What's the difference between a forwarding email and a linked Gmail account?

They solve different problems — here's how to pick the right one.

Forwarding Email (Settings → Forwarding Addresses)

A non-Gmail address (a work email, a secondary personal email, your partner's email, etc.) that you want ExpenseBot to recognize when you manually forward a receipt. You forward the email to receipts@expensebot.ai from that address and we process it into your spreadsheet.

Best for: work emails, partner / family contributors, infrequent senders, or cases where you only want specific receipts — not the whole inbox.

✅ Works on any plan including the free trial (2 forwarding emails on trial, 6 on subscription) ✅ No subscription required to use the feature ❌ Nothing in that inbox is read automatically — you forward specific emails yourself

Linked Gmail Account (Scan Gmail for Receipts → +Add Gmail)

A second Gmail inbox you want ExpenseBot to scan automatically, the same way it scans your primary Gmail. Receipts are picked up nightly without any manual forwarding. You can also run a historical scan to pull in past receipts from that inbox.

Best for: a second Gmail you use for business, or any inbox with years of existing receipts you want imported.

✅ Nightly auto-scan, no manual forwarding ✅ Up to 3 Gmail accounts total (subscription feature) ✅ Current-year scanning included in subscription ✅ Last completed year: $20 one-time unlock ✅ Any older/custom historical year: $40 one-time unlock, one year at a time ❌ Requires a subscription ❌ Gmail only — Outlook and non-Gmail addresses must use forwarding emails

I have years of receipts in a second Gmail — what's the fastest path?

Don't forward them manually and don't set up a forwarding email — that's the slow path. Instead:

1. Subscribe if you haven't already
2. Open Scan Gmail for Receipts and click +Add Gmail
3. Sign in with the second Gmail account and grant permissions
4. Run a historical scan — subscription covers the current year. For last year, add the $20 one-time unlock. For any older year, add the $40 one-time unlock (one year at a time).

All receipts flow into your existing spreadsheet automatically. Nightly scans continue from then on without any manual work.

I set up my second Gmail as a forwarding email but I want automatic scanning — what do I do?

The forwarding email only recognizes manually forwarded receipts — it doesn't auto-scan. To upgrade to full automatic scanning:

1. Go to Scan Gmail for Receipts and click +Add Gmail
2. Sign in with that same Gmail address and grant permissions — this adds it as a linked account
3. Run a historical scan to pull in past receipts

You can keep the forwarding email in place afterward for forwarding one-offs if you like, but it's optional once the Gmail is fully linked.

I'm getting an error saying my email is already a forwarding email on another account

Someone (maybe you, maybe an admin on another ExpenseBot account) has registered this email as a forwarding email. You have two options:

1. Sign in with the account that owns the forwarding email — the error screen shows which account. If receipts have been flowing to it via forwarding, they'll be there. This is usually what you want.
2. Have the forwarding email removed first — the account owner goes to Settings → Forwarding Addresses → Remove, then you can sign up with a fresh account or link it elsewhere.

The same applies if your email is set as a linked Gmail account on someone else's setup.

For accountants — quick reference per plan

The accountant playbook for new client setup:

1. Send the invite link — homepage signup won't connect them to your dashboard
2. Have them connect their primary Gmail — nightly scan starts immediately once subscribed (or sponsored)
3. If they have a 2nd Gmail with receipts: they can connect it — multiple inboxes is a subscription feature
4. For historical catch-up: $20 unlock for last year; $40 unlock for any older year, one at a time — they pay Stripe directly, or you reimburse/bundle into your fee
5. Run a historical scan for each connected inbox to backfill past receipts
6. Set up GL codes in Settings → Expense Categories — maps their chart of accounts, one-time setup

See also: Accountant cheat sheet