Expense receipt processing and categorization

Purpose

1.1. Automate extraction, validation, optical character recognition (OCR), and categorization of expense receipts for the finance function in a Puerto Rican restaurant.
1.2. Automate classification of expenditures into preset accounting categories (e.g., food inventory, supplies, utilities) and push data instantly to accounting/reporting systems.
1.3. Automator ensures digital storage, audit traceability, analytics, and reconciliation-ready data for business intelligence and compliance.
1.4. End-to-end automation enables faster, more accurate tracking and reporting of operational costs, supporting analytics for profitability and budget optimization.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. Receipt image is emailed to a specific address, uploaded to a cloud folder, or captured via mobile app.
2.2. Scheduled automatable sync from POS receipts export.
2.3. Auto-pull of expense reports from email or third-party supplier feed triggers the workflow.

Platform Variants

3.1. Dropbox
• Feature/Setting: “File Added” event triggers automation when a receipt is added to a designated folder; sample: configure webhook on receipt folder.
3.2. Google Drive
• Feature/Setting: “New File in Folder” triggers event; configure Google Drive API with folder watch for new receipts.
3.3. Microsoft Outlook
• Feature/Setting: Automate monitoring of inbox with rule; use Outlook API to auto-download attachments tagged as “Receipt.”
3.4. Gmail
• Feature/Setting: Gmail API; ‘new email with attachment’ filtered with subject “Receipt” triggers automation.
3.5. Zapier
• Feature/Setting: Automation “Zap” with Gmail/Drive/Sheets integration; select ‘New Attachment’ to initiate OCR/API flow.
3.6. Make (Integromat)
• Feature/Setting: Upload receipt as scenario trigger; leverage HTTP module for OCR call.
3.7. Docparser
• Feature/Setting: “Document Uploaded” webhook; configure parser rules for line-item extraction and category mapping.
3.8. Rossum
• Feature/Setting: API for automating document capture/OCR; configure workflow for categorization of restaurant expenses.
3.9. Xero
• Feature/Setting: “Files” and “Receipts” endpoint API; automate push of processed receipts directly into Xero account category.
3.10. QuickBooks Online
• Feature/Setting: Receipt Capture API; ingest new processed expense data into transaction records.
3.11. Expensify
• Feature/Setting: Receipts SmartScan workflow; automate upload & extract, use API for pushing categorized data to reports.
3.12. Receipt Bank (Dext)
• Feature/Setting: Inbox/watch folder by email or API; automate push-pull with restaurant expense categories synchronized.
3.13. Google Vision API
• Feature/Setting: OCR endpoint; automate call from cloud platform with new image file payload for data extraction.
3.14. AWS Textract
• Feature/Setting: StartDocumentTextDetection API; automate invocation on new receipts for OCR and structuring.
3.15. Microsoft Azure Form Recognizer
• Feature/Setting: Form Recognizer API; automate job trigger for text reading and data structuring.
3.16. Slack
• Feature/Setting: Automate workflow by uploading receipt image to a monitored channel; trigger custom automator app for extraction.
3.17. Trello
• Feature/Setting: Auto-card creation on board for each receipt; use Power-Ups/API to extract and tag receipts by category.
3.18. Notion
• Feature/Setting: New database entry via API for each receipt; automate parsing and tagging in Notion finance table.
3.19. Google Sheets
• Feature/Setting: New row trigger; automate OCR extraction and push expense line to designated sheet for analytics.
3.20. Smartsheet
• Feature/Setting: Automated row creation per new receipt upload; configure category tagging via workflow automation.
3.21. Airtable
• Feature/Setting: “New Record” trigger; OCR data sent to Airtable with auto-categorization by API.
3.22. Salesforce
• Feature/Setting: Automated lead/case creation for each expense; attach scanned receipt and categorize using Financial Services cloud triggers.

Benefits

4.1. Automated receipt processing reduces manual workload and error rates.
4.2. Automates compliance by ensuring all receipts are captured and categorized consistently.
4.3. Automatable data flows accelerate reconciliation and enable real-time analytics.
4.4. Automated reporting strengthens financial oversight for restaurant management.
4.5. Automator improves expense visibility, allowing more strategic spend decisions.
4.6. End-to-end automation enables scalable finance operations, supporting growth of Puerto Rican restaurant business model.