One-tap receipt scanning from your iPhone camera roll or Mac Photos, via a free Apple Shortcut. No App Store download required — Shortcuts is built into iOS 14+ and macOS Monterey+.
🚀 Install in under 2 minutes:
- Download the Shortcut. On your iPhone or Mac, open Install "Scan Receipts" Shortcut → tap Add Shortcut.
- Run it once. In Photos, select receipt photos → Share → "Scan Receipts." The first time only, it asks for your personal upload URL — paste it from ExpenseBot → Settings → Integrations → iPhone Shortcut → "Show My Shortcut URL." It saves it automatically.
- Done forever. Every future scan goes straight through. Your URL is remembered even if you delete and reinstall the Shortcut or switch to a new phone.
📱 Q&A — Apple Shortcut Receipt Scanner
Q: How do I scan receipts from my iPhone into ExpenseBot? A: Download the free "Scan Receipts" Apple Shortcut, run it once and paste your personal upload URL when it asks (from Settings → Integrations → iPhone Shortcut), then scan via the Share Sheet anytime. You only enter the URL once.
Q: Is the ExpenseBot Apple Shortcut free? A: Yes, the Shortcut is free. You need an active ExpenseBot account (60-day free trial or paid) for the photos to be processed.
Q: Does it work on Mac too, or only iPhone? A: Works on both — any device running Shortcuts (iOS 14+, macOS Monterey+, iPadOS 14+). Download and install once, and it syncs across your Apple devices automatically via iCloud.
Q: Where does the Shortcut send my photos? A: Each user has a private upload URL tied only to their ExpenseBot account. The first time you run it, the Shortcut asks for that URL once and saves it — so photos only reach YOUR spreadsheet. The token in your URL is never shared.
Q: What if I lose or want to rotate my Shortcut URL? A: Regenerate URL in Settings. The old one stops immediately. To switch the Shortcut to the new URL: open the Reminders app, delete the reminder titled with your old expensebot.ai/api/shortcut URL, then run the Shortcut once — it'll ask for the URL again and save the new one.
Q: Do I have to re-enter my URL if I reinstall the Shortcut? A: No. Your URL is saved in your Reminders (not in the Shortcut itself), so it survives deleting/reinstalling the Shortcut and restoring to a new device. You enter it once, ever.
Q: What file types does the Shortcut accept? A: Photos and images only — JPEG, PNG, HEIC, and WebP, up to 15 MB each. If a photo was offloaded to iCloud by iOS (common when "Optimize Storage" is on, especially on iPad), the Shortcut downloads it automatically before uploading so nothing goes missing. For PDF receipts, use the in-app upload button instead — it's the simpler path for PDFs.
Q: Does it replace the Gmail scanner? A: No — it complements it. Gmail scanning catches email receipts automatically (Uber, Amazon, hotels, SaaS, etc.). The Shortcut covers paper receipts you photograph. Use both; the same Google Sheet captures everything with automatic dedup.
💡 Pro tip — Siri integration: After installing, say "Hey Siri, Scan Receipts" and the Shortcut runs from voice. Combined with "Add to Home Screen" and Share Sheet, that's four ways to trigger it.
🔗 Learn more: Apple Shortcuts Receipt Scanner · Shortcuts deep-dive guide · iPhone Receipt Scanner