• Search
  • Lost Password?

How Do I Scan a Receipt with My iPhone?

Thanks to advances in mobile technology, an increasing number of aspects in our day-to-day lives are becoming digitized. Books, music, movies, games, etc. are all available online and can be easily stored on handheld devices such as iPhones and iPads. But did you know that you can also scan documents on your iOS device? Apple’s iOS 11 update comes with a built-in document scanner, which makes the process of getting documents on your iPhone or iPad very simple.

The regular iPhone camera has always had a document scanner. However, prior to the iOS 11 update, users needed to download a third-party app to scan documents using their iPhones or iPads. After the update, users can now use Apple’s own solution, the Notes app, to scan receipts, business cards, or any other documents they want to save or mark up. Do you want to learn how to digitize and organize your receipts with your iPhone? Keep reading to find out more.

Scan Receipts and Other Documents with Your iPhone

best receipt scannerIt’s February, meaning that we’re into the second month of the tax season here in the United States. This is probably the best time to start gathering your receipts, 1099s, and W2s, and forward them to your accountant. All you need is an iPhone or iPad to scan and digitize your receipts before sending them to your accountant. Here’s a short guide on how to scan your receipts and store scanned items properly for easy retrieval.

The Scanning Process

Apple’s scan tools live inside the Notes app on your iPad or iPhone. Scanning documents on an iOS device is pretty simple. Just open the Note app, tap the + button above the keyboard to create a new note. Hit the ‘Scan Document’ option on the pop-up menu to open the camera and point it to the receipt you are trying to digitize. The menu also provides the tools you’d need to add a sketch or an image to your note. Give the note a title.

Write a few words in the new note. That way, should you need the scan sometime in the future, it’ll be easier to find. For instance, if you are scanning a meal receipt in January 2019, label it ‘Meal January 2019.’ Take a look at the icons on the top row. Here, you can customize your receipts to appear the way you want them to with regards to colour schemes. You can have your scanned receipts in colour or in black and white. Note that the document will be captured in colour by default.

Saving Your Scans

You can also adjust the appearance of your scans after the snap, no big deal. You can also capture your scans in an ordinary picture by choosing the ‘photo’ option. When you choose this option, the document will not be optimized as a document scan. If there are other items you want to scan into the same note, just place them in front of the camera. Once you are done with the scanning, just hit the save button on the bottom right corner. You can find all the folders containing your scanned documents on the ‘attachments icon’ in the Notes app.

Other Options

Aside from the Notes app, there are other options when it comes to scanning documents with your iOS device. You can uninstall the Notes app and replace it with a third-party receipt scanning app such as the ScanTicket Receipt Scanner. With ScanTicket Receipt Scanner, you can scan tickets, coupons and online orders right into the smartphone and use it to track your expenses. The ScanTicket app can be downloaded from App Store for free. Alternatively, get the ScanTicket Premium Pass subscription for $3.99 weekly or $19.99 yearly with some additional features.

Good Address