How do I make ExpenseBot scan only a specific Gmail folder or label instead of my whole inbox?

By default ExpenseBot scans your Gmail inbox for receipts. If your receipts live in a specific folder or label — maybe a Gmail filter auto-files them, or you only want one label looked at — you can point ExpenseBot at exactly those instead.

Set it up

1. Open your Gmail scanning settings (the Smart Scanning card in Settings).
2. Find "Where should we look for receipts?" — Inbox (recommended) is checked by default.
3. Click "+ Add folder…" and pick a Gmail label/folder. The list is your own Gmail labels. Add up to 10.
4. To scan only those folders (and skip the inbox), uncheck Inbox. A reminder appears: anything that lands outside the folders you picked won't be found.

Good to know

• "Folders" are your existing Gmail labels — anything you've created, or that a filter files mail into.
• This setting controls your nightly scan. By default the nightly scan reads your inbox only — it won't look at a folder or label until you add it here.
• Historical "catch-up" scans are different: your first Gmail connection and the year cards search all your mail — every label, folder, and archived message — so they find receipts wherever they sit, no setup needed. (The one exception: if you uncheck Inbox to scan specific folders only, that narrower scope applies to catch-up scans too.)
• If you turn the inbox off, make sure your receipts actually land in the folders you chose, or they'll be skipped.
• If you remove your last folder while the inbox is off, ExpenseBot turns the inbox back on automatically — so you're never scanning nothing.

Receipts that skip your inbox

If a Gmail filter auto-labels and archives your receipts so they never hit the inbox, the nightly scan won't see them — it reads the inbox only unless you tell it otherwise. Add that label under "Where should we look for receipts?" and ExpenseBot will check it every night. Your older receipts were already caught (the first catch-up scan searches all mail); adding the folder keeps the new ones flowing in.

When this helps

• A Gmail filter auto-files receipts into a "Receipts" label and you want ExpenseBot to read just that.
• You have a busy inbox and want ExpenseBot to ignore everything except one label.
• A shared or work inbox where only one label is relevant to your expenses.

Prefer the simplest setup? Leave Inbox checked and ExpenseBot finds receipts wherever they land — you only need this if you want to narrow the scan.