Build Your Own Receipt Scanning Software: How to Automate Expense Tracking & Loyalty Rewards

What is Receipt Scanning Software?

A receipt scanning app or solution typically provides a user interface (via a web form, mobile app, or email submission) that connects to a receipt scanning API. Once a user snaps a photo or uploads a file, the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) engine extracts key information - like date, total amount, tax, merchant name—and structures it in a spreadsheet or database. This:

• Eliminates manual data entry
• Reduces errors
• Speeds up workflows, i.e. employee reimbursements, and customer rewards campaigns

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How OCR Receipt Scanning Drives Business Value

Modern receipt OCR solutions often come with 90%+ accuracy rates, line item data extraction, multi-language and multi region format support.

From fast expense reimbursements to customer loyalty insights, implementing a receipt scanning solution can unlock:

1. Lower Administrative Costs: Less time spent on manual input.
2. Time Savings: OCR can process hundreds of receipts in minutes.
3. Increased Customer and Employee engagement.
4. Data-Driven Insights: Analyzing receipt data can help you spot trends and optimize spending or marketing strategies.

How a Dedicated Receipt Scanning API Enhances Your Receipt Scanning Software

An API dedicated to receipt scanning will add additional features such as pre OCR image optimisations, duplicate and tampered receipt (fraud) detection, merchant categorisation, and purchase validation of receipt line item data.

This enables faster and more efficient:

• Expense Reimbursements: Validate receipts and streamline reimbursement workflows.
• Loyalty Program Rewards: Verify purchases and award points or promotions.
• Fraud Detection & Risk Mitigation: Spot duplicates and tampering to prevent fraud.
• Real-Time Data Analysis: Gain immediate insights into spending trends and behaviors.
• Auditing & Compliance: Maintain accurate, digitized receipts for audits and taxes.
• Accounts Payable Automation: Match receipts to invoices for timely, accurate vendor payments.

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Two Key Receipt Scanning Software Workflows

1. Receipt Tracking for Expense Management
2. Automating Loyalty and Rewards programs

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In this guide, we’ll walk through two core workflows for leveraging receipt scanning software - one for automating expense management and one for automating loyalty and rewards. First, you’ll see how to streamline expense claims using OCR, then you’ll discover how to reward loyal customers just as efficiently. Feel free to jump straight to the use case that best fits your business needs.

Use Case 1: Expense Management and Reimbursement

Why Automate Receipt Capture and Processing?

Manually processing employee receipts is tedious and prone to error. Automated expense reimbursement workflows:

• Save hours on data entry
• Extract details like date, total, tax, vendor
• Integrate with Google Sheets, Excel, QuickBooks, CRMs
• Notify managers automatically for approval

Workflow Overview: The Reimbursement Process

1. Employee Submits Receipt: Via email, upload form, or app.
2. OCR Extraction: The system extracts key data (date, total, tax).
3. Automatic Logging: Data is saved to Google Sheets or Excel.
4. Manager Notification: Finance or HR gets a real-time approval alert.

Setting Up Receipt Scanning for Employee Expense Management

Below is a quick-start guide on building this automation in Make.com.

Key Components

• Email Monitor Module: Watches and triggers the workflow on new incoming emails (Gmail or Microsoft 365).
• Email attachment iterator: Converts an array into a series of bundles. =Each array item will output as a separate bundle. Many Make apps offer specialized iterator modules with a simplified setup.
• Receipt OCR: A service like the Taggun OCR module extracts relevant fields.
• Data Logging: Google Sheets or Excel captures the results.
• Alerts finance/HR for review.

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Step-by-Step Make.com Receipt OCR Expense Management Scenario

Below is a quick-start guide on building this receipt ocr expense automation in Make.com.

1. Watch for New Receipts

• Module: Gmail (or Microsoft 365 Email) → Watch Emails
• Config: Filter by subject or label “Reimbursement Request” (or any custom filter). If incoming emails contain attachments (receipts in PDF/JPEG/PNG, etc.), proceed to the next step.

2. Iterate Over Attachments

• Module: Iterator (found under Flow Control in Make.com)
• Why: If your “Watch Emails” module outputs an array of attachments, you’ll need to iterate through each attachment (especially if an email contains multiple receipts).
• Config: Use the array of email attachments as the input to the Iterator. This ensures every receipt is processed in its own bundle for the subsequent OCR step.

3. Extract Receipt Data Using OCR

• Module: Taggun Receipt OCR → Extract Receipt Data from a URL Module
• Config:
  
  • API Key: Provide your Taggun API key.
  • File: Map the output of the Iterator module (the single attachment from each iteration).
  • Fields: Capture total, tax, vendor/merchant name, date, etc.

4. (Optional) Parse & Format the Extracted Data

• Module: Make Text Parser (or similar)
• Usage:
  
  • Convert dates to a standard format (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD).
  • Clean up OCR anomalies (like misread characters).
  • Round totals or parse decimal values.

5. Store the Receipt Data

• Module: Google Sheets (or Microsoft Excel) → Add a Row
• Config:
  
  • Map extracted data (date, total, tax, merchant name, employee ID, etc.) into your spreadsheet columns.
  • Each attachment (receipt) generates a new row.

6. Notify Finance for Approval

• Module: Gmail (or Microsoft 365 Email) → Send an Email
• Config:
  
  • Include the extracted data in the email body or subject.
  • Optionally attach the receipt image/PDF from the Iterator step.

7. (Optional) Add Conditional Approval Routing

• Module: Flow Control → Router or IF condition
• Usage:
  
  • If total > $50, route to manager for approval.
  • If below threshold, auto-approve.

8. (Optional) Human in the Loop

• Enterprise Feature: Add a manual approval or “Review & Correct” step.
• Usage:
  
  • Pause the scenario until someone reviews the data.
  • Push updated/approved data back into the workflow.

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Outcome: Receipts are logged, managers notified, and reimbursements processed in real time—eliminating manual data entry.

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Sorting Employee Expenses: Organising Your Raw Data

Once you’ve got all expense data in a “Raw Data” sheet, you may want to sort or group expenses by employee. Below are two quick methods:

Method A: Built-In Google Sheets Features

1. Pivot Table
   
   • Insert → Pivot table
   • Select range from “Raw Data” sheet
   • Rows: Employee Name/ID; Values: Total Amount
   • Refresh for up-to-date summaries.
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2. QUERY Formula
   On a separate tab, use:
   =QUERY(  'Raw Data'!A:E,  "SELECT * WHERE A = 'John Smith'",  1)

• Replace A:E with your actual columns, adjust the WHERE clause as needed.

Method B: Using Make.com to Sync or Filter Data

• Trigger: Google Sheets → Watch New Rows
• Flow Control: Route the new row to an employee-specific sheet based on the “Employee” field.
• Write to Destination: Google Sheets → Add a Row (in a different tab or file).

Whichever method you choose, keep a single “Raw Data” sheet as your source of truth, then create separate views or sheets for simpler analysis.

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Use Case 2: Automate loyalty and rewards programs

Why Automate Receipt Scanning for Loyalty and Rewards?

A receipt-based loyalty or rewards program prompts customers to submit receipts via a simple mobile app or web app form with image upload to earn points or claim rewards. Automated receipt processing in loyalty provides:

• Instant & Accurate validation (minimal or no manual checks)
• Automatic Awarding of points once eligibility criteria are met
• Scalable & Customer-Friendly: Everyone gets quick confirmations

How you automate loyalty or rewards program receipt scanning

Key Components

• Web Form with Image Capture/Upload: Allows users to submit receipts easily.
• OCR Engine: To extract store name, amount, date, etc.
• Validation Module: To check purchase eligibility.
• CRM or Spreadsheet: To update customer records.
• Notification System: To inform customers of earned points or rewards.

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Step-by-Step Make.com Loyalty or Rewards Receipt Scanning Scenario

Below is a quick-start guide on building this loyalty and rewards automation in Make.com.

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1. Collect Receipt Submissions

• Module:
  
  • Jotform → Watch Submissions (if using any webpage)
  • Gravity Forms → Watch Form Entries (if using WordPress)
  • Webhook → Custom Webhook URL (for custom forms)

Config:

• Ensure each form submission includes the file upload (receipt image or PDF).
• Optionally filter out incomplete or spam form submissions before proceeding.

2. Iterate Over Attachments (If Multiple Receipts per Submission)

• Module:
  
  • Iterator (found under Flow Control in Make.com)

Why:

• If a user submits multiple receipts in one form submission, each file must be processed separately.

Config:

• Set the attachment array from your form submission as the Iterator input.
• Each receipt flows into the next step as a separate bundle.

3. Extract Receipt Data Using OCR

• Module:
  
  • Taggun Receipt OCR → Extract Receipt Data from a File

Config:

• API Key: Provide your Taggun API key.
• File: Map the output of the previous form submission or Iterator step.
• Fields: Capture store/merchant name, purchase amount, date, etc.

4. (Optional) Parse & Format the Extracted Data

• Module:
  
  • Text Parser (or similar)

Usage:

• Convert date formats (e.g., DD/MM/YYYY → YYYY-MM-DD).
• Clean up OCR anomalies (like misread characters).
• Round totals or parse decimals if needed.

5. Validate Against Campaign Criteria

• Module:
  
  • Flow Control → Router or IF

Usage:

• Condition Example: If purchase amount ≥ $50 and date is within promo range, proceed to awarding points. Else, move to a rejection path.
• This step ensures only qualifying receipts move on to the next module.

6. Update Customer Records

• Module:
  
  • Google Sheets (or CRM/Database) → Add or Update Row (or Update Contact)

Usage:

• Map the relevant data (customer email, receipt amount, date, etc.) into your database or spreadsheet columns.
• Assign or update loyalty points based on the validated purchase amount.

7. Notify the Customer

• Module:
  
  • Gmail or Twilio → Send an Email/SMS

Usage:

• Qualified Receipt: Send a confirmation message showing how many points they’ve earned.
• Disqualified Receipt: Inform them why they didn’t qualify (e.g., purchase under the threshold or outside the date range).

8. (Optional) Human in the Loop

• Enterprise Feature:
  
  • Review & Correct Step (via a task management or approval module).

Usage:

• If the OCR data is questionable or the amount is borderline, pause the scenario until a staff member verifies the receipt.
• Approved/updated data then flows back into the workflow.

Outcome

A fully automated loyalty or rewards receipt scanning workflow in Make.com. Customers submit receipts through a form, the system instantly validates each submission, updates customer records, and sends notifications regarding point accrual or disqualification—all without manual data entry.

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Result: A smooth, automated loyalty program where receipts are instantly validated, points awarded, and customers kept in the loop.

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Developer API Integration Guides (Optional)

If you prefer to build custom applications or want deeper technical control, we also offer dedicated developer guides. These resources show how to integrate Taggun’s Receipt Scanning API directly with your code:

• How to Scan Receipts in Node.js
• How to Scan Store Receipts with React

For most teams, however, a no-code or low-code setup (such as Make.com, Google Sheets, or popular form builders) is often the fastest route to get started with automation.

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Best Tools for Receipt Data Extraction & Processing

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1. Taggun Receipt OCR API
   
   • High accuracy, multi-language support, designed for receipt and invoice scanning.
2. Taggun Receipt OCR Make.com Module
   
   • Most of the full receipt OCR API features and easy to setup.
3. Google Vision OCR
   
   • Free-tier available, integrates easily with Google Sheets.
4. Microsoft Azure OCR
   
   • AI-based, enterprise-ready.
5. Make.com
   
   • Low-code platform for building advanced workflows across multiple apps.

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FAQ 

1. How accurate is OCR for receipts?
   Most modern OCR APIs boast 90%+ accuracy, though results may vary with low-quality images or unusual formatting. Review this doc on how to improve receipt scanning performance.
2. Can I integrate receipt OCR with my existing accounting software?
   Yes, many solutions offer direct integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, or other platforms.
3. How do I handle multi-currency or multi-language receipts?
   Choose an OCR API like Taggun or Microsoft Azure OCR that supports multi-language recognition and currency detection. Review this article on multi language and region receipt ocr support.
4. Is OCR-based receipt scanning secure?
   Reputable OCR providers use encryption and secure data transfer to protect sensitive information on receipts.

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Final Thoughts: Why Use Receipt Scanning Software?

Automation through receipt scanning software revolutionises expense management, loyalty programs, and beyond:

• Eliminate Manual Data Entry: Save time, reduce errors.
• Enhance Accuracy: OCR handles line-items, taxes, and vendor names.
• Boost Efficiency: Speed up reimbursement approvals, loyalty reward confirmations, and data insights.

Ready to build your own receipt scanning solution? Start with Make.com, Taggun OCR, and Google Sheets (or your chosen stack) to automate your processes today!

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