Getting Set up to Track Paper Receipts

Choose Your Process:

Paper receipts are a pain in the neck! Short of keeping an envelope with you at all times, it can be hard to make sure that you've gathered all the receipts you need.

Review the two options below, then continue to the appropriate part of this checklist.

Option 1: Store physical receipts in your wallet, then collect & Organize them at the end of the week

• Pros: You don't have to remember to take a picture at the point of sale, and you retain paper receipts if needed for returns.
• Cons: Receipts can take up a lot of space in your wallet!

Option 2: Take a picture of the paper receipt with your Smartphone at the point of sale (or when you get in your car)

• Pros: You don't have to worry about keeping paper around, and you don't need an "end of the week" cleanup step.
• Cons: You absolutely must remember to take a photo of every receipt at the point of sale. (This is a biggie!)

After you've made your decision, click on the appropriate heading in this checklist (on the left) and I'll take you through the steps in getting set up!

You've chosen to collect your receipts throughout the week and then organize them once a week. Sounds good!

First, choose a physical location where you will keep your receipts. That's all you have to do in this step - is make the choice!

Hint: I strongly recommend you put them in your wallet / purse. Why? Because it's one of the few things you'll almost certainly have with you, no matter where you go and make purchases.

Got a location chosen?  Mark this done!

Now that you've chosen a trusty physical location to keep your receipts, you'll need to setup a weekly process to go and get all of those receipts and log them.

Good Ways to Get Reminded:

• If you use Google Apps, create a recurring event invitation. Set it to send you an email when the "event" occurs.
• If you use a project manager for your business, create a weekly recurring task to reconcile receipts.

Wherever you document this, I highly recommend you also include instructions / steps on how to do it. No matter what, the purpose of this weekly step is to take those paper receipts and document / save them somewhere digitally so you no longer have to store / organize / worry about paper.

Digitize Those Receipts!

1. Either scan them, take a picture with your phone, or mail them to a receipt tracking service. (I highly recommend using a receipt tracking app on your phone to take pictures of them)
2. Then throw away the paper receipts (Really, you can!)

Look at you, you tech savvy, smartphone-toting machine! You've committed to take a quick photo of your receipts right away after you make purchases.