1. The envelope or tray
Staff drop paper slips in an envelope, and someone types them up at month end. Free and easy to explain.
The catch: thermal paper fades within months, slips get lost before they reach the office, and emailed receipts have no place in the envelope. Somebody also spends a day typing.
2. A chat group or shared folder
Staff post photos to a group chat, or upload them to a shared drive folder. Receipts arrive the same day, which beats the envelope.
The catch: photos sit among messages and arrive with no date, amount or category. Nobody knows which receipts someone already typed in, and duplicates slip through. The typing still waits at month end.
3. A shared spreadsheet
Each person types their own receipts into a shared sheet and keeps the paper. The typing moves to the person who paid.
The catch: the sheet and the slips drift apart, nobody checks the figures against the paper, and formulas break the first time someone sorts a column.
4. An expense app
Full expense software handles cards, approvals and reimbursements in one place. A good fit for companies with corporate cards and a finance team.
The catch: every employee installs the app, creates an account and learns the app. Occasional spenders, such as a driver or a site foreman, rarely stick with the app. Per-user pricing adds up for staff who file three receipts a month.
5. A forwarding address, WhatsApp number or QR code poster
Staff forward each receipt to one email address, or send a photo of the slip to one WhatsApp number, and software reads the receipt into a row. Senders use the email app or WhatsApp already on their phone. The office checks, approves and exports.
A QR code poster covers everyone else. Tape the poster by the depot door or inside each van. A driver scans the code, picks their name from the list and sends the photo from the phone browser, with no account and no app.
This is how SlipInbox works. Staff keep the WhatsApp habit from the chat group, and each photo becomes a row instead of a message, with a reply naming the merchant, date and total. The catch: SlipInbox only reads what people send. Someone still reminds staff to send receipts on the day, not at month end.
A checklist for any method
Whatever you choose, write the rules down once and share them with every new starter.
- Send each receipt on the day of the purchase, before thermal paper fades
- One receipt per photo, all four edges in frame, on a darker surface
- Business purchases only, or say how to mark a personal one
- Write the job, project or vehicle on the slip when the purchase belongs to one
- Say who approves, by when, and when people get paid back
- Keep the original photo or PDF with the record, for tax and audit
Questions
How long should a business keep receipts?
Rules differ by country, and many tax authorities ask for five to seven years. Check with your accountant or tax authority. A photo or PDF kept with each record usually counts as the receipt.
Do employees need to keep the paper slip?
Many tax authorities accept a clear photo or scan. Ask your accountant before you throw paper away, since some countries still ask for originals of certain documents.