SkanHow to scan receipts on iPhone
To scan a receipt with nothing extra, open the Files app, tap the More button, then Scan Documents, and save the PDF in a folder such as Receipts. That gives you a picture of the receipt, not its numbers. If you need the date, total and VAT for expenses or bookkeeping, a scanner app that reads receipts saves the typing. Skan reads them on the iPhone and exports a CSV, without uploading anything.
Scan a receipt with the Files app
- Open Files, tap the More button (the three dots) and tap Scan Documents.
- Put the receipt on a dark surface and hold the phone above it until it’s captured. Drag the corners if needed and tap Keep Scan.
- Scan the next receipt as a new page, or tap Done.
- Choose a folder, for example iCloud Drive › Receipts, and tap Save.
Notes can scan the same way, and our guide shows every step in Files and Notes. A very long receipt can go in as two pages of the same PDF.
Tips for receipts
- Scan soon. Most till receipts are printed on thermal paper, which fades with heat, light and time.
- Flatten creases and use a dark, plain background so the edges of the narrow strip are found.
- Skip the flash if it leaves a glare on the paper; daylight works better.
- Name each file with the date and shop, such as “2026-10-12 Harbour Café”, so they sort by date.
- Ask your employer or accountant whether a scan is enough or the paper receipt must be kept too, and for how long.
Get the date, total and VAT out
A scan is only a picture. For an expense report or your accounts you need the numbers, and typing them in from every receipt is the slow part. Skan does that for you:
- Tap Skan and hold the camera over the receipt. Receipts you already have as photos or PDFs (from email, say) come in with the + button.
- Check the page and tap Save PDF. Skan reads the text and finds the total, VAT, date, shop and currency.
- When you have a batch, tap + › Export receipts (CSV).
The CSV has one row per receipt with the columns Date, Shop, Amount, VAT, Currency and Title, ready for Numbers, Excel, Google Sheets or your accounting app. Each receipt is also kept as a searchable PDF, so you can find it again by shop or amount.
Your receipts stay on your iPhone
Receipts show where you were and what you bought, and often the last digits of your card. Skan has no account, no ads and no server, and its App Store listing says “Data Not Collected”. Text recognition runs on the phone and works without internet. Skan knows the words for total and VAT in Danish, English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Korean, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian and Portuguese, and reads amounts in yen and won without decimals. Danish, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian receipts need iOS 26 or later. Got old scans without text? Here’s how to make a scanned PDF searchable.