Receipts are vital evidence for expenses, income reporting, and tax documentation. Businesses are required to maintain accurate financial records, and receipts act as proof of purchases. However, properly storing physical receipts can be challenging.
Businesses like Telekom already offer their employees internal apps where they can digitally submit receipts for cash expenses.
However, simply taking a picture of a receipt is not enough – low image quality often makes them unsuitable for automatic processing. Consequently, employees have to transfer the data manually, which is error-prone and only adds to their workload.
In this article, we explore how modern OCR technology addresses these challenges and streamlines receipt management.
Challenges in receipt management
Although digital receipts are spreading, paper receipts are still the default choice.
The most common type is made out of thermal paper coated with a heat-sensitive chemical, which turns black when exposed to heat. The color is, however, prone to fading quickly. This short-livedness makes correct storage of these receipts crucial.
Receipts on plain paper, as those typically printed in offices, are less sensitive to heat and light – but are still vulnerable to liquids and tearing. Like thermal paper receipts, they should be stored immediately.
Paper receipts accumulate quickly, and maintaining a receipt management system can be laborious. They occupy space in filing cabinets, which makes them harder to locate than digital receipts, if they don’t get lost in the first place. Paper receipts pose a host of challenges for both employees and individuals – which calls for a different approach.
Luckily, although they differ in materials, paper receipts usually have one thing in common: They are fairly standardized. They often come in similarly structured formats with a predictable layout and standard font types. This makes them ideal targets for digital storage through automated data extraction with OCR technology.
Streamline workflows with digital receipt management
OCR technology can extract typewritten text from structured documents and turn it into key-value pairs. The result is machine-readable data that can then be automatically processed in a back-office system. Storing receipts in digitized form minimizes the danger of damage and loss.
Safer storage is not the only benefit. OCR technology is also useful for bookkeeping and other administrative procedures – it is not only faster than manual data transfers, but also much less error-prone. This, in turn, reduces the need for human intervention. All you need is a receipt scanner and a back-office system.
Today, thanks to OCR scanner software, any regular smart device can become a receipt scanner. One quick scan, and a receipt will be uploaded and safely stored with minimal effort.
Features to look for in an OCR receipt scanner
Besides the OCR software proper, modern receipt scanners include additional features that further streamline the scanning process.
User-friendly interface
A user-friendly interface guides the user through the scanning process from start to finish. Intuitive design and AR overlays contribute to a smooth scanning experience by providing feedback on how to hold the smartphone and giving tips on how to achieve the perfect scan.
Automatic capture and cropping
Automation features save users even more time and effort. There is no button to press, since the auto-capture triggers as soon as the receipt is properly aligned in the viewfinder. They don’t have to concern themselves with fiddly image correction, as automatic cropping cuts the image into perfect shape.
High-quality input image
OCR engines demand high-quality image input, which makes image filters crucial. A receipt scanner should offer grayscale and binarization filters to enhance contrast between text and background, thus facilitating OCR text recognition.
Image quality control system
An image quality control system can give users immediate feedback on how suitable the scanned receipt is for further automatic processing. If the scan quality is too poor, the system prompts the user to retake the scan.
Key-value pair extraction
What sets OCR software apart from standard document scanners is its ability to return extracted data in key-value pairs. This ensures the data is fit for further processing in an app or back-office system, which is ideal for digital receipt management.
Build an accurate OCR receipt scanner app with the Scanbot SDK
The Scanbot Document Scanner SDK utilizes state-of-the-art OCR software to extract text information accurately from structured documents and return it in key-value pairs. Its advanced features, like user guidance, smart capture, and automatic cropping, make it a perfect fit for any app, whether customer-facing or for back-office systems. Custom filters tailor the results to the needs of any specific use case.
The SDK comes with a Document Quality Analyzer (DQA). This feature evaluates input images and immediately prompts users to retake the scan if they fail to meet a preset threshold. The combination of these powerful features makes the Document Scanner SDK a dependable receipt scanner.
Try it for yourself in our free demo app! If you have any questions contact us at sdk@scanbot.io.
