Receipt AI

Enables users to submit receipt photos via SMS without requiring app installation, using a dedicated phone number endpoint that receives MMS attachments and routes them to the processing pipeline. The system parses incoming MMS metadata (sender, timestamp, image MIME type) and queues images for OCR extraction, reducing friction for remote teams and non-technical users who may not install mobile apps.

Applies optical character recognition (likely Tesseract or cloud-based vision API) to receipt images to extract structured data: merchant name, date, total amount, tax, and itemized line items with quantities and unit prices. The system likely uses template matching or regex patterns to normalize common receipt formats (retail, restaurants, fuel) and handles variable layouts by detecting key fields (currency symbols, date patterns) rather than relying on fixed-position parsing.

Maps extracted receipt data (merchant name, item descriptions, amounts) to standard accounting expense categories (meals, travel, office supplies, etc.) using rule-based matching and potentially lightweight ML classification. The system likely maintains a merchant database (Starbucks → meals, Uber → travel) and applies heuristics based on keywords in line items to assign GL codes or cost centers compatible with QuickBooks/Xero chart of accounts.

Establishes OAuth 2.0 authenticated connection to QuickBooks Online API and automatically pushes extracted receipt data as bill or expense transactions without manual reconciliation. The system maps Receipt AI fields (merchant, amount, category) to QuickBooks entities (Vendor, Account, Amount) and handles transaction creation, duplicate detection (by date/amount/vendor), and error handling for failed syncs with retry logic.

Establishes OAuth 2.0 authenticated connection to Xero API and pushes extracted receipt data as bills or expense claims, mapping Receipt AI fields to Xero entities (Contact, Account, LineItem). The system handles Xero's stricter validation rules (required contact records, account codes, tax types) and manages transaction status workflows (draft, submitted, approved) with error handling for validation failures.

Analyzes extracted receipt data (merchant, date, amount, line items) to identify duplicate submissions using fuzzy matching on merchant name and exact matching on date+amount combinations. The system flags potential duplicates for user review before syncing to accounting software, preventing double-entry errors and maintaining data integrity in the accounting system.

Stores original receipt images in cloud storage (likely AWS S3 or similar) with metadata indexing (date, merchant, amount, submitter) and maintains immutable audit trail of all access and modifications. The system enables users to retrieve original receipt images for verification, dispute resolution, or tax audit purposes, with timestamped logs of who accessed what and when.

Enables multiple team members to submit receipts with role-based access control (submitter, approver, admin) and implements approval workflows where submitted expenses require manager sign-off before syncing to accounting software. The system tracks submission status (draft, submitted, approved, rejected) and notifies approvers of pending expenses via email or in-app notifications.

Generates reports and exports receipt data in standard formats (CSV, PDF, Excel) with filtering by date range, merchant, category, submitter, or approval status. The system aggregates extracted data into summary reports (total by category, by submitter, by month) and enables custom report generation for tax, audit, or business intelligence purposes.

Provides native mobile app (iOS/Android) for capturing receipt photos with real-time OCR preview showing extracted data (merchant, amount, date) before submission. The app uses device camera with auto-focus and lighting optimization, and enables users to manually correct OCR errors before syncing to the backend system.