Upload a receipt and turn it into an expense

Drop in a photo or PDF of a receipt, let Nova read the vendor, date, total and tax, then check the numbers and confirm it as an expense.

In the sidebar, open Bookkeeping, then Receipts. The page address is /bookkeeping/receipts. The upload window opens at /bookkeeping/receipts/upload.

Before you start

• A clear photo or a PDF works. Take the photo flat and in good light so the numbers can be read.
• Your role needs permission to manage receipts to upload, read and confirm them.
• Receipts can also arrive by email; see Set up email-in receipts.

Steps

1. Press Upload receipt. The Upload receipt window opens.
2. Drag the file onto the box that reads Drag a receipt here, or choose a file., or use the file picker. Nova shows Uploading & reading receipt…, then Receipt uploaded., and the window closes.
3. Watch the row's Status. It moves from Ready to read to Queued… and Reading…, then to Read — review with a confidence percentage. The list refreshes on its own while this happens.
4. Click the row, or choose Review & confirm from its actions menu. The Review & confirm receipt window opens with the Date, Total and Tax Nova read.
5. Under Vendor, pick the vendor. The name Nova read shows as a hint marked (unlinked) until you pick one; press + New vendor if they are not in your list. If you pick none, the expense has no vendor.
6. Check the Date, Total and Tax against the paper and correct anything that was read wrong.
7. Under Category, pick the expense account (blank files it as uncategorized), and tick Paid if the receipt is already paid, which is usually the case. Paid starts unticked.
8. Press Confirm as expense. Nova shows Receipt confirmed as an expense. and the receipt's status becomes Confirmed. The expense now shows on the Expenses page (see Record an expense).

What you see

• The list shows each receipt's Status, Vendor, Date, Total and Tax, newest first.
• A Confirmed receipt stays in the list for reference, but it no longer opens and cannot be discarded; to undo it, void its expense.
• A discarded receipt is removed from the list.
• The search box finds receipts by vendor. Typing confirmed also finds confirmed receipts.

If something looks different

• The status stays at Ready to read: reading did not start, for example because your plan does not include receipt reading. Open the actions menu and choose Run OCR, or open the receipt and type the numbers in yourself.
• The status reads Couldn’t read: the picture was too blurry, the file was not a receipt, or reading took more than an hour. Choose Retry OCR. A receipt in this state cannot be opened for review, so if it still cannot be read, choose Discard and record the expense by hand instead; see Record an expense.
• Confirm as expense is greyed out: the Total is blank, or the receipt is in a currency that is no longer your organization's currency and can only be viewed.
• Confirming fails with a message about the reference or the closed period: the same rules as a hand-entered expense apply.
• The receipt is a duplicate or not a business cost: choose Discard from its actions menu, then Discard in Discard this receipt?.
• The upload fails with a message to try again: check the list before retrying, because the receipt may have arrived anyway.

Upload a receipt