Tired of typing receipt details by hand? With AI receipt scanning, Avaza reads your receipt photos, PDFs and emailed receipts, then creates a draft expense with the details already filled in. You check the draft, fix anything the AI couldn't read, and submit it as usual.
In this article
Turning on AI receipt scanning
Scanning receipts from the Expenses page
Attaching a receipt inside the Add or Edit Expense popup
Emailing receipts in
Reviewing and submitting a scanned expense
How tax, amounts and categories are handled
FAQs
Before you start
AI receipt scanning is available on paid Avaza plans.
Each account includes 100 AI-read receipts per month.
An account administrator must switch the feature on (see below).
A scanned receipt is always saved as a Draft. Nothing is submitted or approved without a person reviewing it.
Turning on AI receipt scanning
Go to Settings > Expense Settings.
Switch AI receipt scanning to On.
The number of receipts read so far this month is shown below the setting, for example "35 of 100 included receipts read this month".
AI receipt scanning setting and monthly usage under Settings > Expense Settings.
Privacy note: Receipt images are sent to Avaza's AI provider only so they can be read. They are not used to train AI models.
Option 1: Scan receipts from the Expenses page
Go to Expenses.
Click the arrow next to + Add Expense, then choose Scan Receipt.
Select one or more receipt photos or PDFs. You can select several receipts at once.
Scan Receipt and Email in Receipts are in the menu next to Add Expense.
Each receipt appears straight away in the list with an AI Processing status. Usually within a minute, it becomes a normal Draft with the details filled in.
Two scanned receipts saved as drafts, with merchant, date, category, currency and amount filled in.
Tip: drag and drop. You can also drag receipt images or PDFs from your computer and drop them anywhere on the Expenses tab. You can drop as many as you like at once. They're processed the same way as Scan Receipt and count toward the same monthly allowance. Files that aren't images or PDFs are listed by name and skipped.
On mobile: Tap the + menu on the Expenses page to find Add Expense, Scan Receipt and Email in Receipts.
Option 2: Attach a receipt inside the Add or Edit Expense popup
If you've already started an expense, you can attach the receipt in the Add Expense or Edit Expense popup. The AI fills in the form for you.
Fields you've already changed are kept. For example, if you picked a category or typed an amount before attaching the receipt, the AI won't overwrite it.
Fields you haven't touched are filled from the receipt, including default values such as today's date or your last-used category.
To read a different receipt, click Remove under the receipt preview and upload the new one. The old file is replaced, so the expense keeps just one receipt.
The popup accepts other file types too, such as Word documents, as supporting evidence. The AI only reads photos and PDFs, so if you attach any other type of file, Avaza tells you it has been attached without being read.
Option 3: Email your receipts in
Each Avaza account has its own email address for receipts.
On the Expenses page, click the arrow next to + Add Expense and choose Email in Receipts.
Click Copy to copy your account's receipts email address.
Send or forward receipts to that address from the email address on your Avaza account, one receipt per email.
The Email in Receipts dialog shows your account's address and what you can send.
What you can send
A photo of a paper receipt
A PDF invoice, either typed or scanned
An email that is the receipt, with nothing attached. Most online receipts (for example Uber, Amazon, Google Play and many software subscriptions) show the whole receipt in the body of the email.
Receipts forwarded to you by someone else, as well as ones you send yourself
Good to know
The email text helps too. The AI also reads the email's subject and body, which helps when the photo is unclear or a detail (such as the date) only appears in the email. If the email and the attached receipt disagree, the attached receipt wins.
The right attachment is picked. Sender logos, signature images and other small graphics are ignored, and a receipt the AI can read is chosen over other attached files.
The email is kept as evidence. If the receipt came from the body of the email, a copy is attached to the expense as Emailed receipt.html, so approvers can see the original.
No need to refresh. Emailed receipts appear in your Expenses list by themselves, and their details fill in as soon as the AI is done.
Reviewing and submitting a scanned expense
Click a scanned draft to open Expense Details. The AI fills in whichever of these fields the receipt shows:
Merchant
Date
Amount and Currency
Category
Payment Method
Tax (including Tax Inclusive or Tax Exclusive)
Merchant Tax Number (such as an ABN or VAT number)
Notes (a short description of what was bought)
Under History, an Avaza AI – Receipt read by AI entry lists exactly which fields were filled in. If a field was left blank on purpose, the entry explains why.
Expense Details for a scanned receipt. The History entry lists the fields the AI filled in.
To make changes, click Edit. Check the details against the receipt preview on the right, then:
Click Verify & Save when the expense is ready to submit. Category and Amount are required.
Click Save as Draft to come back to it later. You can save a draft even if the category or amount is still missing.
Verified expenses can then be submitted for approval as usual.
Warning icon: If a scanned draft is still missing an amount or category, a warning icon appears in the Status column so you can spot it without opening each expense.
How tax, amounts and categories are handled
The AI would rather leave a field blank than guess wrong.
Situation | What Avaza does |
The tax rate on the receipt matches one of your account's tax rates | Tax is selected, and Tax Inclusive or Tax Exclusive is set to match the receipt. If the receipt doesn't say, Tax Inclusive is used. |
The receipt's tax rate doesn't match any of your account's tax rates, or only nearly matches | Tax is left blank for you to choose, and History explains why. To have it filled in automatically next time, add that rate under Settings > Taxes. |
The receipt shows zero tax | Your account's No Tax option is selected. |
No total is printed on the receipt | Amount is left blank (with the warning icon), and History shows what the listed items add up to so you can check. |
The AI can't suggest a category | Category is left blank for you to pick, and History says so. |
A category is priced per unit (for example, Mileage) | These categories are never suggested, because they need a quantity rather than a receipt total. |
The printed date is more than 10 years old | The date is treated as a misread and set to today's date. Change it if needed. |
The file isn't a receipt | No expense details are filled in. |
FAQs
Does scanning submit my expense automatically?
No. Every scanned receipt becomes a Draft. You review it, then verify and submit it yourself.
Can I tell which expenses were read by AI?
Yes. Open the expense and check History for the Receipt read by AI entry.
What file types are supported?
The AI reads photos (such as JPG and PNG) and PDFs, both typed and scanned. For emails, it can also read receipts that appear in the body of the email.
How do I re-scan a receipt?
Open the expense, click Edit, click Remove under the receipt, and upload it again.
What happens when I reach 100 receipts in a month?
The monthly total is shown under Settings > Expense Settings. You can still add expenses and attach receipts manually at any time.
Who can see my receipts?
Receipts follow your normal Avaza expense permissions. Receipt images are sent to our AI provider only so they can be read, and they're not used to train AI models.