Scan Receipts Into Xero Automatically
Most of your receipts already arrive by email. ExpenseBot is a Xero receipt scanner that reads them straight from Gmail, codes each one to your Xero accounts, and pushes them to your Xero integration as Draft Bills you approve — no photographing, no forwarding, no typing. The original receipt image rides along, attached to the Bill.
Free forever for accountants · Works with the Gmail and Xero you already use
Your receipts are already in Gmail
The subscription invoice from your SaaS tools, the Amazon order confirmation, the rideshare receipt, the supplier PDF — nearly all of it lands in your inbox. A traditional Xero receipt scanner like Hubdoc or Dext still makes you do the fetching: photograph the paper, or forward the email into a capture inbox. That's a step for every single receipt, and the ones you forget to forward simply never make it into the books.
ExpenseBot starts from where the receipts already are. It reads your Gmail directly, pulls out the receipts and invoices, and codes them to your Xero Chart of Accounts — so getting a month of expenses into Xero is a review, not a data-entry marathon.
How receipts get into Xero
Paper and cash receipts aren't left out. Snap a photo with your phone or email it to yourself and it's read, categorized, and ready to push alongside everything else. The same engine powers our general Gmail receipt scanner — the Xero connection is what turns those captured receipts into coded Draft Bills.
What actually lands in Xero
When you push, ExpenseBot connects to Xero over its direct API — not a CSV import — and creates a Draft Bill for the receipt. Each one carries:
- The vendor, matched to an existing Xero contact or created for you
- The correct GL account code, mapped by AI from your Xero Chart of Accounts
- The right tax rate, read from your Xero organisation (GST/VAT handled per region)
- Tracking categories and multi-currency, when you use them
- The original receipt image, attached to the Bill so the proof is right there
Because it lands as a Draft, nothing hits your ledger until you review and authorise it in Xero. You get the speed of automation with the final say on every entry.
Built for Xero businesses and bookkeepers
If you run your books in Xero — or run other people's — the receipt-capture step is where the hours go. ExpenseBot is free forever for accountants and bookkeepers, with unlimited clients, so a whole practice can standardise on Gmail-first capture without per-seat fees. Each client's data stays in that client's own Google Drive. See how accountants and bookkeepers use ExpenseBot across a client book, or read the full Xero integration overview.
Stop forwarding receipts. Start reviewing Drafts.
Connect Gmail and Xero, let ExpenseBot read your inbox, and push a batch of coded Draft Bills whenever you're ready. Free to start, free forever for accountants. Full details on the Xero integration page.
Xero receipt scanning — FAQ
How do receipts get from Gmail into Xero?
ExpenseBot scans your Gmail every day for receipts and invoices, reads each one, and drops it into your own Google Sheet already categorized. When you're ready, one click pushes the receipts to Xero over the direct API as Draft Bills — with the vendor, amount, tax rate, and your correct GL account code already applied, and the original receipt image attached. They arrive as Drafts in Xero for you to review and approve before anything posts.
Do receipts post to Xero automatically, or do I approve them first?
You approve them. The Gmail scan runs automatically, but the push to Xero is a step you control — nothing goes to Xero until you click. And what lands in Xero is a Draft Bill, so you review and authorise it inside Xero before it hits your ledger. You stay in control of both the timing and the final posting.
How is this different from Hubdoc or Dext?
Hubdoc and Dext capture what you feed them — you photograph a receipt or forward the email, and they read it. ExpenseBot reads Gmail directly, where most of your receipts already are, so there's nothing to forward or photograph for anything that arrived by email. It maps each receipt to your Xero Chart of Accounts with AI (no per-vendor rule setup), attaches the receipt image to the Bill, and is free forever for accountants and bookkeepers. Paper and cash receipts still work too — snap a photo or email it in.
Does it map receipts to my Xero account codes and tax rates?
Yes. ExpenseBot reads your Xero Chart of Accounts and tax rates directly from your connected organisation, then uses AI to code each receipt to the right GL account and tax rate. It also matches or creates the Xero contact for the vendor, and supports Xero tracking categories and multi-currency. You review the Draft in Xero before posting, so you always have the final say on the coding.
How do I connect ExpenseBot to Xero?
Sign in with your Google account, then connect Xero once with a standard OAuth authorisation — no passwords shared, and you can disconnect any time from Xero or ExpenseBot. ExpenseBot uses your most recently authorised Xero organisation for the push.
What if I push the same receipts twice by accident?
ExpenseBot tracks whether a report has already been pushed and blocks an accidental re-push, warning you first if you try. If you deliberately choose to push again, it will create a new entry — so the guard protects against slips, not intentional re-sends. As always, Bills land as Drafts, giving you a review step in Xero before anything is final.
Is it really free for accountants and bookkeepers?
Yes — free forever for accountants and bookkeepers, with unlimited clients. Your data stays in your own Google Drive rather than on a vendor's servers. See the full picture on our Xero integration page.