A Monthly Books Review That Tells You What to Fix
ExpenseBot scans your income, expenses, receipts, tags, reconciliation, and subscriptions each month — then surfaces a short to-do list. Each item has one direct action. Not a dashboard to stare at. Not generic advice. Your books, checked in one click.
60-day free trial · No credit card · Run it anytime each month
What ExpenseBot checks every month
Seven areas. Each check reads your actual spreadsheet data, not averages. Every finding includes the evidence and exactly one action.
Gmail not connected, nightly scan off, or your spreadsheet isn't ready yet.
→ Go to Settings and finish in one click.
Your books look one-sided this month — expenses are tracked but income isn't.
→ Add an income source so you can see profit.
Card transactions that don't have a matching receipt yet — reconciliation gaps.
→ Go to reconciliation and match or dismiss each one.
ExpenseBot has tag recommendations ready based on your transaction patterns.
→ Approve or skip in one batch.
You have both income and expenses this month — the raw material for a profit view.
→ Generate your profit and loss report.
Recurring charges worth a look — price increases, duplicate subscriptions, or trials that converted.
→ Review your subscriptions in one place.
Detected income from creator platforms (Patreon, Twitch, YouTube, etc.).
→ Turn on creator features and see income by source.
ExpenseBot uses your spreadsheet totals and existing settings; it does not provide tax or financial advice.
How it works
Open it
Find the Monthly Books Review card in Settings (Priority card #1) or in My Reports → Insights.
Run the review
One click. ExpenseBot reads your income, expenses, receipts, tags, reconciliation, and subscriptions for the month.
Act on the short list
Each finding has one clear action. Mark items done or dismiss them — the review remembers what you've handled.
On-demand, not automatic. You run the review — ExpenseBot doesn't email you automatically (that's coming). Run it anytime, up to once every 24 hours. Resets at the start of each calendar month.
Who it's for
Stop guessing whether you made money this month.
Track income from every client, catch missing receipts before tax time, and know your actual profit — not just a running total of what you spent.
Know what needs attention before your accountant asks.
The review flags gaps your accountant would catch anyway — one-sided books, unmatched card transactions, subscriptions that crept up — so your monthly handoff is clean.
See income from every platform in one monthly snapshot.
Patreon, Twitch, YouTube, Substack — platform income often lands in different inboxes at different times. The review detects creator income and tells you when to turn on creator tracking.
The review runs in your client's account — you see their to-do list, not yours.
Open a client account and run the review before your monthly call. It surfaces what needs cleanup without you having to ask the client for a status update.
Accountants use ExpenseBot free. Learn how the accountant flow works →
Why it's different from a dashboard
Most expense tools give you a dashboard and leave you to interpret it. ExpenseBot tells you what to do, not just what happened.
The review reads your spreadsheet totals and your current settings. Every finding is grounded in your actual income, expenses, and receipts — not industry benchmarks or estimated ranges.
Same inputs, same findings. The review isn't generative AI making suggestions from scratch — it runs a fixed set of checks against your data. If it says "Pending tag suggestions: 4," there are exactly 4.
It shows the few things that matter this month, not a wall of metrics to manage. Most months the list is 1–3 items. That's by design — noise is the enemy of action.
The review summarizes totals and settings. It does not send your receipts, statements, or transaction details anywhere new. Your records stay in your Google Drive.
What should you check in your books every month?
A monthly bookkeeping review covers seven areas: whether your setup is complete, whether you have income recorded alongside expenses, whether any card transactions are missing receipts, whether tag recommendations are ready to approve, whether your income and expenses add up to a P&L you can share, whether recurring subscriptions have changed in price or added charges, and whether any platform income has been detected but not yet organized. ExpenseBot runs all seven automatically when you open the Monthly Books Review.
A complete monthly bookkeeping checklist for a freelancer or small business owner typically looks like this:
- Confirm income is recorded — not just expenses. If you only track outflows, you can't see profit.
- Match receipts to card transactions — find the gaps so no purchase is unsubstantiated.
- Approve or skip tag suggestions — categorization is the foundation of any meaningful report.
- Check for a profit and loss view — if income and expenses are both in, generate the P&L.
- Review recurring subscriptions — look for price increases, duplicates, or converted free trials.
- Check creator or platform income — if you earn from Patreon, Twitch, YouTube, or similar, make sure it's being captured by source.
- Confirm setup is complete — Gmail connected, nightly scan running, spreadsheet ready.
ExpenseBot checks all seven and surfaces only the ones that need your attention this month, with one direct link to fix each one. Most months you'll clear the list in under five minutes.
Related: Income and expense tracker · Card reconciliation · Subscription tracker
Run your monthly books review now
Free 60-day trial. No credit card. Takes about 30 seconds to connect Gmail and run your first review.
Start Free →Frequently asked questions
What is a monthly books review?
A one-click checkup inside ExpenseBot that scans your income, expenses, receipts, tags, reconciliation, and subscriptions for the month, then surfaces a short to-do list — each item with one direct action. It is not a chatbot and not generic advice; it reads your actual spreadsheet totals and current settings.
What does ExpenseBot check each month?
Seven areas: whether setup is complete, whether you have both income and expenses, whether any card transactions are missing receipts, whether there are tag suggestions to approve, whether you're ready for a P&L, whether any subscriptions need review, and whether creator-platform income has been detected. Each finding includes the evidence behind it and exactly one action.
Does it find missing receipts?
Yes. ExpenseBot compares your card transactions to captured Gmail receipts and flags gaps — transactions that don't have a matching receipt yet. It points you directly to the reconciliation view to resolve them. The check works best when you have uploaded a card or bank CSV alongside your Gmail receipts.
Can it show my profit or generate a P&L?
Yes. When both income and expenses are present for the month, the review surfaces a "Ready for a P&L" action that takes you directly to your profit and loss view. If income is missing, it flags that first so your books aren't one-sided before you run the report.
Does it work for accountants managing client books?
Yes. When an accountant opens a client account in ExpenseBot, the Monthly Books Review shows the client's data — the review belongs to the client. Accountants can use it as a quick client health check before a monthly call or cleanup session, without needing to request a status update from the client.
Is this tax advice?
No. ExpenseBot uses your spreadsheet totals and existing settings to surface actionable bookkeeping items. It does not provide tax or financial advice. For tax questions, consult a qualified accountant or tax professional.
How often can I run the monthly books review?
Once per calendar month, refreshable at most every 24 hours. It resets at the start of each new month so you always get a fresh view. You trigger it manually — ExpenseBot doesn't automatically send you a monthly email (that's on the roadmap).
Do I need to connect my bank?
No — the review runs on your spreadsheet totals and settings. However, the missing receipts check works best when you have uploaded a card or bank CSV so ExpenseBot can compare transactions against receipts. Gmail receipt scanning alone is enough to get started with most checks.
Know what to fix before tax time
Find receipts in Gmail. Track income and expenses. See your profit. Run the Monthly Books Review to know what's left to do.
Start free — no credit card, 60-day trialUsed by freelancers, small businesses, content creators, and accountants in Canada, US, UK, and Australia.