List

  1. Hover over receipt in list view
  2. Click Quick Edit icon
  3. Update fields inline
  4. Changes save automatically

Common Edits

Correcting OCR Errors:

  • Fix incorrect amounts ($10.00 vs $100.00)
  • Correct vendor names
  • Adjust dates if mis-detected

Adding Context:

  • Add notes about business purpose
  • Link to project or client
  • Specify attendees for meals
  • Note mileage for vehicle expenses

Re-categorizing:

  • Change category if mis-classified
  • Split multi-category expenses (requires creating new expenses)
  • Update to custom categories

Bulk Operations

Perform actions on multiple receipts simultaneously:

Selecting Multiple Receipts

  1. Click checkboxes next to receipts
  2. Use Select All to choose all visible receipts
  3. Use filter first to select specific subset
  4. Selected count shows at top

Bulk Actions

Bulk Delete

  1. Select receipts to delete
  2. Click Delete Selected button
  3. Confirm deletion
  4. Receipts and images permanently removed
  5. Storage space automatically freed

Bulk Category Change

  1. Select receipts to re-categorize
  2. Click Change Category in bulk menu
  3. Select new category
  4. All selected receipts updated

Bulk Export

  1. Select receipts to export
  2. Click Export Selected
  3. Choose format (PDF, Excel, CSV)
  4. Download exported file

Bulk Download

  1. Select receipt images to download
  2. Click Download Selected
  3. Images downloaded as ZIP file

Deleting Receipts

Delete Single Receipt

  1. Open receipt detail view or hover in list
  2. Click Delete button or trash icon
  3. Confirm deletion
  4. Receipt image and data removed
  5. Associated expense data also removed
  6. Action cannot be undone

What Gets Deleted

When you delete a receipt:

  • Receipt image file removed from storage
  • OCR text data deleted
  • Expense record removed (if receipt-only expense)
  • Or receipt attachment removed from existing expense
  • Storage usage updated immediately

Recovering Deleted Receipts

Important: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

Best Practices:

  • Export important receipts before deletion
  • Download images you may need later
  • Use filtering to avoid accidental deletion
  • Review selected items before confirming bulk delete

Receipt Statistics

View insights about your receipts:

Access Statistics

  1. Go to Receipts > Statistics tab
  2. Or check dashboard widget

Available Statistics

Total Receipts:

  • Total count of uploaded receipts
  • Receipts by category (breakdown)
  • Receipts by month (trend)

Storage Usage:

  • Total storage used (MB/GB)
  • Percentage of plan limit
  • Average file size
  • Largest receipts

OCR Insights:

  • Average confidence score
  • High-confidence percentage
  • Receipts needing review

Expense Totals:

  • Total value of receipted expenses
  • By category breakdown
  • By vendor breakdown
  • Monthly trends

Receipt Organization Strategies

Best Practices

1. Verify Immediately

  • Review OCR data right after upload
  • Correct errors while receipt is fresh
  • Add contextual notes while you remember

2. Regular Categorization

  • Assign correct categories promptly
  • Create custom categories for recurring types
  • Consistent categorization aids reporting

3. Use Notes Effectively

  • Add business purpose
  • Note attendees for meal expenses
  • Include project/client codes
  • Add any CRA-relevant details

4. Tag with Dates

  • Ensure dates are accurate
  • Important for tax year allocation
  • Use actual transaction date, not upload date

5. Flag for Review

  • Mark receipts needing follow-up
  • Flag unclear or unusual expenses
  • Review flagged items regularly

Naming Conventions

While Akili generates filenames automatically, you can use notes for:

  • Client codes: "CLIENT-001"
  • Project references: "Project Alpha"
  • Trip identifiers: "Montreal Trip March 2025"

Archival Strategy

End of Month:

  • Review all month's receipts
  • Verify all receipts categorized
  • Export monthly summary
  • Mark as reviewed/verified

End of Year:

  • Export all receipts for tax year
  • Download receipt images for records
  • Create year-end summary report
  • Keep digital archive

Storage Management

Monitoring Storage

Check storage usage:

  1. Go to Settings > Account
  2. View Storage Usage meter
  3. See breakdown by month
  4. Identify large files

Freeing Storage Space

Delete Unnecessary Receipts:

  • Remove duplicate uploads
  • Delete test receipts
  • Remove poor quality images (after manual entry)

Optimize Images:

  • Compress large images before upload
  • Use appropriate resolution (not max camera quality)
  • Crop unnecessary background

Archive Old Receipts:

  • Download receipts for past years
  • Store locally or on external backup
  • Delete from Akili after downloading
  • Keep 7 years locally per CRA requirements

Upgrade Storage

If you need more space:

  1. View available plans in Settings > Subscription
  2. Compare storage limits
  3. Upgrade to higher tier plan
  4. Storage available immediately

Mobile Receipt Management

Mobile Access

Access receipts from mobile browser:

  • Same functionality as desktop
  • Optimized layout for small screens
  • Touch-friendly controls
  • Swipe gestures for navigation

Mobile-Specific Features

  • Take photos directly in browser
  • Upload from phone's camera roll
  • Quick categorization
  • Voice notes (browser dependent)

Integration with Expenses

Receipts and Expenses

Understanding the relationship:

Receipt-Created Expense:

  • Expense created from receipt upload
  • Receipt is primary attachment
  • Edit expense updates receipt data

Expense with Attached Receipt:

  • Expense created manually
  • Receipt uploaded as proof
  • Can detach receipt while keeping expense

Matching Receipts to Expenses

  • Attach receipts to existing manual expenses
  • Link receipt to bank transaction
  • One receipt per expense (or split expense)

Common Questions

Q: How many receipts can I store?

Unlimited receipts. Both Professional and Growth plans include unlimited storage.

Q: Can I re-order receipts?

Receipts display in chronological order by transaction date. Use sorting options to view differently.

Q: What if I upload the same receipt twice?

System doesn't auto-detect duplicates. You can delete duplicate receipts to free storage.

Q: Can I share receipts with my accountant?

Yes, export receipts as PDF or share via accountant export feature. See Accountant Export guide.

Q: How do I organize receipts by project?

Use the notes field to add project codes or tags. Filter/search by these codes to view project-specific receipts.

Q: Can I move a receipt to a different expense?

Not directly. You'd need to delete the receipt from one expense and attach to another.

Q: What happens to receipts when I delete an expense?

If expense was created from receipt upload, both are deleted. If receipt attached to manual expense, you choose to delete receipt or keep it.

Q: Can I edit the receipt image itself?

No, images are stored as-is. You can delete and re-upload if needed, or edit the extracted data.

Q: How long should I keep receipts?

CRA requires 7 years. Keep receipts for at least this period for tax purposes.

Related Articles

Need Help?

For receipt management assistance:

  • Email: support@akiliapps.com
  • In-app: Click Help > Contact Support
  • Video tutorials: help.akiliapps.com/videos

Akili Apps - Intelligent Expense Tracking for Canadian Businesses

Uploading ReceiptsReceipt OCR