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.
Last updated: February 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 (25 SmartScans/month), a Collect plan ($5/member/month), and a Control plan ($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, put their email address in the subject line (and nothing else). The receipt will be filed to their account. Both users must have Copilot access configured.
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 > Contact Methods
- Click “Add Secondary Login”
- Enter your email and complete the Magic Code verification
Receipts sent from unverified addresses are silently dropped—no error message, they simply never appear.
Understand the One-Receipt-Per-Email Rule
Expensify recommends sending one receipt per email for reliable processing. While you can attach multiple files, each expense can only have one receipt image attached. Sending multiple receipts in one email can cause processing issues or missed items.
Check Your SmartScan Allowance
Free plan users get 25 SmartScans per month. After that, each scan costs $0.20. If you regularly forward more than 25 receipts/month, consider upgrading to a paid plan ($5/member/month for Collect) for unlimited scans. Check your remaining scans under Settings > Account > Account Details.
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 > 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 the receipt file (GIF, JPG, PNG, PDF, DOC, or RTF). Keep it to one receipt per email.
SmartScan processes the receipt
Expensify's SmartScan extracts the merchant name, date, amount, and currency from the receipt. Processing typically takes a few minutes but can take longer during peak times. An expense entry is automatically created in your account.
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 processed (convert to JPG first)
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.com with 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 solves both problems. It connects to your email via secure OAuth (no forwarding rules needed), uses AI to detect invoice emails from any vendor, and forwards them to receipts@expensify.com from your verified email address. No Gmail verification needed, no “From” header issues, and no manual forwarding. 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 (up to 30 files at once 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 > 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 failed or extracted 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.Free plan SmartScan limit reached
Free plan users get 25 SmartScans per month. After that, scans cost $0.20 each or stop processing entirely depending on your account settings. Check your usage under Settings > Account > Account Details. Consider upgrading to a paid plan for unlimited scans.
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 eliminates manual forwarding entirely. Connect your email once, and every invoice email is automatically detected and forwarded to receipts@expensify.com.
Connect your email
Link your work email using secure OAuth—we never see your password. Gmail, Outlook, and IMAP supported.
Set receipts@expensify.com as your destination
Enter receipts@expensify.com as your forwarding address in Expensent.
Done. Receipts flow automatically.
When a new invoice arrives that you've set to auto-forward, it goes straight to Expensify automatically.
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.
- Zero manual effort — No more hunting through your inbox to find and forward individual receipt emails
- AI-powered detection — Recognizes invoices from any vendor, not a fixed list. Catches receipts you'd forget to forward.
- Historical scanning — Finds past receipts in your inbox and forwards them retroactively. No more year-end scramble.
- 5-minute setup — Connect once, done forever
- 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 →
10. Frequently Asked Questions
Stop manually forwarding receipts to Expensify
Set up Expensent in 5 minutes. Every invoice email flows to receipts@expensify.com automatically—no Gmail forwarding hacks needed.
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