Photo Tips for Better Scan Accuracy

How accurately a paper receipt is read depends a lot on how you photograph it. Keeping the following points in mind cuts down on the corrections you'll need to make.

Shoot in a bright spot

• Photograph in natural light, or somewhere bright indoors.
• Be careful not to let a shadow fall across the receipt.
• If it's dark, use your device's light.

Shoot straight on, from the front

• Shoot the receipt head-on rather than at an angle.
• Hold the device back a bit so the whole receipt fits in the frame.
• Flatten the receipt out. If it's curled, hold it down gently.

Mind the background contrast

• A white receipt is easier to recognize when placed on a dark background (a desk, cloth, and so on).
• Ideally, the outline of the receipt should be clearly visible.

These photos are hard to read

• Blurry, out-of-focus photos
• Photos with the edges cut off
• Photos where text is washed out by reflection or glare
• Photos where the receipt is badly distorted

If it still doesn't work

If reading still doesn't go well after re-shooting, you can manually correct the items, amounts, and categories on the scan results screen. The AI learns from your corrections, which improves accuracy next time.

Related articles

• Photographing and importing a paper receipt
• Correcting scan results (items, amounts, categories)