Why every business needs an Expense Scanner App

Nidhi Mahana
Deskera Engineering
3 min readMay 10, 2020
Photo by Carli Jeen on Unsplash

Over the years, I had struggled so much with filing the expenses that I wanted to write about the importance of expense receipt scanner apps. Filing my expense claims was always a hassle for me. I used to collect all my receipts in my laptop bag and wait for the last day for submission. I hated the entire process of adding each expense details in the expense management system, taking the picture and attaching it to expense application. Still, when I saw secretaries, admin staff doing the same exercise for senior management, I was thankful that I have to this only for myself. A lot of businesses are still not aware that this manual process can be eliminated by the procurement of a receipt scanner app.

What is the brain behind the receipt scanner application?

The primary technology behind any receipt scanner application is OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, which can convert images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo of a document. This technology is widely used in many applications to avoid manual data entry, e.g. receipt scanning, visiting card scanning, invoice scanning, etc. With OCR, users can just scan and upload the document to create data records in the system.

Why OCR is a game-changer for business applications?

All business applications, such as accounting, expense, and CRM, are heavily dependent on data entry by users. Users need to create documents like invoices, quotes, purchase orders, bills, expenses, contacts, etc. With OCR, users can just scan and upload the documents, receipts to record data entry into the system. Business applications with OCR will be preferable as compared to other applications without OCR.

How are traditional expense apps different from expense receipt scanner apps?

In all the traditional expense systems, users need to manually add data in the expense applications, which includes the date, amount, merchant, tax amount, category- transport, food, etc. In the advanced expense receipt scanner applications, users can just upload the document in the web application, and all the information will be auto-populated in the expense form. Users can just verify it and submit it with one click. It is even more comfortable when users file claims by mobile; just take a picture of the expense receipt, view scanned data, and tap to submit.

Why will employees love using expense receipt scanner apps?

I think expense receipt scanner apps are a total blessing for sales professionals, as they can just scan the receipt to file claims. They can even do it during the coffee break after their meeting. No crumbled receipts, no bulky wallets, just scan and submit. Here’s how receipt scanner apps can help your employees:

  • File and track your claims anytime, anywhere with mobile and web app
  • Easy claim filing by the mobile app by just scanning and submitting a picture of the expense receipt
  • Save time and errors by eliminating manual data entry
  • All receipts are stored in the cloud, so no worry about losing receipts

Why should companies buy expense receipt scanner apps?

Buying a new app will be an added expense for companies, but it will benefit them in the long run. Here’s how expense scanner apps can help your organization:

  • Improved employee productivity and efficiency by eliminating manual data entry
  • Simplify the expense management process
  • Save money by going paperless

How to choose the best receipt tracking app for your business?

The main aim of the expense scanner app is to reduce manual data entry and automate expenses, but on top of this, if you can find an app that can also integrate with your accounting and payroll software will be added advantage. Imagine employee has filed claims, once the manager has approved expense application, automated payments entry is recorded in your accounting system and also claim amount is shown in the payroll system for employee expense reimbursement. Here I have listed some must-have features of ideal expense scanner app:

  • Automatic extraction of data such as category, merchant and tax code with OCR
  • Integration with other payroll and accounting software
  • Available in Android, IOS and Web app
  • Unlimited cloud storage for digital receipts

Claim and manage expenses anytime, anywhere with Deskera Web and Mobile App. Visit our website to learn more about Deskera Products.

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Nidhi Mahana
Deskera Engineering

Hi! My name is Nidhi. I am a wife, blogger, mom of 2 beautiful girls and Product Manager @ Deskera