Mid-Year Migration - Uploading Receipts
ExpensePlus will enable your team to work most efficiently if you provide staff and volunteers with access to submit their own purchases. Receipts can be uploaded, emailed, or photographed as part of this process.
When importing transactions mid-year via the process flow detailed in this help guide article, the expenditure records created will have no supporting paperwork attached.
This article covers the options that you have for uploading receipts retrospectively.
Note: Uploading receipts retrospectively differs from the regular process flow whereby a receipt or invoice is uploaded/emailed/photographed at the point a purchase is entered.
With both of the options detailed below, we'd recommend that you complete the data import process before you do this.
Option 1: Paper receipts
You may decide to keep all receipts prior to the date you start using ExpensePlus in live time outside of ExpensePlus in paper form.
If you choose to do this, please contact us using the 'send us a message' button above. We will mark receipts prior to the date at which you begin using ExpensePlus in live time as 'held outside of ExpensePlus' and bulk approve these transactions too.
The advantage of this option is that it's super quick, which is why many organisations choose it. It may be the best option for your church or charity if you don't have the time or resources needed to scan in all the receipts that you have.
The only downside to this option is that you won't have the receipts available on ExpensePlus to drill into and you will need to keep the paper receipts for 7 years.
Option 2: Batch uploading receipts
Whilst this option will take longer, it can be done over many months, and it does not delay you from using ExpensePlus in live time.
You could upload receipts one by one, but this is typically time-consuming. If you are photographing receipts (using your phone), then you would find the purchase for which you wish to upload a receipt on the receipts screen, click the button to the right of the receipt, and then choose the 'upload now' option and click to take a photograph.
Top tip: if choosing the batch upload receipts option, you may want to temporarily disable approvals in ExpensePlus until you have uploaded, bank-matched and allocated receipts for all historic transactions. You can then enable approvals again when you begin your usual process flow in ExpensePlus for submitting purchases.
Most organisations, however, choose to batch upload receipts using the process detailed below:
(1) Create a folder of receipts - you can either scan in paper receipts to create digital .pdf files (one file per receipt), or photograph paper receipts. There is no need to rename or number the digital receipt files.
Note: If you need to combine more than one receipt into the same file for a purchase then there are many free websites that allow you to do this - one of which is ilovepdf.com.
(2) Batch Upload - Within the receipts screen, click the 'Batch Upload' button, and in the popup that appears, select the 'choose files' button. Follow the instructions within the popup to select all of the files you wish to upload at the same time!
If you do not see the 'Batch Upload' button on your receipts screen, you need to enable this system setting in your System Settings screen. Once you're on this screen, scroll down to the part headlined 'Receipts' and clicking on the editing button to the right, select 'Enabled' under the 'Batch Upload Receipts' heading.
(3) Match uploaded receipts - Click the tick button to the right of the purchase to connect the digital receipt to that purchase. Then check the receipt is correct on the next screen you are taken to, before repeating with the next digital receipt. This process is quick and easy and saves you from having to rename each digital file and individually upload each one to the correct purchase.
To help you better understand the Receipts module as a whole, please visit the module overview page here.