Smart Receipts
Snap receipts and log miles on the phone, then export a PDF or CSV. No QuickBooks sync.
Best for
Freelancers and field workers who want one phone app for receipts plus miles, then a PDF or CSV they email to a CPA or an employer.
Not ideal if
Anyone who needs a live QuickBooks Online or Xero connector, a team reimbursement workflow, a mail-in paper service, or a replacement ledger.
Standout
A long-lived phone report builder (receipts plus distance) with a customizable PDF, and Pro-only cloud backup after the 2024 ownership change.
About Smart Receipts
Smart Receipts is a phone-first receipt and mileage log, not a ledger. You snap a paper receipt, import a photo or PDF, or type the line. On Pro, the app reads merchant, date, total, and tax, and you can forward an e-receipt to a unique address. You drop receipts and trips into reports, then export PDF, CSV, or ZIP and email that file to a CPA or an employer. Close still happens in QuickBooks Online or Xero if you keep books there. There is no documented publish button.
It does not replace QuickBooks Online or Xero. Expensify reimburses a team and can sync coded reports into those books. Neat is a searchable cabinet that can send reviewed items to QuickBooks Online. Dext is the bookkeeper-grade capture tool that publishes into QuickBooks Online or Xero. Everlance is GPS mileage first. Smart Receipts' job is a traveler or field worker's report: snap, log miles, export a PDF.
People who stick have used it for years on the phone, like the customizable PDF, and want one app for receipts plus distance. They stay after the 2024 ownership change if they will pay Pro for cloud backup and a restore on a new phone. Long-time free users often leave when a new device will not restore without a subscription.
What people who used it say
What they tend to like
Trip receipts become a PDF the same day
Travelers snap as they go, keep work and personal in separate reports, and email the PDF from the phone instead of rebuilding a report after the trip.
One app for receipts and miles
Field and vehicle users like logging distance next to the receipt instead of keeping a second mileage app.
The PDF is customizable enough for a boss
Long-time users stay for report layout control and a file an employer or CPA will open.
What they hesitate about
The 2024 subscription change gated backups
After REACTIVE APPS CORP. took over, local backup/restore disappeared. Play and App Store reviewers say a new phone will not sync old reports without Pro.
Sync and inbox receipts go missing
2026 store reviews describe receipts that scan as done, then sit in an unattached inbox or vanish across devices.
Free feels thinner than the homepage
Some 2026 reviewers say they cannot create a new monthly report or view a basic total without paying, which is tighter than the official Free card.
How it hits your books
- Replaces your ledger
- No
- QuickBooks Online
- No
- Xero
- No
- Multi-entity
- No
- Inventory
- No
- 1099s
- No
- Payroll
- No
Close is still in QuickBooks Online, Xero, or a spreadsheet. You review receipts and trips in reports, export PDF or CSV, and type or import those lines yourself. Max can pull US/Canada bank lines into Smart Receipts; that feed does not write back to the ledger.
Email a PDF (images attached on mobile full-report export), a CSV, or a ZIP. The web portal export is CSV or a PDF without images. Smart Receipts does not e-file the return or 1099s and does not open a QuickBooks file.
Images
Features
Snap, import, or type a receipt
Photograph a paper receipt, import an image or PDF, or type merchant, amount, tax, currency, and payment method. Help puts AI receipt scanning and recognition on Pro and Max. Free is manual entry plus categories. You still review the extract before it goes into a report.
Email forwarding (Pro and Max)
On Pro, enable forwarding in the menu and copy a unique app address (help: the address cannot be changed). Forward an image or screenshot of the receipt. A January 2026 note says attachments are capped around 20–25 MB and new items land in an inbox you confirm.
Distance and mileage in the same report
Log trips next to receipts. Free includes distance logging. Help puts automatic distance calculation (map points) on Pro and Max. Export miles with the same PDF, CSV, or ZIP as the receipts. This is a log you type into a reimbursement or Schedule C, not a payroll mileage system.
Reports as PDF, CSV, or ZIP
Group receipts and trips into reports (folders), then export. Mobile formats: full PDF with images, images-only PDF, CSV, ZIP of files, or ZIP plus a PDF summary. Web export is CSV or a PDF without images. Help lists PDF/CSV/ZIP on Free. The homepage FAQ still says Pro adds PDF or CSV export, so confirm the gate at signup.
Cloud backup and the web portal (Pro)
Free and LITE store data on the device only. Help (12 Jul 2026): Pro and Max back up to US Amazon AWS and sync across phones, plus the web portal. There is no manual backup file. Switching phones without Pro means the old local data does not come with you.
Bank lines and statement import (Max)
Max adds bank connections for the US and Canada, plus bulk receipt import and statement recognition. App Store notes (May 2026) name Plaid for the bank login. Homepage: connections are read-only. This is an import into Smart Receipts, not a live QuickBooks or Xero feed.
Pricing
A typical one-person shop that wants AI scan, email-in, and a restore on a new phone pays $99.99 a year for Pro on the web ($8.33/mo billed yearly) or $12.99 month-to-month. Max is $139 a year or $17.99/month if you want Plaid bank lines (US and Canada only). Free is $0 but local-only. In-app prices can differ (Apple lists weekly Pro, OCR packs, and a $29.99 Plus SKU). A 5-person shop is still five phones, not a published per-seat plan. Help also names a LITE tier (ad-free, full report customization) with no public dollar amount on the homepage.
Free
Solo users who will type receipts and miles and keep the data on one phone.
- Manual receipt creation
- Distance logging
- Basic report customization and categories
- Export PDF, CSV, and ZIP (per help; homepage FAQ still ties export to Pro)
- Local storage only; no cloud restore
Pro
Travelers and field workers who want AI scan, email-in, cloud backup, and the web app. 7-day trial in the mobile app.
- Everything in Free (and LITE: ad-free plus full report customization)
- AI receipt scanning and recognition
- Email forwarding
- Automatic cloud backup and web portal
- Automatic currency conversion and map-point distance
Max
Same report workflow, plus US/Canada bank import and statement recognition.
- Everything in Pro
- Bank connections (US and Canada)
- Import multiple receipts
- Statement recognition
Integrations
Platforms
Audience
Pick something else instead of Smart Receipts
Expensify
Pick Expensify instead if employees snap receipts and need approvals, reimbursements, and a documented sync into QuickBooks Online or Xero. Smart Receipts stops at the PDF or CSV.
Neat
Pick Neat instead if you want a searchable receipt cabinet that can send reviewed items to QuickBooks Online. Smart Receipts has no documented QBO connector.
Everlance
Pick Everlance instead if the job is automatic GPS mileage first and a CSV or PDF log for taxes. Smart Receipts logs distance, but auto map-point calculation is a Pro feature, not background trip detection.