Receipt Scanner for QuickBooks: 6 Apps & Machines Reviewed

When you’re a small business, keeping receipts organized can be one of the most challenging aspects of your finances. From business expenses to customer purchases, it can be hard to manage boxes full of paper receipts.

If you use QuickBooks accounting software for your business, then you know that it has features to help you keep track of your receipts, including a receipt-scanning app and receipt management.

But QuickBook’s receipt scanner isn’t right for everybody, and if you’re here, you’re likely on the hunt for alternatives.

In this guide, we’ll review the best receipt-scanning app and scanners for QuickBooks Online.

Our reviews will include the best alternative receipt-scanning apps, the top receipt-scanning machines to have at home or in the office, and how to choose a scanner that perfectly integrates with your accounting software!

Why should you use a receipt scanner app?

Receipt-scanning apps let you upload photos of your receipts and organize your bank statements and business expenses wherever you go.

With receipt-scanning apps, you’ll no longer have to wait until you’re at the office to digitize your receipts and upload them to QuickBooks—you can do it right from your phone while sitting in a taxi, walking down the sidewalk, or at dinner with a client.

Simply put, receipt-scanning apps are convenient, will save you time, and give you peace of mind that you’ll always have receipt data when you need it.

Why might you not want to use QuickBooks’ receipt scanner app?

QuickBooks’ receipt-scanning app.

According to QuickBooks, “The QuickBooks receipt scanner uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to automatically organize and sort your receipts.”

Despite QuickBooks’ advanced scanning technology, there have been quite a few complaints concerning the QuickBooks Online mobile app from users recently.

The most common complaints we’ve heard from users are that the QuickBooks receipt scanning:

• Recognizes countertops as part of receipts.

• Doesn’t do a great job of creating high-quality receipt images (low-resolution black and white images).

• Only captures corners of receipts.

• Captures unclear images despite ideal conditions (lighting and background).

This can all be disappointing, especially when QuickBooks Online offers such advanced features for small business accounting.

What should you look for in the best receipt scanner apps for QuickBooks?

There’s an endless selection of receipt apps out there, but they’re not all created equal. So what should you look for in a top-notch receipt-scanning app?

Here’s where we started and think you should start, too:

1. Seamless integration. The most important consideration is whether or not the app integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks. You don’t want a receipt-scanning app to be clunky and hard to integrate with your accounting software.

2. Ease of use. A good receipt-scanning app will be straightforward to use without much of a learning curve. It should simplify your life, not make it more difficult.

3. Fits in your budget. Receipt-scanning apps aren’t free (at least, the ones worth using aren’t), so you’ll want to find a scanner that falls within your budget and that you can justify putting the money towards.

4. Web platform. When you’re at your desk managing expenses on QuickBooks, you probably won’t want to use your phone to upload receipts from the app to your accounting software tools. This is where having a receipt-scanning app that comes with a web platform is immensely useful.

Now that you know what to look for to help you choose the right app for your needs, let’s dive into our reviews of the best receipt scanner apps for QuickBooks this year!

What are the best receipt scanner apps for QuickBooks in 2024?

Receipt apps can be downloaded on your mobile device to snap photos of receipts whenever you’re on the go.

Here are reviews of our favorite receipt scanner apps for QuickBooks in 2024 and why we think they outshine QuickBooks’ scanner.

1. Shoeboxed – Best for complex receipt management and advanced features

Shoeboxed is a receipt-scanning app and service that is trusted by over 1 million small business owners.

Shoeboxed is our #1 pick for the best receipt app for QuickBooks.

Not only does it integrate with QuickBooks for receipt and expense management, but it also has a user-friendly app and web dashboard to digitize and categorize your expenses.

Shoeboxed offers easy access to 3 platforms for digitizing and organizing your receipt data:

1. The app.

2. The web dashboard.

3. The Magic Envelope service.

Let’s go over what each of these platforms has to offer in detail below.

The app

Shoeboxed’s mobile app lets you scan receipts and upload them directly to QuickBooks

Shoeboxed is firstly a receipt-scanning app. Once it’s downloaded to your mobile device, you can snap pictures of your receipts as soon as you receive them.

Unlike QuickBooks’ receipt-scanning app, Shoeboxed captures clear images every time with its advanced OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology and automatically pulls and digitizes the data from your paper receipts.

The receipt data is then human-verified and uploaded to your Shoeboxed account under one of the 15 editable tax categories.

You can also edit or create your own categories within the app to further organize your receipts before exporting them to QuickBooks.

Web dashboard

Example of Shoeboxed’s receipt dashboard from demo account.

Not only does Shoeboxed have an app that lets you capture receipts on the go, but it also has a web dashboard that lets you auto-import digital receipts from your Gmail or upload files from your computer.

Shoeboxed’s web dashboard is extremely user-friendly, which is a major plus whenever you’re transferring your receipt data from Shoeboxed to QuickBooks.

The Magic Envelope service

The Magic Envelope lets users outsource their receipt and document scanning.

The Magic Envelope is a favorite feature among Shoeboxed’s users that own small businesses.

Out of all of the receipt-scanning apps on our list (and in general), the Magic Envelope is unique only to Shoeboxed, and it’s the reason Shoeboxed is hands-down the best receipt app for QuickBooks.

With the Magic Envelope, you can outsource your receipt scanning so you never have to digitize and organize your business receipts again.

When you sign up for a plan that includes the Magic Envelope, Shoeboxed will mail you a postage-pre-paid envelope for you to send your receipts in.

When your receipts reach the scanning facility, they’re digitized, human-verified, and uploaded to your account under the tax categories.

You can even ask the team at Shoeboxed to scan your receipts under specific categories by separating your receipts with a paper clip and a note.

So, how does Shoeboxed integrate with QuickBooks?

Integrate Shoeboxed with QuickBooks for efficient receipt management.

Now that you know what Shoeboxed has to offer, how do these features integrate with your QuickBooks accounting software?

Connecting Shoeboxed with QuickBooks is as easy as:

1. Logging into your Shoeboxed account.

2. Selecting the receipts you want to export and choosing “QuickBooks Online.”

3. Entering your QuickBooks login details and authenticating the integration with Shoeboxed.

4. Clicking “Export all” or “Export selected” in Shoeboxed.

5. Categorizing the receipts to export to QuickBooks.

When scanned receipts are uploaded to QuickBooks, they’re already categorized with links to receipt images attached so you can quickly view the receipts for any of your expenses, should they be called into question by an auditor, partners in the business, or anyone else who might need to view the expense.

Keep in mind that you’ll have to select the receipts you want to export to QuickBooks manually.

While this might seem like a downside, manually selecting the receipts you want to export to QuickBooks actually gives you more control over your receipts.

This is especially important if you keep your personal and business receipts in one place.

To learn more about how Shoeboxed integrates with QuickBooks, read this article.

Pros:

• Integrates with QuickBooks for simple receipt management.

• Auto-categorizes receipts into 15 editable tax categories. Add categories specific to your business.

• Adds links to receipt images in QuickBooks notes.

• Magic Envelope takes the stress out of organizing business receipts.

• An unlimited number of free sub-users to your account, such as employees.

• Scan receipts on the go with the Shoeboxed app.

• Auto-forward receipts from your inbox.

• Store business contacts and digital copies of business documents.

Cons:

• The Magic Envelope is included on desktop plans only. Be sure to visit the website for plans that include outsourcing your receipt scanning.

Pricing:

• The Digital Download Only Starter Plan is $4.99/month, up to $19.99/month for the Pro digital plan. Note: The Magic Envelope service is not available with the mobile app plans.

• Plans that include the Magic Envelope start at $18/month, up to $54/month. Plans that include the Magic Envelope are available for purchase on desktop only.

• 30-day free trial.

Shoeboxed is the only receipt scanner app that will handle both your paper receipts and your digital receipts—saving customers up to 9.2 hours per week from manual data entry!

How does Shoeboxed compare to other receipt scanner apps?

2. Wellybox – Best for automatically uploading receipts

Wellybox for digitizing and uploading receipts to QuickBooks.

Wellybox is a receipt-management app designed to simplify expense tracking and management.

From our experience with it, Wellybox is one of the best receipt scanners out there. It has a user-friendly interface that enables you to categorize and customize tags for improved financial management.

With Wellybox’s receipt app, you can scan paper receipts with your phone or upload digital receipts.

Wellybox’s automated data entry will then pull the information from your receipts, such as the date, amount, and vendor name, and automatically upload it to your QuickBooks account.

Pros:

• Automatically syncs receipts to QuickBooks Online from the app.

• Create custom categories for your receipts.

• No manual data entry is needed. OCR technology pulls and digitizes receipt data.

• Export receipts to your Wellybox account from your email inbox.

Cons:

• No way to outsource the scanning of receipts.

Pricing:

• Basic Plan – $9/month

• Business Plan – $49/month.

• Accountant Plan – $99 per month.

3. Expensify – Best for business and employee expenses

Expensify is used for receipt-scanning and reimbursement

Expensify’s mobile app is another great alternative to QuickBooks’ receipt scanner.

Not only is Expensify good for uploading receipts and expense entries to QuickBooks, but it’s also one of the best options for small business owners with business expenses from employees.

If you have managers or an accounting team, you can add administrators to your Expensify account to manage business expenses generated from employees for reimbursement.

Employees can also be added to your Expensify account to scan receipts for business-related expenses. 

So, how does Expensify work with QuickBooks?

Aside from receipt management, Expensify offers expense reporting, mileage and time tracking, customer invoicing, bill payment, and credit card reconciliation with automated seamless entry to QuickBooks.

Pros:

• Expensify’s mobile app is easy to use for capturing receipts.

• Add admins and employees to your Expensify account to scan receipts and approve business expenses.

• Create expense reports to export to QuickBooks.

• Smooth integration with QuickBooks.

• Get access to other tools to help you manage your business, including Payroll, Bill Pay, and invoicing—all of which can be integrated with QuickBooks.

Cons:

• Does not include an outsourcing option for receipt scanning.

• Payroll, Bill Pay, invoicing, and other features may be unnecessary for QuickBooks users.

• Each user is an additional cost, which can add up depending on your business’s number of employees.

• Features are limited in the Free and Collect plans.

Pricing:

• Free plan with limited features and low customization.

• Collect Plan for small teams – Starts at $5/month per user.

• Control Plan for small businesses – Starts at $9/month per user.

What are receipt and document scanners?

Receipt scanners are machines that you use to turn your paper receipts into digital information.

They’re great for offices with one central accounting department that handles everyone’s expenses or home offices with lots of paperwork.

What should you look for in receipt scanners?

There are thousands of receipt and document scanners to choose from, so what should you look for in the best receipt scanner?

Here’s a list of the features we took into consideration when testing scanners:

• The size of the scanner. Scanner sizes can range from small and portable to large and clunky. If you’re just using a scanner for receipts, a smaller scanner would probably do the trick.

• Document size. If you’re looking to scan receipts to QuickBooks, you’ll probably want to scan other documents (like invoices), as well. You want a scanner that can scan documents of various sizes.

• Your budget. Document scanners can be pricy, so you’ll need to determine what your budget looks like and if you really need a scanner machine or if a receipt-scanning app would suffice.

• Multi-document scanning. If you have stacks of paper you need to digitize, a scanner that can scan multiple documents at once is a must.

Now that you know what to look for, let’s take a look at our top picks for scanners!

What are the best scanners for QuickBooks?

After comparing the top document scanners on the market today, the Brother, ScanSnap, and Epson Workforce were our favorites.

1. Brother DS-640 Compact Mobile Document Scanner – Best for at-home offices or small businesses

Brother DS-640 receipt scanner, Amazon

The Brother DS-640 is our top pick for the best scanner for manual expense tracking and uploading to QuickBooks.

If you have a home office or minimal office space, this scanner is the perfect size and weight for desktop scanning. It’s less than a foot long and 2 pounds in weight, making it easy to find a place for it or take it with you if need be.

The Brother Scanner not only scans receipts but also scans other office documents in color and black and white. It’s surprisingly fast to use and we liked that it plugged in via USB so we could plug it in directly to our laptop or desktop.

The only downside is that the scanner idles after 10 minutes of scanning inactivity, which can put a minor blip into your scanning routine.

Once your documents are scanned, they’re uploaded to your computer which you can then export to your QuickBooks software.

Pros:

• Color and black and white scans.

• Extremely portable and suitable for small offices.

• USB so you can plug the scanner into your PC or laptop and upload documents to QuickBooks.

• The most affordable scanner on our list without sacrificing quality.

• Receipt scanner that’s also great for scanning other documents such as invoices.

Cons:

• The scanner turns off after 10 minutes of inactivity.

Check price

2. ScanSnap iX1600 Wireless Document, Photo & Receipt Scanner – Best for large paper loads

ScanSnap iX1600 scanner, Amazon

ScanSnap is one of the top document scanner brands out there and for good reason.

The ScanSnap iX600 is a document scanner that’s best suited for businesses that see large paper trails each day. It’s also ideal if you have multiple users that need to scan receipts or other documents, and you can even create up to 30 custom profiles to suit scanning preferences.

This scanner has an easy-to-use touch screen that lets you scan receipts and upload them directly to QuickBooks.

Our only complaint about this scanner is the price. It’s definitely for serious scanning needs, and you may not be able to justify the price for this one if you only scan a few receipts here and there.

Pros:

• Separate profiles to save custom scanning preferences.

• Scan receipts, business cards, and other documents.

• WiFi compatibility. Directly scan your receipts right to your phone or computer wirelessly.

• Fast scanning. Can scan up to 40 double-sided sheets per minute.

• Upload scanned receipts directly to QuickBooks from the scanner.

Cons:

• The ScanSnap iX1600 is pretty pricy. May not be the best option for freelancers or small businesses with tighter budgets.

Check price

3. Epson Workforce ES-60W Wireless Document Scanner – Best for on-the-go scans

Epson Workforce Document Scanner, Amazon

What we really liked about the Epson Workforce is its size.

This is the smallest scanner on our list, and while it can still scan full-sized documents, based on our review of this product, we found it to be the perfect size for scanning receipts. It also weighs less than a pound, so if you travel a lot, you can easily take it with you and scan your receipts on the go.

The Epson is a wireless scanner, so no matter where you are, you can scan and upload digital copies of your receipts to your laptop or smartphone directly to your QuickBooks Online account. The only complaint we have is that the initial WiFi setup can be a bit finicky.

Overall, this is a quick, efficient, and portable scanner to upload business receipts to QuickBooks from anywhere.

Pros:

• Perfect size for uploading receipts to QuickBooks while traveling.

• Wireless scanner that connects with your PC, laptop, or smartphone.

• Scans receipts and documents in seconds.

Cons:

• Connecting the scanner to WiFi can be finicky on the first go.

Check price

Frequently asked questions

What are the receipt scanners for QuickBooks?

Shoeboxed, Wellybox, and Expensify are among the best receipt scanner alternatives to QuickBooks’ receipt scanner app.

Can you scan receipts to QuickBooks?

You can scan receipts to QuickBooks with a receipt-scanning app, like Shoeboxed, or with a scanner machine like the ScanSnap iX1600.

Final thoughts

Small business owners that use QuickBooks for their bookkeeping and accounting haven’t always been impressed with the QuickBooks scanner for receipts.

If you ask us, there are plenty of alternatives that can help you organize receipts, reconcile bank accounts, track expenses, and maximize your tax deductions more effectively than QuickBooks’ receipt app.

Our favorite app is Shoeboxed, which doesn’t just integrate with QuickBooks, but also allows you to outsource your receipt-scanning and the uploading of your documents to your accounting software.

If you’re looking for a receipt scanning machine, then our go-to pick would be the Brother DS-640 for its portability and high-quality scans.

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!