How to Email Receipts and Invoices to Payhawk
Configure the current group-level Mailbox, choose the right capture method, and route current and historical inbox documents to Payhawk.
Read this if…
Use this guide for setup, capture-method selection, limits, and operating design. If a document was already sent but did not match or process correctly, use the focused troubleshooting guide.
Related: Open Payhawk Mailbox troubleshooting
TL;DR
Current Payhawk help uses one group-level, company-generated Mailbox address. Copy it from Settings > Mailbox instead of using a legacy address from an old article.
Prove one direct send from the configured source mailbox, then inspect Payhawk confirmation, Pending, or error responses before adding Gmail, Outlook, or Expensent rules.
Expensent finds current and historical inbox documents and routes recurring sender and subject patterns. Payhawk controls processing, OCR, matching, bill creation, approvals, and payment.
In This Guide
- 1. Copy the current Payhawk Mailbox address
- 2. Confirm delivery from the source mailbox
- 3. Use the intake method that fits the source
- 4. Understand the Payhawk outcome
- 5. Stay within the current Mailbox limits
- 6. Choose the right recurring route
- 7. Connect the inbox to Payhawk
- 8. Sources checked
- 9. Related reading
- 10. Frequently asked questions
1. Copy the current Payhawk Mailbox address
A Payhawk Administrator opens the Group dashboard, goes to Settings > Mailbox, adds the source address, and copies the company-generated destination. Use the value shown in the live account instead of deriving an address from the company name.
Older Payhawk material may show paid@payhawk.me or unpaid@payhawk.me. Do not mix those legacy instructions with the current group-level Mailbox workflow unless the live account explicitly uses them.
Current address rule
Copy the destination from Group dashboard > Settings > Mailbox. Do not derive it from the company name, and do not substitute a legacy paid or unpaid address because it appears in an older article.
2. Confirm delivery from the source mailbox
Send one clear supported document directly from the address configured in Payhawk. A direct test establishes the sender, destination, and document path before a Gmail, Outlook, or Expensent rule is added.
Payhawk replies in the email thread and records Mailbox requests in Inbox. Use those results to distinguish a successful match, a new bill or expense, a Pending request, and a sender or document error.
3. Use the intake method that fits the source
The Mailbox fits receipts and invoices already in email. Payhawk also provides web upload, mobile capture, and Agent Fetch where available, so each document source can use one clear route.
Email routing is especially useful for recurring supplier invoices, travel receipts, and other documents that arrive across individual or shared inboxes. A portal notification without the document still needs the actual file or an eligible fetch path.
| Document source | Best-fit Payhawk path | What it handles | Main review point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receipt or invoice email | Payhawk Mailbox | Attached documents or useful receipt content in the email body | Configured sender, document evidence, entity, paid or unpaid result |
| File on a computer | Web portal upload | PDF, PNG, JPG, or JPEG through upload, drag-and-drop, or clipboard | Correct expense, first-document OCR suggestion, and file quality |
| Paper receipt | Mobile camera | Camera capture with edge adjustment and OCR suggestions | Legibility, final total, currency, date, and supplier |
| Image or PDF on a phone | Mobile gallery, file picker, or share action | Existing mobile files without emailing them again | Owner, target expense, orientation, and duplicate risk |
| Document stored in a vendor portal | Agent Fetch when available | Online retrieval after vendor authorization and access checks | Feature availability, expense ownership, login, CAPTCHA, and vendor storage |
4. Understand the Payhawk outcome
For paid documents, Payhawk can match the evidence to an existing expense. For unpaid invoices, it can create a bill expense. An unmatched document can remain available as a Pending Mailbox request for manual association.
Payhawk owns entity selection, matching, OCR, owner assignment, expense or bill creation, approvals, and payments. The source document remains the basis for confirming those downstream details.
5. Stay within the current Mailbox limits
Payhawk currently lists PDF, PNG, JPG, and JPEG for the Mailbox, along with separately documented eInvoice formats. Password-protected, corrupt, or renamed files need to be corrected at the source.
The current error documentation sets a maximum of 40 attachments, 20 MB combined, and less than 10 MB per file. Payhawk processes multiple attachments separately and can parse receipt evidence in the email body when there is no attachment.
| Mailbox check | Current documented rule | Safer operating response |
|---|---|---|
| Attachment count | No more than 40 attachments | Send smaller batches and verify each response before continuing |
| Combined size | No more than 20 MB | Compress or split the package, or use the web portal |
| Single-file size | Below 10 MB | Reduce the file without making financial evidence unreadable |
| Common formats | PDF, PNG, JPG, and JPEG | Convert unsupported files from the original source and keep that source |
| Several attachments | Processed as separate documents | Combine related support carefully when one accounting document should remain one package |
6. Choose the right recurring route
Payhawk publishes Gmail and Outlook forwarding instructions for stable supplier streams. These native rules fit future messages when the sender and document pattern are already known.
Expensent adds inbox discovery, historical catch-up, cross-mailbox visibility, and rules built from a proven sender and subject pattern. Payhawk remains the destination and continues to apply its sender, security, document, and matching rules.
A useful division of work
Use Payhawk-native rules for known future supplier streams. Use Expensent to find historical documents, connect multiple inboxes, and automate recurring sender and subject patterns before Payhawk.
7. Connect the inbox to Payhawk
After a direct Mailbox test succeeds, connect the source Gmail or Outlook inbox to Expensent and save the exact Payhawk destination shown for the organization.
Expensent can find current and historical receipt emails, send selected source messages, and automate recurring patterns through a narrow sender and subject rule.
Use one route for each recurring source so the same supplier message is not also forwarded by overlapping Gmail, Outlook, or Payhawk automation.
- 1Configure the group-level Payhawk Mailbox and copy the generated destination.
- 2Send one direct test from the exact source address and read Payhawk's response.
- 3Connect that source inbox to Expensent and save the verified Payhawk destination.
- 4Forward one reviewed Action Center item and confirm the Payhawk result.
- 5Create a narrow recurring rule only after the full path works.
- 6Monitor Mailbox requests, duplicates, and Pending items during the first cycle.
8. Sources checked
These sources were used to verify product behavior, current terminology, and the boundaries between native workflows and Expensent.
- Payhawk Help: Overview of the Mailbox
- Payhawk Help: Configuring the Mailbox
- Payhawk Help: Mailbox FAQ
- Payhawk Help: Mailbox error messages
- Payhawk Help: Supported file formats
- Payhawk Help: Supported file format FAQ
- Payhawk Help: Managing documents in the web portal
- Payhawk Help: Managing documents in the mobile app
- Payhawk Help: Agent Fetch
10. Frequently asked questions
What is the Payhawk receipt or invoice email address?
Current Payhawk help documents one group-level Mailbox with a company-generated address on the @invoices.payhawk.com domain. A Payhawk Administrator configures it under the Group dashboard in Settings > Mailbox. Copy the exact address shown instead of constructing it from the company name.
Are paid@payhawk.me and unpaid@payhawk.me still the right addresses?
Those addresses appear in older employee-level Payhawk documentation. Current Mailbox help instead describes a group-level company-generated address that handles paid and unpaid documents. Follow the live account settings and ask the Payhawk Administrator or Payhawk support about any legacy workflow still visible to the organization.
What happens after an invoice reaches the Payhawk Mailbox?
Payhawk attempts to identify the entity and determine whether the document relates to a paid or unpaid expense. A paid document can be matched to an existing card transaction expense. An unpaid invoice can create a new bill expense with OCR-suggested fields. The sender receives a success, Pending, or error response.
Can the Payhawk Mailbox process a receipt in the email body?
Yes. Current Payhawk help says the Mailbox can parse the email body when there is no attachment, with an Uber receipt given as an example. A bare confirmation or portal link is not automatically useful evidence, so review body-only messages before routing them.
Which attachment types does the Payhawk Mailbox accept?
Payhawk currently lists PDF for documents and PNG, JPG, or JPEG for image attachments. Supported eInvoice formats have separate rules. Password-protected files are not supported. Confirm the current format page if a connected accounting system or eInvoice format is involved.
How many files can one Mailbox email contain?
Current Payhawk error documentation allows up to 40 attachments, requires the combined size not to exceed 20 MB, and requires each file to be below 10 MB. Payhawk treats multiple attachments as separate documents rather than merging them automatically.
Does Payhawk support Gmail and Outlook forwarding rules?
Yes. Payhawk publishes setup instructions for Gmail custom filters and Outlook rules. Gmail requires forwarding-address verification. Outlook uses Forward as attachment. Test direct delivery first so sender authentication and Mailbox configuration are known to work before diagnosing the rule.
What does Expensent add to the Payhawk Mailbox?
Expensent finds current and historical receipt emails, routes them from the connected mailbox, and automates recurring sender and subject patterns. Payhawk continues with OCR, matching, bill creation, approvals, payments, Agent Fetch, and accounting sync.
Route inbox documents to Payhawk
Expensent finds current and historical receipt emails and routes recurring patterns to the Payhawk destination your organization configured.
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