How to Email Receipts to Expensify
The complete guide to Expensify's receipt email system, SmartScan requirements, why Gmail auto-forward doesn't work, file formats, troubleshooting, and how to automate the whole process.
By ilios Galil · Founder, Expensent
Published February 28, 2026 · Updated April 22, 2026
In This Guide
- 1. What is Expensify?
- 2. Expensify Receipt Email: receipts@expensify.com
- 3. Prerequisites: Before You Email Receipts
- 4. Step-by-Step: How to Email a Receipt to Expensify
- 5. File Format and Size Requirements
- 6. Why Gmail Auto-Forward Doesn't Work
- 7. All Receipt Submission Methods
- 8. Common Issues and Troubleshooting
- 9. Automate It with Expensent
- 10. Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Expensify?
Expensify is one of the most popular expense management platforms, used by millions of individuals and businesses worldwide. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Expensify helps users track expenses, scan receipts, manage corporate card spending, and submit expense reports.
Expensify's signature feature is SmartScan—an AI-powered OCR engine that extracts merchant names, dates, amounts, and currencies from receipt images. SmartScan supports 150+ currencies and works with photos, PDFs, and forwarded email receipts.
Expensify offers a free plan (limited SmartScans/month), a Collect plan ($5/member/month), and a Control plan (starting at $9/member/month) for organizations needing advanced approval workflows and compliance controls. This guide focuses on the email receipt forwarding workflow—how to get receipts into Expensify via receipts@expensify.com.
2. Expensify Receipt Email: receipts@expensify.com
Expensify provides a single receipt email address for all users:
receipts@expensify.com — SmartScan Receipt Intake
Send or forward receipt emails to receipts@expensify.com. Expensify's SmartScan engine processes the receipt, extracts the merchant name, date, amount, and currency, and creates an expense entry in your account.
- •Accepts GIF, JPG, PNG, PDF, DOC, and RTF attachments
- •Automatically extracts expense data via SmartScan OCR
- •Matches receipts to linked card transactions when possible
- •Routes to your account based on the sender's email address
Copilot mode:If you're submitting receipts on behalf of another user, the account holder must grant you Copilot access in their Expensify settings. Once granted, use Expensify's Copilot feature, which gives you delegated access to their account directly — see Expensify's Copilot documentation for the current setup path.
Important: Expensify identifies your account by the sender's email address. If you send from an email that isn't your primary login or a verified secondary login, the receipt will not appear in your account—and you won't get an error message.
3. Prerequisites: Before You Email Receipts
Before emailing your first receipt to Expensify, make sure these requirements are met.
Verify Your Sending Email Address
Expensify routes receipts to your account based on the sender's email. Your sending email must be either your primary login or a verified secondary login.
- Go to the Expensify website (not the mobile app)
- Navigate to Settings > Account > Profile > Contact Methods
- Click “Add Contact Method”
- Enter your email and complete the Magic Code verification
Receipts sent from unverified addresses are silently dropped—no error message, they simply never appear.
Keep Each Submission Clean
Expensify works best when each emailed submission clearly maps to one expense. If a receipt spans multiple pages, combine them into one PDF. Avoid bundling unrelated receipts into a single message.
Know What Is Free vs. Workspace-Only
Current Expensify help says personal accounts include unlimited free SmartScans and receipt forwarding. Paid workspaces are still the place for categories, tags, accounting integrations, approval flows, and card programs.
Remove Image-Heavy Email Signatures
Email signatures that contain embedded images (logos, social media icons, headshots) can confuse SmartScan. The OCR engine may attempt to process the signature images as receipt content, leading to errors or failed scans. Consider removing or simplifying your email signature when forwarding receipts.
4. Step-by-Step: How to Email a Receipt to Expensify
Once your email is verified, here's how to send a receipt to Expensify:
Verify your email in Expensify
Ensure your sending email is your primary login or a verified secondary login. Go to Settings > Account > Profile > Contact Methods on the Expensify website to add and verify addresses. This must be done from the web—not the mobile app.
Forward or compose the receipt email
Option A: Forward the original email. Simply forward the receipt email to receipts@expensify.com. SmartScan will process both the email body content and any file attachments.
Option B: Compose a new email. Create a new email to receipts@expensify.com and attach a clear receipt image or PDF. If a receipt has multiple pages, combine them into one PDF before you send it.
SmartScan processes the receipt
Expensify's SmartScan reads the receipt details and creates an expense entry in your account. Processing often takes a few minutes, but it can take longer during busy periods or when the receipt needs more review.
Verify in your Expensify account
Open Expensify (web or mobile) and check that the expense appears in your Expenses tab with the correct extracted data. Review the merchant name, amount, and date. Edit any fields that SmartScan may have misread—common with blurry photos or unusual receipt formats.
5. File Format and Size Requirements
Expensify accepts a wider range of file formats than most expense platforms.
Accepted Formats
- •JPG / JPEG— Image files
- •PNG— Image files
- •GIF— Image files
- •PDF— Document files
- •DOC / DOCX— Converted to image
- •RTF— Converted to image
Limitations
- •10 MB max— Per file size limit
- •1 receipt per expense— Multi-page must be one PDF
- •XLS / CSV— Not processed
- •HEIC— Not accepted via email intake (convert to JPG first, or upload directly in the New Expensify mobile app)
Multi-page receipts: If your receipt spans multiple pages, combine them into a single PDF before emailing. Each expense entry in Expensify can only have one receipt image attached. Sending multiple individual pages will create separate expenses.
6. Why Gmail Auto-Forward Doesn't Work
One of the most common frustrations with Expensify's email receipt system is that Gmail's native auto-forwarding cannot be used. Here's why:
The Verification Problem
Gmail requires you to verify the forwarding address before activating auto-forward. It sends a confirmation email to receipts@expensify.comwith a verification link. But you don't have access to Expensify's inbox to click that link—so the verification can never be completed.
The “From” Header Problem
Even if you could complete the verification, Gmail's auto-forward preserves the original sender's “From” address. This means a receipt from billing@amazon.com arrives at Expensify with “From: billing@amazon.com”—not your email. Expensify can't match it to your account because it doesn't recognize the sender.
What About Gmail Filters?
Gmail filters can forward emails matching certain criteria, but they have the same verification requirement. Google Workspace admins can configure email routing rules as a workaround, but this requires admin access and affects the entire domain—not practical for individual users.
Outlook Has Similar Limitations
Outlook's auto-forward rules work differently but still face the same core issue: forwarded emails retain the original sender's identity, and there's no native way to forward selectively only receipt emails. Setting up Outlook rules for Expensify requires manual maintenance of sender lists that quickly becomes unmanageable.
The Solution: Expensent
Expensent helps with both problems. It connects to your email via secure OAuth (no forwarding rules needed), surfaces invoices and receipt emails it identifies, and helps you forward them to receipts@expensify.com from your verified email address. That cuts out the Gmail verification trap and makes future similar emails easier to route. See Section 9 for setup details ↓
7. All Receipt Submission Methods
Expensify offers several ways to submit receipts beyond email. Here's how they compare:
Email to receipts@expensify.com
Forward or send receipt emails with file attachments. Best for digital receipts that arrive in your email inbox. This is the method that Expensent automates.
Mobile App (Camera)
Open the Expensify mobile app and use the camera to scan physical receipts. SmartScan processes the photo automatically. Best for paper receipts at restaurants, stores, and in-person purchases.
Web Upload
On the Expensify website, click “New Expense” and upload a receipt file. Supports drag-and-drop and batch uploads on the web interface. Best for catching up on accumulated receipts.
SMS (US Only)
Text a receipt photo to 47777(US only). Your phone number must be added as a contact method in your Expensify account first. Best for quick capture when you don't have the app handy.
Manual Entry
Create an expense manually by entering the merchant, amount, date, and category. No receipt image required (though your company policy may require one). Best as a fallback when no receipt is available.
Key insight:None of Expensify's built-in submission methods automatically capture receipts from your email inbox. You must manually identify each receipt email and forward it, scan a physical receipt with your camera, or upload a file. Expensent is a purpose-built way to fully automate the email receipt workflow.
8. Common Issues and Troubleshooting
If your receipts aren't appearing or processing correctly in Expensify, work through these checks:
1.Email not verified in Expensify
Most common cause. Go to Settings > Account > Profile > Contact Methods on the Expensify website and confirm your sending address is listed and verified. Receipts from unverified emails are silently dropped—no error notification.
2.SmartScan processing delay
SmartScan typically processes receipts within a few minutes, but during peak times it can take hours. If a receipt hasn't appeared after 30 minutes, check the Expenses tab—it may show as “Scanning...” at the top of your list. Wait before re-sending, as duplicates can cause issues.
3.SmartScan extracted incomplete or wrong data
If SmartScan reads the wrong amount, date, or merchant, you can manually edit the expense. Common causes include blurry images, unusual receipt layouts, non-standard fonts, or country-specific date formats. If SmartScan fails entirely, the expense appears as “SmartScan Failed” and requires manual data entry.
4.Attachment or forward was reformatted badly
The original receipt may have been stripped, compressed, or converted awkwardly in transit. When possible, forward the vendor's original PDF or attach a clear receipt image instead of a screenshot or heavily reformatted file.
5.Email signature interfering with scan
Email signatures with embedded images (company logos, social media icons, headshots) can confuse SmartScan. The OCR engine may try to process the signature as receipt content. Remove or simplify your signature when forwarding receipts, or use Expensent to forward receipts without signature interference.
6.Duplicate receipt detected
If you forward the same receipt twice, Expensify may flag it as a duplicate or create two expense entries. Check your Expenses tab for duplicate entries before re-sending. If you see duplicate expenses, delete the extra one manually.
7.Secondary login must be added from web
Adding secondary login emails (contact methods) can only be done from the Expensify website—not the mobile app. If you're trying to add a new sending email from your phone, switch to the web browser version at expensify.com.
9. Automate It with Expensent
Expensent gives you a cleaner inbox-to-Expensify workflow. Connect your inbox, review the invoices and receipt emails it identifies, forward the right ones to receipts@expensify.com with one click, and create rules from real emails for future similar invoices. The Action Center catches what rules do not cover.
Connect your email
Link your work email using secure OAuth—your password is never shared. Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook, Microsoft 365, and IMAP supported.
Set receipts@expensify.com as your destination
Enter receipts@expensify.com as your forwarding address in Expensent.
Review matches and automate future similar emails
After you approve a rule from a real email, future similar invoices can be forwarded with much less manual work.
Why Expensent + Expensify is Better Than Manual Forwarding
- Solves the Gmail/Outlook problem — No forwarding rules or verification needed. Bypasses the Gmail auto-forward limitation entirely.
- Less manual inbox sorting — review what Expensent found instead of rebuilding the receipt queue from scratch every month
- AI-assisted detection — identifies invoice and receipt emails beyond a fixed sender list, then lets you review what should be forwarded.
- Historical review — pick a date range and review past inbox results so you can catch up on older receipts without rebuilding filters.
- Short setup — connect your inbox and create rules from real emails
- Paper receipt capture — Phone camera scanner with edge detection for paper receipts — forward them alongside email invoices
- AI price extraction — Automatically reads amount, currency, and recipient from PDF, JPG, and PNG attachments
- Fine-grained control — CC your team, add vendor notes, filter by attachment type, skip $0 invoices, or block senders you don't need
Want to see how the integration works in detail? See the Expensify Integration Page →
More Expensify deep-dives
10. Frequently Asked Questions
Can you email receipts to Expensify?
How does Expensify SmartScan work?
Why are my emailed receipts not showing up in Expensify?
How do I add a secondary login email in Expensify?
Does Expensify accept PDF receipts by email?
Can I auto-forward receipts from Gmail to Expensify?
What is the Expensify Copilot feature for email receipts?
How many free SmartScans does Expensify give?
Can I forward receipts from multiple email addresses?
Can Expensent automatically forward receipts to Expensify?
Should I include notes or comments in the email body when forwarding to Expensify?
What is the difference between Expensify Classic and New Expensify?
Stop manually forwarding receipts to Expensify
Connect your inbox, review the invoices and receipt emails Expensent identifies, and send the right ones to receipts@expensify.com with one click. Future similar invoices can be handled by the rules you approve.
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