Itemized Receipts Defined and Why They Matter to Businesses

Itemized receipts are essential for businesses and for the employees that work for them, but what are itemized receipts, and how are they used?

In this short guide, we’ll cover the ins and outs of itemized receipts, how to make an itemized receipt, and how to use receipts for reimbursement requests.

What is an itemized receipt?

An itemized receipt is a receipt that details all of the items included in a transaction—they break down a purchase.

Each item in a transaction is listed in its own line along with the price of each product or service.

What’s the difference between a receipt and an itemized receipt?

Itemized receipts include a detailed description of each item purchased.

There isn’t much of a difference between a receipt and an itemized receipt.

Both regular receipts and itemized receipts will likely include the following:

• The total amount of the purchase.

• Date and time of purchase or service.

• The business’s name and contact information.

• A receipt number.

• The payment method used.

Itemized receipts will also include a list of every item in the transaction and the individual sales tax of items or the total amount.

Why are itemized receipts important for business owners?

Itemized receipts offer transparency into business expenses, allowing employers to easily reconcile transactions, prepare for tax season, and reimburse employees for company spending.

1. Make the most out of company funds

With an organized paper trail of itemized receipts, employers can:

• Maximize tax deductions. Detailed receipts make it easier for your accounting team to spot deductions and reduce your tax liability to the IRS.

• Monitor employee spending. Figure out who’s spending the most money, where, and why.

• Relocate funds to better serve their business. See where money is being spent unnecessarily and use those dollars elsewhere.

Having a detailed receipt helps business owners get a crystal clear view of company spending and where they can potentially save money.

See also: Understanding IRS Receipt Requirements: What You Should Know

2. Easily spot misused money

Itemized receipts break down what company money is actually being spent on and can help pinpoint employees that are misusing business funds.

If an employee tries to request reimbursement for something that doesn’t fall within the company policy, itemized receipts make it easy to deny unjust requests.

3. Protect your interests during an audit

If your business is ever audited by the IRS, itemized receipts act as proof of payment for items purchased for the company.

TIP: Shoeboxed can save you the headache of finding receipts for audited expenses. With its advanced search and filters, you can call up any receipt in seconds.

4. Tax write-offs for freelancers

If you’re a freelancer, you can also use itemized receipts for tax purposes.

You can deduct work travel, meals with clients, and potentially part of your rent and utility bills with itemized receipts!

How do you itemize receipts for reimbursement?

Employers require itemized receipts in order to reimburse employees for business expenses.

Though it varies from company to company, employees are typically required to have a receipt that includes the date and time, venue, total amount of the purchase, and the reason for the business expense in order to receive reimbursement.

When you’re on a business trip, you’re going to rack up multiple transactions.

Be sure to ask for an itemized receipt at every restaurant you dine at, from your transportation, and when you check out of your hotel or other lodging accommodation.

These reimbursement receipts will have an itemized list of all of the products bought and services rendered during your trip so you can be reimbursed quicker.

TIP: Keeping track of receipts for reimbursement can be a daunting task. Use Shoeboxed to digitize and categorize your receipts for business expenses and share expense reports directly with your employer!

How do you make an itemized receipt?

If you’re a business owner and need to make an itemized receipt for a customer, you must ensure the receipt includes the following information:

• Your business’s name.

• Business address and phone number (or other contact information).

• Date of service or purchase.

• A list of each item purchased and their prices.

• Relevant taxes, fees, or discounts.

• The total amount.

• Payment method of the customer.

You can write the receipt by hand or use an itemized receipt template, like this one.

Use Shoeboxed to organize receipts, get reimbursed, and prep for tax time

Shoeboxed is trusted by businesses like yours to organize and manage receipts.

Juggling piles of paper receipts can be the bane of any company’s existence, and that’s why over 1 million businesses have turned to Shoeboxed for their receipt organization needs.

In 2022, Forbes crowned Shoeboxed as the “#1 best receipt tracking app” for businesses and individuals, and here’s why:

1. Shoeboxed lets you digitize receipts on the go.

Whether you’re an employer or an employee, Shoeboxed is a great way to digitize the business receipts you generate on the go.

Just snap a photo of your receipt with the Shoeboxed app and Shoeboxed will automatically pull the data and categorize your receipt under one of the 15 tax categories.

Receipt categories are editable and you can even create new categories to further organize your business expenses.

2. Shoeboxed gets your expenses tax-ready.

All of the receipts you scan to your account are categorized under the following 15 tax categories:

• Auto / Fuel

• Bank / ATM

• Computer / Internet

• General Retail

• Groceries

• Insurance

• Meals / Entertainment

• Medical / Health

• Office Supplies

• Postage / Shipping

• Professional Fees

• Promotion / Advertising

• Telecommunications

• Travel / Transport

• Utilities

And, if you’re ever audited, Shoeboxed’s advanced search and filters let you call up any receipt in seconds.

Just search for the audited expense or filter your receipts by date, vendor, payment type, expense category, and more.

You can even export your receipts to your accounting software, like QuickBooks, during tax season.

3. Shoeboxed makes reimbursements easy.

If you’re a business owner, you can create an account and add an unlimited number of free sub-users to upload receipts for business expenses.

That means all of the receipts your employees generate will be in one easy-to-access location!

When employees spend money for business purposes, they can simply upload images of their receipts to your account, create a detailed expense report, and email it to you at the end of their trip.

Did we mention that images of receipts are attached to reports?

4. Shoeboxed lets businesses outsource receipt management.

Outsource your receipt scanning and management with the Magic Envelope.

Unlike any other receipt tracker out there, Shoeboxed offers a service that lets business owners outsource their receipt scanning.

With the Magic Envelope, businesses can stuff piles of receipts into a postage-pre-paid envelope, ship it off to Shoeboxed’s scanning facility, and have their documents uploaded to their account under the appropriate categories.

Employers can even request that certain receipts be put under special categories just by leaving a note!

Sending Shoeboxed’s Magic Envelope is easy!

How do you get started with Shoeboxed?

Here’s how to get started with Shoeboxed in 3 steps:

Step 1. Schedule a demo

Though this step is optional, scheduling a demo with Shoeboxed can be an awesome way to get a feel for Shoeboxed’s features without the commitment.

Ask questions, explore the desktop and app versions of Shoeboxed, and even get a personalized plan for your business!

Click here to choose a date and time that works for you.

Step 2. Choose your plan

Choose one of Shoeboxed’s 6 plans to suit your needs. Image shows Shoeboxed’s plans that include the Magic Envelope.

Shoeboxed has 6 general plans to suit your needs as an employee or business owner. 

3 of the plans are Digital-Only, and the last 3 plans include the Magic Envelope service.

Digital-Only Plans:

• Starter Plan – $4.99/month – 25 documents/month.

• Light Plan – $9.99/month – 50 documents/month.

• Pro Plan – $19.99/month – 115 documents/month.

Magic Envelope Plans:

• Start Up – $18/month – 600 documents/year.

• Professional – $36/month – 1,800 documents/year.

• Business – $54/month – 3,600 documents/year.

You also get a 30-day free trial—no strings attached!

Step 3. Start uploading receipts!

Upload your receipts using your phone, from files on your computer, or by syncing your Gmail to auto-upload digital receipts to your account.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a receipt and an itemized receipt?

The main difference between a receipt and an itemized receipt is that the itemized receipt will include detailed information on each product or service with individual costs and sales tax.

Is an itemized receipt an invoice?

While both itemized receipts and invoices list all of the products in a transaction, an itemized receipt is issued after a purchase has been completed, and an invoice is issued to customers as a request for payment for goods delivered or services provided.

In conclusion

Itemized receipts are receipts that act as detailed documentation for transactions.

These receipts are an important part of accounting for businesses, freelancers, and employee reimbursement.

Hannah DeMoss is a staff writer for Shoeboxed covering organization and digitization tips for small business owners. Her favorite organization hack is labeling everything in her kitchen cabinets, and she can’t live without her mini label maker machine. 

About Shoeboxed!

Shoeboxed is a receipt scanning service with receipt management software that supports multiple methods for receipt capture: send, scan, upload, forward, and more!

You can stuff your receipts into one of our Magic Envelopes (prepaid postage within the US). Use our receipt tracker + receipt scanner app (iPhone, iPad and Android) to snap a picture while on the go. Auto-import receipts from Gmail. Or forward a receipt to your designated Shoeboxed email address.

Turn your receipts into data and deductibles with our expense reports that include IRS-accepted receipt images.

Join over 1 million businesses scanning & organizing receipts, creating expense reports and more—with Shoeboxed.

Try Shoeboxed today!