File receipts and invoices automatically, with a Friday review

Five steps, 40 minutes

1. 01Set up one inbox for receipts

   5 min

   Create a dedicated address (receipts@, on your own domain) or a label in your inbox. Tell the team: every receipt and supplier invoice gets forwarded there, and paper ones get photographed and sent. Ask your bookkeeper whether you also need to keep the paper.

2. 02Build the review sheet

   5 min

   One row per receipt: date, supplier, total, tax, currency, category, invoice number, a link to the original, a status (to review, approved or query) and who approved it. Use your bookkeeper’s categories, not new ones.

3. 03Write and test the extraction prompt

   10 min

   Check your AI plan’s data settings before financial documents go through it. Then run the prompt by hand on ten real receipts, including a blurry photo and a long invoice.

   You extract details from receipts and invoices for [business].
   From the document below, return one line in this format:
   Date (YYYY-MM-DD) | Supplier | Total | Tax | Currency | Category | Invoice number
   Choose the category only from this list: [your categories].
   Copy numbers exactly as printed. Never guess or calculate a missing number; write [CHECK] in its place.
   If it isn’t a receipt or invoice, write NOT A RECEIPT.
   
   Document:
   [paste the text, or attach the file]

   Copy promptOpen ChatGPTOpen ClaudeOpen Gemini

   Human check: Compare every field with the original, on all ten. If any amount, date or supplier is wrong, fix the prompt before you automate it.

4. 04Connect the automation

   15 min

   In an automation tool (Zapier or Make, for example): when an email reaches the receipts inbox, send the email, its attachment and your prompt to an AI step that can read documents and photos. Split its answer at each “|” so every field lands in its own column, then add the row to the sheet with the status “to review” and a link to the original. Have it email you if a step fails. It files; it never pays or approves anything.

5. 05Run your first Friday review

   5 min

   Filter the sheet to “to review” and check each row against its original. Approve the batch, then send it to your bookkeeper or accounting software.

   Human check: Totals and dates match the originals, there are no duplicates, the category is right, and every [CHECK] is resolved. Nothing is paid or entered in your books until a person approves it.