The best receipt scanner app for tracking expenses

It took me years to find the best way to budget, file taxes, and invest, and I certainly couldn’t have done it without paperless tools. 

But despite my loyalty to digital solutions, my biggest struggle was tracking my expenses, considering not every physical store offers email receipts. A serious gap in my financial tracking left me feeling unconfident about my spending habits, so I started searching for solutions — some sort of digital receipt organizer that could solve my record-keeping woes.

In a similar boat? I’m going to show you how you can keep track of receipts in a modern way and give you a rundown of the best apps to get you started.

What is the best app for tracking receipts?

When it comes to receipts, having the right receipt tracking app can really help you stay on top of your expenses. Check out the comparison below to see what makes each app unique and figure out which one works best for you:

You can also check out the article about the best budgeting apps on a Mac. 

How to choose the best receipt scanner and tracker app

Opting to use a receipt app comes with a variety of benefits that'll change your relationship with money and financial tracking.

So how about getting you the best receipt saver? While receipt scanner software comes in many flavors, let’s first decide on the type of functionality we’re looking for. Here are the most common features: 

• Automate the process of expense tracking.
• Keep logs with a receipt saver app.
• Organize financial documents in one place.
• Improved accuracy when handling data.
• Customize and categorize items for a clearer look.
• Efficient tax preparation for you or your accountant.

One tip from me: If you're dealing with taxes, it's better to choose an app that supports cloud saving so you never risk losing important documents. This feature totally changed the game for me during tax season. It gave me peace of mind and made it super easy to access everything I needed.

Expenses: Most intuitive for budgeting

If you’re looking for an easy-to-use expense tracker complete with icons, categories, and colors, Expenses is a practical app that caters to those needs. You can create a variety of different sheets specifically for trips, events, and daily expenses to keep things organized, switching currencies when needed. Want to know where your money is really going? The app will give you a full picture of trends and stats over time.

Pros: Intuitive interface, easy importing and exporting, no learning curve

Cons: May be overly simplistic for some

Privacy & security: Data backup features for extra protection

Best for: Simple expense categorization

GreenBooks: Minimalist personal finance app

GreenBooks is the ideal no-frills app if you want a spending tracker to manage your money based on your accounts. Either import or manually input transactions made using each account, and you’ll get a full breakdown of your spending habits and trends. For subscriptions and scheduled transactions, you can set recurring reminders so you’ll never forget to pay up.

Pros: Minimalist features and interface, interlinks with bank account information

Cons: No easy receipt capture, requires manual input 

Privacy & security: iCloud's built-in encryption for syncing and storing data securely across devices

Best for: Visual financial habit tracking

UctoX: Joint invoicing-accounting platform

If you constantly deal with lots of invoices and statements, UctoX is an ideal tool. The platform connects invoicing and accounting processes in one place, letting you manage your finances a lot more holistically. It’s marketed as an invoicing utility where you can build custom invoicing templates, handle bank statements, and sync across devices. 

Pros: Editable invoice templates, simplified accounting process

Cons: Users unfamiliar with the app’s interface or functionality may need some time to adjust and learn its features.

Privacy & security: Secure local storage for sensitive information

Best for: Advanced invoice management

MoneyWiz 2024: Best customizable budgeting app

MoneyWiz 2024 is a complete money management platform where you can track bills, forecast your future spending, and use it as an overall budget tracker. There’s a tab dedicated to your bank accounts and investments, one for budgets and goals and another for scheduled income and expenses. It’ll give you a real-time view of what’s coming in and going out, so you’ll never be caught off guard.

Pros: Complete dashboard for a view of your accounts and budgets with detailed expense tracking reports

Cons: Can be considered overly granular

Privacy & security: Data encryption for local storage

Best for: Automatic bank synchronization

Receipts: For OCR-based scanning

No matter the format, Receipts can turn any document into an easy-to-read PDF and automatically extract important data like the date, numerical totals, and tax amounts. It’s a receipt manager app that can essentially read your receipts for you and break them down, then organize each one by your preferred criteria. It’s like a smart assistant that’ll compile invoices and receipts and make sense of them in a digital format. 

Pros: Best scanner app for powerful OCR capabilities, extensive integrations with invoice creation and direct payments, end-to-end customization

Cons: Dry interface, no compatibility with iOS

Privacy & security: Data encryption and secure cloud storage

Best for: OCR receipt scanning and categorization

Chronicle: Expense tracker and payment reminder app

Is your main goal to track your expenses and pay bills on time? Try Chronicle, a full-fledged receipt saver and expense-tracking software with a clear interface. View your entire payment history in a quick overview, and attach receipts and invoices to every logged transaction for proof-of-payment purposes. The menu bar interface does wonders to remind you of payments, and the integrated Pay Now button makes it easy to pay bills on the spot.

Pros: Menu bar feature, stringent payment reminders, bill management, built-in browser to make payments, 

Cons: Lots of detailed bill reminder options, which can be considered overwhelming

Privacy & security: Password protection of sensitive information on local storage

Best for: Recurring bill tracking and reminders

How to scan receipts at no cost

A receipt scanner doesn’t have to end up being a hefty cost on its own — you can practically start incorporating this money management process for free. For example, Google Drive has a built-in scanner that’s especially useful to scan receipts and other documents. All you have to do is on your iPhone:

1. Download the Google Drive app.
2. Log into your account.
3. Tap the scan button on the Home page.

   

4. Point your camera at your receipt or document.

   

While this method and others are free, there are features that a dedicated tracking receipts app will have that can upgrade your financial management even further. It can be a good idea to test free alternatives at first, but then consider finding the best receipt scanner app for your needs.

How long should you keep financial documents?

It’s easy to get comfortable hoarding financial documents, especially since you might feel like they’re too important to get rid of. There might be that lingering “what if” in your head, but decluttering can make it easier to find what you truly need. 

Documents you should keep forever

In a secure place, and ideally physically and digitally using a scanning app, you should always keep your:

• Wills and trusts
• Social security information
• Property deeds and mortgage records
• Insurance policies
• Birth certificates
• Adoption records
• Military records

Documents that should be kept for 7 years 

There are a couple of documents that should be kept for a significant amount of time but should be okay to throw away after seven years. 

This includes:

• Employment tax records: Keep them for 3 to 7 years, depending on your location)
• Loan documents: Hold onto them for 7 years after paying off the loan.
• Investment records: Retain for at least 7 years to track potential gains or losses.
• Legal documents: Keep based on specific case needs, but generally, 7 years is considered safe for many situations.

Documents that should be kept for 3 years 

These documents can be useful for financial tracking, dispute resolution, and tax purposes, but after three years, they are generally no longer needed for legal or financial reasons:

• Bank statements
• Credit card statements
• Pay stubs
• Receipts for major purchases
• Tax returns (after filing)
• Some business records (if self-employed)

Documents that should be kept for 1 year

These documents may be useful for a year for financial management, audits, or tax-related inquiries, but they can typically be discarded after that period unless needed for specific reasons:

• Tax returns and other income-related documents
• Significant bank statements
• Pay stubs
• Tax deduction receipts
• Insurance policy statements
• Loan statements

For more information, read the article about the best personal finance apps to manage your documents professionally.

Simplifying your finances with receipt scanner software

Receipt scanning can completely transform the way you budget, track, and record. It’s a simple process that can be made extra efficient with the right receipt scanner app, such as Expenses, GreenBooks, UctoX, MoneyWiz 2024, Receipts, or Chronicle. You can make sure you don’t overlook even the smallest expenses. 

If you’re not sure which tracker software to choose, you can get them all through a 7-day free trial of Setapp, a subscription platform that gives you access to 250+ iOS and macOS apps for financial management, device optimization, organization, creativity, productivity, and other purposes for only $9.99. Explore the tools and see how you can create your own financial ecosystem!