Scan Receipts Into Excel With AI — No Manual Typing

The problem

You have a pile of receipts saved as phone photos, scans, screenshots or PDFs. You need a spreadsheet with the date, shop or supplier, receipt number, subtotal, tax/VAT, total and currency for each one. Typing every receipt manually is slow. An AI coding agent can inspect the receipt files and build the spreadsheet for you. But this is financial data, so it needs checking, and the AI must never guess a number it cannot read. Receipts are harder than typed invoices: they are often crumpled, faded, photographed at an angle or saved in mixed formats such as JPG, PNG, HEIC and PDF.

What you need

• A folder containing COPIES of your receipt files, for example Receipts-AI-Working-Copy next to your untouched Receipts-Originals folder
• Codex or Claude Code
• A computer
• Permission to use the receipt information

Safety first

Receipts can contain names, addresses, card information, loyalty numbers, customer information and business information. Only use receipts you are authorised to process, do not expose unnecessary sensitive information, and never ask AI to collect or reproduce full payment-card details. The agent must NOT modify, rename, move, delete or overwrite any original receipt or existing file. It must not guess unreadable numbers, assume tax/VAT is included, calculate missing tax, assume currency from location alone, or invent receipt numbers. All output goes into ONE NEW spreadsheet or CSV. That spreadsheet is a working extraction, not an accounting record: the receipts remain the source of truth, and this tutorial is not accounting or tax advice.

When you are ready to approve

Steps

1. Put COPIES of the receipts into one working folder. They can be receipt photos, screenshots, scans or PDFs, and mixed file types are fine.
2. Open that folder with Codex or Claude Code, then paste the first supplied prompt. You do not need to write code.
3. Let the agent inspect the folder and extract ONLY 3 sample receipts. Nothing in the source folder changes. For example, a photo named receipt-014.jpg showing Office World, 14 September 2026, subtotal $42.50, tax $3.40 and total $45.90 should become: receipt-014.jpg | 2026-09-14 | Office World | [blank if no receipt number shown] | 42.50 | 3.40 | 45.90 | USD | [blank if payment method not clearly shown] | | OK.
4. CHECK THE SAMPLE CAREFULLY. This is the most important step. Compare the date, supplier, subtotal, tax and total against the actual receipt images. If a total looks like $8?.42 on a faded receipt, the agent must NOT decide it probably says $89.42: it should write Total: UNREADABLE and Review Status: NEEDS REVIEW. Receipts can also show several dates, such as purchase, printing and payment dates. The agent should use the purchase date when it is clear, and mark NEEDS REVIEW rather than silently choosing one. If tax/VAT is not shown on the receipt, the field should be blank, not calculated. Only approve if the structure looks right.
5. When you are happy with the sample, paste the approval prompt. The agent processes the remaining receipts and creates a NEW spreadsheet. Receipts that look like duplicates (same supplier, same date, same total, same receipt number, or a visually identical image) should be marked POSSIBLE DUPLICATE, never deleted or left out automatically.

What success looks like

Before: you have a folder full of receipt images and PDFs. After: you have a new spreadsheet with one row per receipt, showing the source filename, date, supplier, receipt number where available, subtotal, tax/VAT, total, currency and review status. You also know exactly which receipts need manual checking, and the original receipts have not been changed. AI extraction can save substantial typing, but financial records need verification. Always check totals, dates, tax/VAT, currency, duplicate-looking receipts and anything marked NEEDS REVIEW. The receipt image or PDF remains the source of truth, so do not treat the generated spreadsheet as automatically accounting-ready.

If it goes wrong

If AI guesses values or processes everything without stopping, send this: STOP. Do not process any more receipts. Go back to sample mode. Use only 3 receipt files. For each value: - copy only what is actually visible; - leave missing fields blank; - use UNREADABLE when text cannot be read; - use NEEDS REVIEW when uncertain. Do not guess. Do not modify any source file. Show me the corrected 3-row sample and wait for approval.