The Receipts software has constantly evolved and it was time for the website to get a new look. But not only the appearance has changed, a lot of work has also been put into the details.

The new help

The entire help is now on one web page and can be easily printed out if required. The content is structured with sections that build on each other.

Besides the actual content, there is now a table of contents floating next to the text. It is easy to see which section you are in and main topics are easier to find.

Each heading now has a label that is part of the URL. This allows specific content to be accessed and easily shared, which in turn benefits support.

The new search

A new search form has also made it to the new website. All content can be accessed via it. Even inaccurate search terms should lead to useful results.

The new blog

And I am especially happy about the new blog. In the future, news and special features will be discussed in more detail here. But I would also like to talk about future developments and insights into current prototypes.

The blog is also a good place to present application examples for the daily use of receipts. Here I would be very pleased about examples of Receipts users. Please contact me via support.

Today PDFify.app was released, a small handy app to easily create PDFs from images, emails or web pages. Text recognition is started automatically when needed. An extensive dialog for scanners and cameras is also included.

In fact, PDFify’s features are components that are also used in receipts. Due to the voluntarily provided anonymous analysis data of Receipts, it could be recognized that scanned documents make up a considerable part of the processed documents. Likewise the text recognition is taken up extensively. Here again it showed up that the recognition rates can be still improved.

For this reason, the scanner and text recognition (OCR) areas have been revised and PDFify has now been created as a by-product in order to be able to check these features better.

These improvements and several new features are expected for a future major revision of Receipts. More information will be published in this blog. As always, feedback is welcome.

In line with the release of macOS 10.14 “Mojave” and the Dark Mode introduced there, Receipts graphical interface was revised accordingly.

PDFify

In the meantime, some features from Receipts have been used in a separate new app called PDFify. The optical text recognition was considerably accelerated and optimized there. The dialog for the import from the scanner has also been completely reworked. More on it in this blog article. All these improvements will flow back in one of the next versions of Receipts.

As always I am happy about constructive criticism and feedback. Also, public feedback about social media is always welcome. Here a small collection of possibilities. Thank you very much.

Text Recognition

As the evaluation of the anonymous voluntary user data has shown, the text recognition in Receipts is used a lot, but unfortunately failed far too often due to a slow algorithm. I took this as an opportunity to revise this area and test it first in the separate PDFify app. The results were very satisfying and so the new text recognition could now also find its way into Receipts.

The features to be emphasized are:

1. increase in the speed of text recognition
2. support for over 100 languages
3. graphical optimization of the input images

A corresponding area for the above settings has been added to the preferences:

Dark Mode

In Mojave’s Dark Mode Receipts cuts a good figure. With this release also the dashboard was adapted accordingly. Also many other adjustments have been made in order to get a more pleasing optical appearance:

Recently the new ScanSnap Home software of the popular desktop document scanner was published. The scanner can still be connected easily with Receipts and will achieve particularly good results for your daily document administration.

The following video describes the setup step by step:

An older video on YouTube is still available for setup with the old ScanSnap Manager.

Continuity Camera

A great feature of macOS and iOS allows you to use your iPhone or iPad camera to directly import new documents with the built-in document scanner. Simply open the new import menu in the toolbar and select the device. (Help)

New Scanner Dialog

Classic scanning has also been simplified with a modern dialog that displays all available devices. (Help)

Search for Amounts

Amounts can also be found separately according to income and expenditure. Comparisons are also possible: All revenues over 100 = >+100.

Other changes

• Update of the text recognition software
  • Choice between fastest and best detection
• Expansion of DATEV export
  • bug fixes
  • Export of payment date and IBAN
• Other bug fixes

From time to time VAT rates change and ideally the old as well as the new amounts should be recognized. Receipts offers a very flexible possibility to adjust them, as it is currently the case in Germany with the economic stimulus package due to Corona. Here the rates will be reduced from 19% to 16% and from 7% to 5% from 1 July 2020.

In Receipts, first open the “Settings” section and then the “General” section. Under “Tax rates”, the current values, separated by commas, are “19%, 7%”. These values can now be adjusted, i.e. by “19%, 16%, 7%, 5%”. Please note that the comma is used as decimal separator if a number follows directly after it. However, the values can also be entered more easily, separated only by spaces: “19 16 7 5”. The user interface updates itself immediately and all other places like reports and exports now also carry the new values.

It is recommended not to remove the old records (i.e. 19 and 7) for several reasons:

1. the previous assignments are then no longer listed individually for exports etc.
2. the automatic recognition of the values thus works for both old and new invoices.

Rarely have new computers been as impressive as the Apple Silicon devices. With MacBook Air, a fanless life has now become possible. I only noticed how much it disturbed me when the fan was gone. And the computer doesn’t even break into a sweat, even when demanding tasks have to be done!

Of course, Receipts is also to run perfectly on these devices and the new operating system macOS Big Sur is now supported. The new icon also reflects the new design of Big Sur.

You can see and evaluate these changes in the beta of Receipts. Please change the version loaded from the homepage in the settings to the corresponding updates. Or alternatively load it directly from here: receipts-app.com/beta

If everything runs stable, all Receipts users will receive an update within the next weeks.

With the latest update, we have improved the intelligent currency recognition and made the handling more comfortable and intuitive. Furthermore, we have extended Receipts with over 200 daily updated exchange rates.

Do you still remember the “good old days” before Euro? Long time ago… Did it also happen to you that you packed Belgian francs for your vacation in France? 😱🤣

As a new feature, Receipts now supports all “old” currencies that existed before the Euro at the officially set exchange rate. So you can see for yourself, if everything has really become more expensive now…

However, we don’t want to just reminisce about old memories, but have looked into the future by also including cryptocurrencies, such as BTC and ETH, in Receipts, which are updated on a daily basis - unfortunately not every minute.

Furthermore, we have expanded the exchange rate conversion in Receipts to over 200 daily updated exchange rates with the latest update. New are among others AED, ILS, UAH, and XDR.

Daily updated always means from the previous day, as we update our database after the central banks close for the night. Therefore, the amounts may differ slightly from the actual settled amounts. If this is the case, the amount can be corrected manually.

So that no one loses track of the multitude of new currencies, the already confirmed, i.e. used currencies are fixed at the top of the dropdown. The complete list of currencies is still sorted alphabetically in the dropdown menu. Like everywhere else in the macOS world, you can quickly get to the currency you want by selecting the initial letter(s). Or even simpler: You add the currency to the amount in the input field - either you set the 3-character code or a common currency sign like $, £ or €. This way you can also “copy-paste” the currency and have everything entered correctly. By the way, it doesn’t matter if the currency is before or after the amount.

Give it a try and Download Receipts 1.9.11 now.

This is new for you in this release…

You think it’s great to assign several tags to a document? But were you annoyed when you wanted to remove them? With Receipts Space 2.1 you can also remove individual tags quickly and easily in batch. To do this, drag the selected receipts onto the keyword you want to remove while holding down the ⌥ key. There may also be documents in the batch that do not contain the tag to be removed.

Do you do business in the UK, Asia, Australia or Canada? Or a lot of receipts that you would like to evaluate on a calendar week basis? Within the journal - the chronological display in the sidebar - there are two small innovations that can help you to keep a better overview: Firstly, you can adjust the fiscal year in the library settings if it does not correspond to the calendar year. This setting is then also applied to the quarters, months, etc. On the other hand, you can also display calendar weeks.

Library settings? Do the new settings seem different to you? So that you can use Receipts Space more securely from multiple devices, we have subdivided the settings in the new version update. The general settings are personal settings on the respective computer, but they are also the same for all libraries. The library settings only relate to one library, but are synchronized so that they are the same for all accessing devices. Of course, you do not need to change or adjust anything if you are already using Receipts Space.

Welcome back…

Have you missed familiar features? Then we have good news for you:

The deletion of contacts, categories and keywords is now possible again. The assigned documents are not deleted, but appear under “not assigned” or under the other keywords. But please note: Restoring is only possible directly after deletion via UNDO (⌘ Z). Not after that.

The exchange of data via copy-paste between different libraries also works again.

Summary in the video

Big ideas on your mind, stacks of receipts on your desk? While you’re busy dreaming of fresh ideas and exciting new projects, tax season and mounting paperwork are already knocking at your door.

Focus on what matters – with Receipts Space 3.0.

Our latest update is designed to clear your head. Discover new audit compliance, an informative dashboard, and our “receipt merge” feature to streamline your workflow. With smart folder libraries for seamless synchronization, an elegant “Liquid Glass” look, and end-to-end encryption, receipts management finally becomes a side task.

A Fresh Look for Your Settings: Click, Don’t Scroll

Stop hunting through endless overviews! We’ve given the Library Settings a complete makeover. Thanks to the new tab-based navigation, you can now jump straight to the section you need instead of scrolling through long pages.

We’ve also significantly upgraded the “General” tab:

Display Name for Changes

Who made that edit? From now on, you can set a custom Display Name to be linked to your changes—whether it’s your first name or a device label (e.g., “Mac”). This allows you to see at a glance in the History who did what and when.

Audit Compliance / GoBD

Safety first: Our “Audit Compliance” feature helps you store receipts and documents in accordance with the proper accounting principles required in Germany, known as GoBD.

• Seamless History: Who changed what? A quick look at the new History Timeline in the bottom right corner instantly reveals the “When, What, and Who.”
• The Receipt Safe: Activate “Audit Compliance” to mark your entries as “confirmed,” providing extra protection. Once confirmed, entries are write-protected; however, you can still update notes, tags, and marks as needed.
• Full Transparency: Need to make an edit after all? No problem! You can remove the write-protection, but the action will be clearly logged to maintain integrity.

Pro Tip: For the “big picture,” check out our Audit Compliance details and remember to ensure that other areas of your business processes are GoBD-compliant as well.

Duplicate Detection

No duplicates: Receipts Space stays alert—double receipts are automatically detected and flagged during import.

• Now you decide: If you actually need a duplicate, you can easily disable this feature in the library settings.
• Manual copies: Use the “Duplicate” function whenever you need to manually clone an entry.

Automatic Currency Conversion

Tailored conversion: By default, foreign currencies are converted using daily exchange rates. If you prefer to use specific rates from your bank statements, simply turn off the automation and enter your values manually.

Default Document Type

Beyond “Expense”: Previously, all imports were categorized as expenses by default. Now, you’re in control. Managing a library purely for outgoing invoices or general documents? Simply set your default for new imports to Income, Expense, or Document.

Smart Exception: Imports from MoneyMoney or GrandTotal will always be categorized correctly, regardless of your default settings.

Auto-assign Contact and Category

Classification your way: Prefer to assign contacts and categories entirely by hand? No problem—you can now easily disable the automatic classification feature in the settings.

Use Invoice Number as Title

Say goodbye to cryptic filenames like “SCAN_123.pdf”! Enable this feature to let the app automatically set the invoice number as the title saving you the effort of manual renaming.

Detect Currency

Focus on your currency: Do you work exclusively with Euros (or your specific default currency)? Simply turn off Currency Detection. This speeds up processing even further and prevents errors on receipts that might contain ambiguous symbols.

Logs

Located on the far right of your Library Settings, you’ll find our new Logs. It ensures that everything runs smoothly behind the scenes.

• Full Overview: Important events occurring during the loading or saving of your data are precisely logged here.
• Instant Alerts: If a hiccup occurs, a warning in the sidebar will immediately draw your attention to it—no need to go searching for issues proactively.
• Help at Your Fingertips: We won’t leave you stranded with cryptic error messages. For almost every entry in the Logbook, you’ll find a direct solution or helpful guidance.

Cleanup

For those who love a “clean desk” at the end of the day: Our new Cleanup feature in the personal app settings ensures you leave no trace on your computer.

• Leave No Trace: When “Clean Up” is activated, all locally stored temporary data (in plain text) is automatically deleted when the app is closed.
• Security vs. Speed: A quick note for the impatient—since the app will need to reload everything from scratch at the next launch, opening your library may take a moment longer.

Merge Receipts

Put an end to paperwork chaos: You can now combine related documents with just two clicks.

• How it works: Simply select multiple receipts. Right-click on the “primary” document and select Merge into this entry" from the context menu—done.
• Payment Matching: Directly link imported placeholders from MoneyMoney with the corresponding digital receipt.
• Project Context: Keep order confirmation, delivery note, and invoice together by grouping them into a single entry.

More Power for Your Contacts: The New “Contact Level”

Managing your receipts is now even easier. By clicking the menu icon next to a contact’s name, you can store specific details that ensure much more precise categorization:

• Custom Document Type per Contact: You can now define whether a specific contact always represents “Income,” “Expenses,” or “Documents.” This allows Receipts Space to automatically distinguish between customers and suppliers, regardless of your global library settings.
• The IBAN & VAT Fingerprint: Store an IBAN or VAT ID to verify the assignment. This is particularly helpful for contacts who use common invoicing software that might otherwise be difficult to distinguish.
• Lightning-Fast Assignment: While processing a receipt, you can simply right-click an IBAN or VAT ID to instantly assign it to that contact.

The New Dashboard: Clarity at a Glance

Your dashboard features a fresh look and even smarter functionality.

• Better Overview: Keep a direct eye on unpaid receipts alongside your income and expenses.
• Trends: Instantly see how your numbers compare to the previous year or month.
• Smart Titles: Automatically generated titles for your views provide more clarity, while remaining fully customizable for maximum flexibility.
• Power Shortcuts: Navigate faster—a simple click on a group name (Contact, Category, or Tag) selects it in the sidebar. Hold the ⌥ (Option) key while clicking to apply it as a filter instead.
• Smart Copy: Click on any amount or tax rate to copy it directly to your clipboard.

Right-Click Instead of Detours: New Context Menus

We’ve powered up the sidebar to save you time!

• Just Right-Click: Adjust your Journal (relevant date & layout) on the fly, without having to dive into the main settings.
• Smart Archiving: Send unused tags, categories, and contacts into “retirement” with a simple right-click.

Library Copy – More Than Just a Duplicate

While you can still manually copy your library in Finder, the new “Save Copy As…” function in the main menu is much smarter. It helps you optimize your data and adjust security settings with ease.

Four key advantages:

1. Format Updates: If synchronization is acting up, switching to the latest file format often helps. The copy process handles this migration for you automatically.
2. A Slimmer Library: Every change is logged. By creating a copy without this revision history and without old original files, your library becomes significantly more compact, saving storage space.
3. Manage Encryption: The password of an encrypted library cannot be changed after the fact. Using the copy function, you can set a new password or secure a previously unencrypted library for the first time.
4. Repair Mode: Should a library ever become corrupted, creating a copy is often the fastest way to repair the data structure.

Good to know: A copy is a standalone file. Changes made within it are not transferred back to the original library. Device synchronization only occurs when all devices access the exact same file.

Choosing Your Storage Format

One of the core features of Receipts Space is multi-device capability—allowing simultaneous access to your data from different computers. To ensure that synchronization via cloud services (e.g., Dropbox, OneDrive, or iCloud) runs even more smoothly, you can now choose your preferred file format:

• Single File (Package) – The Standard: In Finder, your library looks like a single file. Technically, however, it is a “package” consisting of many folders and sub-files. This remains the default setting.
• Folder – Cloud Optimization:** You now have the option to save your library as an actual folder. Some synchronization services struggle with packages. By using the Folder format, these services no longer need to check the entire package when a change occurs; instead, they specifically transfer only the individual files that have actually changed.

How to change the format:

• New Library: Simply select your preferred format when creating a new library.
• Existing Library: Use the "Save Copy As…"function to transfer your current library into the other format.

Tip for the curious: Want to see how your data is structured? Simply right-click a package library in Finder and select Show Package Contents."You can also find more details in our Technical Documentation.

Encryption

If you store your library in locations that are not fully under your control—such as shared directories, cloud storage, or USB sticks—encryption provides an essential extra layer of protection.

By setting a password, you achieve true end-to-end encryption. This means that even when your data is synchronized via an intermediary (like a cloud provider), no one there can read your receipts. Synchronization between your own devices remains fully functional, as long as the same key (password) is stored on each device.

For technical reasons, encryption cannot be activated or changed while the library is in use. You have two options:

1. At Creation: Set a password immediately when starting a new library.
2. Existing Libraries: If you want to encrypt an existing library or change a current password, use the “Save Copy As…” function.