Getting Started
Turn your phone into a receipt scanner, mileage tracker, and expense report generator with Smart Receipts! Smart Receipts is perfect for both individuals and businesses! With fully customizable PDF, CSV, and ZIP reports, you can create professional reports for both your personal finance tracking and your employer’s needs. Smart Receipts allows you to select from over 20 different default. The document is set up to assist the form-filler with the most common types of Receipts: Monetary Receipts, Document Receipts, Goods Receipts, Services Receipts, or Donation Receipts. If none of these are the correct categorization, the Receipt also has an option for 'Other,' whereby the form-filler can enter the details of the transaction. Smart Scanner - Quickly scan documents, books, receipts Free Smart scanner help you scan your document and save it to PDFs or Photo libs+ Import image from Camera rolls, photos lib or take picture. A receipts template is free, customizable, and works well in a variety of situations. Use Excel’s classic blue sales receipt to provide detailed payment information to your customers. This sales receipt offers formatted fields for taxes, discounts, unit prices, subtotals, and more.
Smart Receipts was designed by a traveling consultant to make the process of tracking expenses and generating expense reports exceptionally easy, so you can save time and get back to what actually matters. As more users have started using the app, it's feature set has been expanded to enable small businesses, accountants, and cost-minded individuals to better track their budgets. Smart Receipts is available on both Android (versions 2.2 and higher) and iOS (versions 7 and above), so you can get started by downloading the app.
YouTube Video Guide
For a visual reference, check out our YouTube series about how to use the app:
Source Code
Smart Receipts was built to give you complete control of your data, and it is highly customizable to ensure that you can access your data in the right way. If that isn't enough, the source code for both versions has been released under the AGPL license and can be found at the following locations:
Reports
Adding a report
Once you've installed the app, tap on the Smart Receipts icon to launch it. If this is your first time launch the app, you'll be treated to a blank background screen with no report line items. To create your first report, tap on the '+' (plus symbol) button, which is located in the bottom right corner of the app. This will pop open a dialog with some of the following options:
- Name. The name of the report. All report names must be unique, so pick one like: 'April 2017', 'Consulting Project - Week 1', etc. Please note that you cannot use the following characters in the report name: |, , ?, *, <, ', :, >, +, [, ], /, or '
- Start Date. The date upon which this report beings.
- End Date. The date upon which this report commences. If your reports all occur over a standard interval (e.g. 3 days, 1 month, etc.), you can modify your settings to automatically set this value based on the end date.
- Default Currency. This field determines which currency will be used by your receipt entries by default. You can change what appears as the default from within the settings menu (it will always start as the currency of your phone's current locale)
- Comment. An option field, which can hold an arbitrary comment message for this report.
Managing Your Reports
After you click the 'Create' button, a report line item will permanently appear on the home screen. Any time you tap on this report line item, a new screen will be opened in which different expenses (and other data types) may be recorded and categorized.
Different users have different approaches for how to manage varying reports. Some will create a unique report for each project on which they are working; others will create a unique report to track each month (e.g. June 2014, July 2014, ..). Experimenting with different structures will probably help you to best manage reports for your expenses.
Editing a Report
If at any point in the future you wish to alter this report in any way on your Android device, long-click (i.e. press and old) on the report line item. This will pop open a menu with the following options:
- Edit Report. This option will allow you to alter any of the fields that were set when the report was first created.
- Delete Report. This option will delete the report (along with all receipt data that is attached to it) from the system. This action cannot be undone.
For iOS users, you can tap on the Pencil icon (ie 'Edit' button) to make the same set of changes
Receipts
Adding a Receipt
After you create a report, you can add receipts via the 'Receipts' tab by clicking the plus (ie '+') button in the bottom right corner of the app and selecting one of the following:
- Picture. Launches your camera app to take a photo of a receipt and enter receipt metadata
- Import. Launches your gallery app to choose a photo/pdf of a receipt and enter receipt metadata
- Text-Only. This pops open a dialog menu to add receipt metadata (e.g. price, date, etc.) without an image
You can also launch an image/PDF file in a separate app and click the send/share icon to send it to Smart Receipts, allowing you to create a new receipt from the file.
Receipt Fields
By default, the app comes equipped with the following 'fields' in which receipt data can be entered.
- Name. Common usages for this include: Lunch, Starbucks, etc. When inputting data into this field, you may see a drop down list to 'auto-complete' based on previous entries. If you happen to select an entry that has had the same price or category for multiple other entries, these will be automatically set as well. For example, if you always add a 'NJ Transit' receipt that costs $10 and is categorized as 'Train', both the price ($10) and category ('Train') will be set when you select the 'NJ Transit' option from the drop-down.
- Price. Enter the price for this receipt item. It will default to 0 if unset.
- Currency. Enter the desired currency for this receipt item. By default, it will use the one set as the parent report's default.
- Date. The date upon which this expense occurred. By default, it will be set to today's date, however if you change it, the next entry will default to the changed date (to simplify batch uploads).
- Category. The category within which this receipt resides. By default, it will be based upon the current time of day (so morning will default to 'Breakfast', afternoons to 'Lunch', and evenings to 'Dinner'). All categories can be modified or removed as desired.
- Comment. A field in which an arbitrary comment can be entered (e.g. Dinner split with Mark and Tom).
- Reimbursable. A checkbox to indicate whether or not this receipt is able to be reimbursed
- Full-Page. A checkbox to indicate if this receipt image should take up an entire PDF report page (as opposed to appearing in a 2x2 grid)
In addition to the default fields, there are a number of others that can be added from the Settings menu, including:
- Tax. If enabled, this field will appear next to the price field, enabling you to enter the tax for a given receipt. For countries with standard taxation laws (e.g. the EU), default tax percentages may be set.
- Payment Methods. If enabled, this field will allow you to assign a payment method (e.g. Cash, Corporate Card, etc.) to a given expense.
Receipt Controls
After you've created a receipt, you will have access to the following actions on Android:
- Edit Receipt. Allows you to change any of the fields noted above. You can access this by tapping on the receipt list item
- View/Edit Receipt Image. Opens a new window, which displays the receipt image (or rotate it). You can access this by tapping on the receipt image.
- Delete Receipt. Permanently deletes this receipt line item. You can access this by tapping on the '..' (ie 3 dots or ellipses) menu for this receipt list item.
- Move/Copy. Allows you to move or copy the receipt to a different report (eg from March 2017 to April 2017). You can access this by tapping on the '..' (ie 3 dots or ellipses) menu for this receipt list item.
- Swap Up. Changes the receipt ordering to allow you to move it up one. You can access this by long-pressing (ie tapping and holding) a particular receipt.
- Swap Down. Changes the receipt ordering to allow you to move it down one. You can access this by long-pressing (ie tapping and holding) a particular receipt.
After you've created a receipt, you will have access to the following actions on iOS by tapping on the receipt list item:
- Edit Receipt. Allows you to change any of the fields noted above
- View Receipt Image. Opens a new window, which displays the receipt image (or rotate it)
- Delete Receipt. Permanently deletes this receipt line item
- Move/Copy. Allows you to move or copy the receipt to a different report (eg from March 2017 to April 2017)
- Swap Up. Changes the receipt ordering to allow you to move it up one
- Swap Down. Changes the receipt ordering to allow you to move it down one
Mileage Tracking
Adding Distance
After you create a report, you can add begin tracking mileage (ie distance traveled) for reimbursement via the 'Distance' tab. You can input the following fields after clicking the plus (ie '+') button in the bottom right corner of the app:
- Distance. Tracks the total miles or kilometers traveled
- Rate. The reimbursement rate per mile. American users can find this via the IRS Guidelines. Please note that you can change the default value in the settings menu
- Currency. The currency to be reimbursed in
- Location. The location that you traveled to
- Date. The date that you traveled this distance
- Comments. A field to track extra notes
Generating Reports
Overview
Smart Receipts supports a few core report types, which can be created from your phone. You can find these by tabbing over to the 'Generate' tab (ie after the 'Receipts' and 'Distance' ones) in the app:
- Full PDF Report. Creates a PDF Report with a 'header page', which contains a complete table of all your receipts and distance expenses. It will also include a tabulated list of all your receipt images.
- PDF Report - No Table. Creates a report identical to the one above but without the header page. This is useful for companies that require their own header format.
- CSV File. Creates a CSV (eg Excel) file for spreadsheet apps
- ZIP - Stamped Images. Creates a ZIP file, containing all your images (and the receipt metadata below each)
Settings
There are a variety of useful settings for generating reports, including:
- Customize PDF Output. Which allows you to change the order and values of the PDF report columns
- Customize CSV Output. Which allows you to change the order and values of the CSV report columns
- Separate Payments by Category. Which splits all payments out by the category that they occurred for
- Include Categorical Summations. Which totals the total of all receipts for a given category
Backups
Manual Backups
All users can create manual backups to ensure that their data is not lost in the event that anything happens to their device. Backup files are formatted as a 'SmartReceipts.SMR' file, which is a simply a normal ZIP file but with a different extension to associate it with Smart Receipts. Backups can be created as follows for Android users:
- On Android, open the menu button (3 dots in the top right) and select the 'Backups' menu.
- Click the 'Backup' button
- Send the SmartReceipts.SMR file to your email, cloud storage, etc account for safe keeping
Or as follows for iOS users:
- On iOS, select the gear icon in the top left and scroll to the 'Backups' section
- Select the 'Backup' option under the 'Make Backup' section
- Send the SmartReceipts.SMR file to your email, cloud storage, etc account for safe keeping
To recover a backup file, you can either tap on the SMR file directly or send/share it with Smart Receipts. On Android, you can also select the 'Import' button within the backups menu. In each of these cases, it'll launch a dialog menu that will prompt you about importing your old data with the option to 'Overwrite'. Please note that selecting the 'Overwrite' option will delete all your existing data.
Automatic Backups
Smart Receipts Plus subscribers can configure automatic backups to Google Drive as follows:
- Open the menu button (3 dots in the top right) and selecting the 'Backups' menu
- Click on the 'Tap to Configure' option and select Google Drive
- Give permissions to your Google account, and it'll start backing things up (depending on if you allow the WiFi only rule or not). You'll start to see the little cloud icons after that, indicating that your backup is working.
If you ever need to recover a backup on another device, you can do so as follows:
- Open the menu button (3 dots in the top right) and selecting the 'Backups' menu
- Click on the 'Tap to Configure' option and select Google Drive
- Wait for your past backups to appears (note: sometimes you may need to close the app by swiping from recents and then relaunch)
- Tap on the backup that you wish to restore
You won't, however, be able to directly see your files in Google Drive, because:
- All backups are sent to Google Drive, but we save them in the 'hidden' app folder. Google Drive allows for each app to create its own hidden folder that only the app that created the folder can interact with. You can find it buried under your Google Drive settings. We were originally struggling with whether or not to make this folder public or not, but we ultimately decided to keep it private to prevent someone from losing data by deleting that particular file/folder. In order for automatic backups (or syncing to work) either the server (Google Drive) or the device (your phone) has to act as a trusted authority as to what receipts are uploaded, deleted, etc. Since the phone can be wiped, lost, etc (or even have something simple like device time set back in the past), it can't necessarily operate as the authoritative voice for the 'state of the world', so it has to be the server. But if we let individuals edit the Google Drive (ie server) side, then it also cannot be the authority, so it makes it difficult to know what is right at any point. To account for this, we hid the Google Drive data, so it's always 'right' (or as correct as your last network upload).
Please note that automatic backups will only occur, while your Smart Receipts app is active (ie we don't wake the app up in the background to upload your data in order to save battery). So long as you are periodically using the app, while you have a network access, however, this should not pose any issues as it'll safely upload your receipts during your normal usage flows.
Smart Receipts Plus
Smart Receipts Plus vs Smart Receipts (Free)
The Plus version of the app is available as a yearly subscription for USD $9.99/year (or equivalent in your local currency). All purchases are currently managed either via the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. The Plus version contains all the same features as the free versions, plus the following benefits:
- The paid version has no ads
- The paid version supports automatic backups to Google Drive
- The paid version automatically processes exchange rate conversions
- The paid version allows you to automatically break down prices by category/payment method in your reports
- The paid version allows you to edit/customize the pdf report footer (by default, it is 'Report Generated with Smart Receipts')
Additionally, we plan to add future capabilities to Plus users as well. The only caveat is the automatic scans (OCR) feature, which is not included with Smart Receipts Plus.
Automatic Backups
Smart Receipts Plus users can configure automatic backups by referring to this guide.
Exchange Rate Processing
As a 'Plus' user, you will also have the option to automatically fetch the current exchange rate any time you change the receipt's currency to be different from your default report currency. Upon changing the receipt currency in the app, a new 'Exchange Rate' field should appear. If you have network availability, the app will attempt to immediately attempt to retrieve the current exchange rate from http://openexchangerates.org/. If we cannot determine the active exchange rate, you'll have the option to manually enter the desired exchange rate as well (you can also do this when editing a receipt to indicate the necessary exchange rate from a credit card statement, etc.).
If for whatever reason you're seeing odd behavior in your exchange rate processing, you should confirm that you have correctly defined your report currency:
- Long tap (ie press and hold) on the desired report
- Select the edit report option from the resultant dialog
- Verify that your defined currency is correct
Please note that changing the currency will clear out your existing exchange rates.
Automatic Scans (OCR)
You can set up Automatic Scans (known more formally as Optical Character Recognition or OCR) as follows:
- Tap on the menu button (3 dots in the top right corner) and select the 'Automatic Scans (OCR)' item
- When prompted, elect to log-in with an existing Smart Receipts account or create a new one
- Once completed, you'll have the option to purchase scans, which will automatically determine the following receipt fields: merchant name, price, tax, date, and currency. These fields are successfully parsed with greater than 82% accuracy, which will continue to improve as the dataset of scans grows.
The OCR process is a new feature offering for Smart Receipts, and it's only available on Android for the moment. Each OCR scan currently costs USD $0.10, since our OCR provider, taggun.io, also charges on a per-scan model. We hope to hope to change this to a monthly/year fee in the future, but we wanted to get a baseline of usage patterns before scaling up. The actual process works as follows
- First, we upload the image, which gets converted into text (this is the OCR process)
- Next, we run the results through a machine-learning algorithm, which attempts to find the relevant fields (eg identifying the total field for the price)
- Finally, we deliver the results directly to you
![Receipts 1 6 3 – Smart Document Collection Receipts 1 6 3 – Smart Document Collection](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4378/36643013611_e865354f85_b.jpg)
Advanced Functionality & Settings
Formatting variables
Within the settings menu, you'll have the ability to edit the default email subject ('SmartReceipts - %REPORT_NAME%') and PDF Footer with your own text. We have reserved four special variables to allow for Report data to be automatically inserted:
- %REPORT_NAME% Prints the report's name
- %USER_ID% Prints your user id (if set)
- %REPORT_START% Prints the report's start date
- %REPORT_END% Prints the report's end date
Smart Receipts Web
The web page is currently under construction and only has limited functionality. At the moment, it effectively contains no functionality aside from tracking how many OCR scans you have available. All current application information is saved on your device (and Google Drive too if you've configured automatic backups), but it doesn't propagate to the web site. While we're working on adding this capability in the near future, it isn't present yet, so there's nothing there to really look at. Feel free to contact us directly for additional information about options and timelines here!
From: Canada Revenue Agency
Notice to the reader:
Please note that the following GST Memorandum, although correct at the time of issue, has not been updated to reflect any subsequent legislative changes since the date of issue. As a result, some of the technical information this memorandum contains may no longer be valid. Please contact your GST/HST Rulings Centre for assistance.
GST memoranda 300-6-3
TAX ON SUPPLIES
TIME OF LIABILITY
Ottawa, March 20, 1991
INVOICES
TIME OF LIABILITY
Ottawa, March 20, 1991
INVOICES
This memorandum in the TIME OF LIABILITY sub-series explains what an invoice is for purposes of the timing of liability for payment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCES
Excise Tax Act sections 123, 133, 138, 152, 168 and 223, subsections 153(2), 169(1) and 169(3)
DEFINITIONS
The following definitions have either been taken from the Excise Tax Act (as amended by S.C. 1990, c.45 (Bill C-62) or represent National Revenue, Customs and Excise interpretations of terms relevant to the administration of that Act.
'Act' means the Excise Tax Act;
'consideration' may be money, a thing, a service, forbearance in the exercise of a right or anything else which induces the supplier to make the supply. Where consideration is monetary the amount of the money will be used to calculate the tax. Where the consideration is non-monetary, the fair market value of the consideration at the time the supply was made will be used to calculate the tax;
'invoice' includes a statement of account, a bill and any other similar record, regardless of its form or characteristics, and a cash register slip or receipt;
'person' means an individual, partnership, corporation, trust or estate, or a body that is a society, union, club, association, commission or other organization of any kind;
'property' means any property, whether real or personal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, corporeal or incorporeal, and includes a right or interest of any kind, a share and a chose in action, but does not include money;
'recipient', in respect of a supply, means the person who pays or agrees to pay consideration for the supply or, if no consideration is or is to be paid for the supply, the person to whom the supply is made; 'registrant' means a person who is registered, or who is required to apply to be registered, under sections 240 and 241 of the Excise Tax Act;
'sale', in respect of property, includes any transfer of the ownership of the property and a transfer of the possession of the property under an agreement to transfer ownership of the property;
'service' means anything other than
(a) property,
(b) money, and
(c) anything that is supplied to an employer by a person who is or agrees to become an officer or employee of the employer in the course of or in relation to the office or employment of that person;
'supply' means, subject to sections 133 and 134 of the Act, the provision of property or a service in any manner, including sale, transfer, barter, exchange, licence, rental, lease, gift or disposition;
'tax' means the Goods and Services Tax payable under Part IX of the Excise Tax Act;
'taxable supply' means a supply that is made in the course of a commercial activity, but does not include an exempt supply.
GENERAL
General Rule
1. The general timing of liability rule, under subsection 168(1) of the Act, is that tax is payable by the recipient of a taxable supply on the earlier of the day the consideration for the supply is paid and the day that consideration for the supply becomes due. Tax is generally collectible by the supplier at the same time that it is payable by the recipient.
2. Registrants are required to account for any tax collectible on the return for the reporting period during which the tax became collectible, whether or not it is actually collected.
Partial Payment
3. When consideration for a taxable supply is paid or becomes due on more than one day, subsection 168(2) of the Act provides that the tax will be payable by the recipient on the earlier of the day a partial payment is made and the day a partial payment becomes due. The tax payable will be calculated only on the value of the partial payment.
Consideration Becomes Due
4. Under subsection 152(1) of the Act, consideration, or a part thereof, for a taxable supply, is deemed to become due on the earliest of the following days:
a) the day the supplier first issues an invoice in respect of the supply for that consideration or part;
b) the date of that invoice;
c) the day the supplier would have, but for an undue delay, issued an invoice in respect of the supply for that consideration or part; and
d) the day the recipient is required to pay that consideration or part to the supplier pursuant to an agreement in writing.
5. When a taxable supply of property is made by way of lease, licence or similar arrangement under an agreement in writing, subsection 152(2) provides that, notwithstanding subsection 152(1) of the Act, consideration, or any part thereof, becomes due on the day the recipient is required to pay the consideration, or a part, pursuant to the agreement. The issuance of an invoice in these situations will not cause consideration to become due. For example, if payments are required on specific dates under a written agreement and invoices are issued in advance of those dates, the written agreement will determine the time of liability for tax. However, if payment is made before the date required under the agreement, tax will be payable on that earlier date.
INVOICES
6. An invoice is a document which either notifies a recipient of the obligation to pay or records payment.
7. An invoice may give the terms of payment. The invoice may itemize or describe the goods or services being supplied and state the consideration due or paid for the supply.
8. Tax will be calculated on the face value of the invoice in accordance with subsection 152(1) of the Act as outlined in paragraph 4 of this memorandum.
9. Generally, an invoice is issued after, or as a record of, an agreement to make a supply or when the supply is made. Where there is an agreement to make a supply, section 133 of the Act considers a supply to exist and the further provision of property or services under the agreement is considered part of the original supply. Movist 1 4 0 download free.
10. When a written agreement (other than a supply by way of lease, licence or similar arrangement) to provide a property or service states that the recipient is required to pay consideration, or any part, on specified dates and an invoice is also issued, subsection 152(1) of the Act (as outlined in paragraph 4 of this memorandum) determines when the tax is payable. If an invoice is issued or dated prior to the date payment is required, pursuant to subsection 152(1), the consideration is deemed to become due on the earliest of the invoice date and the day the invoice was issued. If an invoice is issued or dated subsequent to the payment date stipulated in the agreement, under subsection 152(1), the consideration is deemed to become due on the date specified in the agreement which, in turn, is the date tax is payable based on subsection 168(1) of the Act (as outlined in paragraph 1 of this memorandum).
DOCUMENTS THAT ARE NOT INVOICES
11. An estimate which carries no obligation to pay is not regarded as an invoice. For example, an estimate for car repairs is not an invoice because there is no supply of the work, no agreement to make a supply and no obligation to pay the estimated amount. Mixtab pro 1 0.
12. A notice offering the opportunity to purchase an item at a specified price is not considered to be an invoice, but an offer which the recipient may accept or reject. In such cases, the recipient has no underlying obligation to pay. For example, a magazine subscription renewal notice sent to a subscriber will not generally be considered to be an invoice. If a subscriber renews the subscription and makes payment at that time, tax is also payable. The subscriber may sign the notice accepting the renewal offer. The notice then becomes a written agreement and may give a payment due date. Tax will be payable as of that date. Alternatively, the subscriber may be able to check a 'bill-me-later' box on the renewal notice. The subsequent bill is an invoice, and tax is payable under subsection 152(1) of the Act, as outlined in paragraph 4 of this memorandum.
13. A packing slip accompanying items shipped usually lists the quantity of goods shipped, but not the consideration payable for these goods. Presumably, in this case, there is an underlying agreement between the supplier and the recipient that the recipient will pay for the goods shipped. Such a packing slip, in and of itself, does not require the recipient to pay. In general, neither mere packing slips nor bills of lading will be considered invoices for GST purposes. Bills of lading are documents signed by a carrier or the carrier's agent which describe the freight, the terms of contract for the carriage and the consignee of the property.
14. In many transactions, one party sends the other a document as a reminder of the amount to be paid, but the reminder notice does not require payment and does not trigger the GST's timing provisions when the notice is sent. This would be true, for example, when there is a contract for the ongoing supply of taxable property and payment will be due under the terms of the contract. If the supplier sends a notice reminding the recipient that payment will be due on a certain date, according to the contract, the notice (appropriately identified as such) would not be considered to be an invoice.
VERIFICATION
15. In general, invoices are the primary trail for verifying tax paid or due on supplies of property and services. Registrants are required by subsection 223(1) to provide sufficient information on their invoices or other supporting documents so that customers will know they have satisfied their tax liability on supplies. This information can be provided on invoices, receipts and agreements in writing. In addition, for the purposes of claiming input tax credits or rebates, the supplier of taxable supplies must, on request, provide recipients with specified information pursuant to subsection 223(2) of the Act. More information on these requirements is available in GST MEMORANDUM 400-1-2, 'DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS'.
16. Generally, suppliers will use invoices as a primary document in their record keeping to support the collection and remittance of tax. More information on record keeping is available in GST MEMORANDUM 500-1, 'BOOKS AND RECORDS', and GST MEMORANDUM 500-1-2, 'COMPUTERIZED RECORDS'.
NOTE: This memorandum is not a legal document. It contains general information and is provided for convenience and guidance in applying the Excise Tax Act and Regulations. If interpretation problems occur, please refer to the legislation or contact the nearest Revenue Canada Excise office.
REFERENCES
OFFICE OF RESPONSIBILITY:
Policy and Legislation
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCES:
Excise Tax Act
HEADQUARTERS FILE:
N/A
SUPERSEDES GST MEMORANDUM:
N/A
OTHER REFERENCES:
Receipts 1 6 3 – Smart Document Collection Tracker
N/A
SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT ARE AVAILABLE IN BOTH OFFICIAL LANGUAGES.
THIS MEMORANDUM IS ISSUED BY TECHNICAL INFORMATION, EXCISE BRANCH UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF NATIONAL REVENUE, CUSTOMS AND EXCISE.
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