Upload receipt photos or invoice PDFs. The scanner reads the vendor, date, amounts and VAT, then files each expense under an SA103 self-employment category.
Supports JPEG, PNG and PDF, up to 10 files at once
Preparing files…
Scanning usually takes 20–60 seconds.
| Date | Vendor | Description | Subtotal | VAT | Total | Category |
|---|
Every expense you claim against your self-employment income needs evidence behind it. For most sole traders that evidence is a pile of till receipts, supplier invoices and email confirmations. This scanner turns that pile into a structured expense list: it reads each document, extracts the vendor, date, amounts and VAT, and files the expense under an SA103 category. What it does not do is replace the originals, which HMRC can ask to see.
If you file a Self Assessment return, you must keep the records that support it for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year. Digital copies are acceptable, so a clear photo of a paper receipt counts, but the copy must be complete and legible. A sensible workflow is to scan receipts as you collect them, export the spreadsheet monthly, and keep the images filed by tax year.
When a receipt shows the VAT separately, the scanner uses the printed figures. When it does not, the scanner assumes the price includes standard-rate 20% VAT and estimates the VAT element as the total divided by six. That assumption is right for most everyday business purchases, but wrong for anything zero-rated (most food, books), reduced-rated (5%, such as domestic energy) or bought from an unregistered supplier. If you are VAT-registered and plan to reclaim input VAT, check the VAT column against the actual receipts, and remember you generally need a VAT receipt showing the supplier's VAT number to reclaim. Our UK VAT rates guide covers which rate applies to what.
Not everything you pay for through the business is deductible. The classic trap is entertainment: taking a client to lunch is a business cost in everyday language, but business entertainment is disallowable for tax. On the SA103F form it is entered under box 24 with advertising and then added back as a disallowable expense, so it never reduces your tax bill. Staff entertainment within HMRC's limits, and marketing costs, are treated differently. The scanner flags obviously personal purchases, but the allowable/disallowable judgement is ultimately yours or your accountant's.
For vehicles and working from home you can choose between claiming actual costs (fuel receipts, repairs, a share of household bills) and HMRC's flat-rate simplified expenses. From 6 April 2026 the flat rate for cars and goods vehicles is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles (up from 45p, the first increase in fifteen years) and 25p per mile after that; motorcycles are 24p. Working from home 25 hours or more a month can be claimed at £10 to £26 a month depending on hours. If you use the mileage rate you cannot also claim fuel receipts for the same vehicle, so decide which method you are using before you rely on scanned fuel receipts.
| Receipt | Total | VAT shown | Category | Deductible? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol station fuel receipt | £66.00 | £11.00 | vehicle travel | Yes, if claiming actual costs rather than mileage |
| Restaurant lunch with a client | £48.50 | £8.08 | advertising (entertainment) | No: business entertainment is disallowable |
| Stationery order | £24.99 | not shown (estimated £4.17) | office costs | Yes |