Turn receipt photos into an MTD-ready expenses spreadsheet with AI

Who it’s for

Sole traders and landlords keeping records in spreadsheets, and the bookkeepers who support them

Time to set up

60 minutes

Difficulty

Intermediate

Monthly cost

£0–£11

What does this automation do?

It turns “a shoebox of receipts every quarter” into “a photo when you pay”. Each receipt becomes a row in your expenses spreadsheet within about 15 minutes, with a suggested HMRC category and a link back to the image, so your quarterly Making Tax Digital update is mostly done before the quarter ends.

What do you need before you start?

• A Google account (Drive and Sheets)
• A free Make account
• The Google Drive app on your phone
• MTD-compatible bridging software, if you’re in (or about to join) MTD for Income Tax. HMRC lists options on GOV.UK.

How do I set it up?

Step 1: Decide whether you need this at all

If you already use accounting software with receipt capture (Xero with Hubdoc, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Dext), use that instead. It’s already MTD-compatible. Carry on if you keep your records in a spreadsheet, or you’re a bookkeeper setting this up for spreadsheet clients.

Step 2: Set up the folders and the expenses sheet

In Google Drive, create Receipts/Inbox and Receipts/Processed. In Google Sheets, create an Expenses 2026-27 sheet with these columns:

Date | Supplier | Description | Total (£) | VAT (£) | Category | Payment method | Business % | Receipt link | AI confidence | Checked (Y/N) | Notes

Step 3: Get receipts into the inbox folder from your phone

In the Google Drive app, open Receipts/Inbox, tap + and choose Scan (Android) or Use camera (iPhone) to save each receipt as a PDF or photo. For emailed receipts, save the PDF to the same folder (or use a Gmail filter plus a Make module to save attachments automatically).

Step 4: Build the Make scenario that watches the folder

In Make, create a scenario starting with Google Drive › Watch Files in a Folder pointing at Receipts/Inbox. On the Free plan, it checks every 15 minutes. Add Google Drive › Download a File so the AI can see the image.

Step 5: Read the receipt with an AI vision model

Add an AI module that accepts images (for example OpenAI › Analyze images, or Make’s built-in AI module with an image input). Use the prompt below so it returns clean JSON, then add JSON › Parse JSON.

Step 6: Add the row and move the file

Add Google Sheets › Add a Row, mapping each JSON field to its column, and the Drive file’s web link to “Receipt link”. Leave “Checked” blank. Then add Google Drive › Move a File to send the receipt to Receipts/Processed, so it isn’t processed twice.

Step 7: Check and tick each row weekly

Once a week, filter the sheet for blank “Checked”. Compare each row with its receipt (one click), fix anything wrong, set the business-use percentage for mixed-use items and mark it Y. Pay most attention to rows with AI confidence below 0.8.

Step 8: Link the sheet to bridging software for quarterly updates

Your bridging software will import from the spreadsheet using a file import or linked cells. Follow its instructions and summarise your categories in the format it expects. Don’t retype totals: under MTD the link from records to submission must be digital.

The copy-paste prompt

Use this in Make, or paste it into ChatGPT with a receipt photo if you’d rather do it by hand.

You extract data from UK receipts and invoices for a sole trader's expense records.
Return ONLY valid JSON:
{
 "date": "YYYY-MM-DD",
 "supplier": "",
 "description": "short description of what was bought",
 "total": 0.00,
 "vat": 0.00,
 "category": "",
 "payment_method": "card | cash | bank transfer | unknown",
 "confidence": 0.0,
 "notes": ""
}
Category must be ONE of (HMRC self-employment expense headings):
"Cost of goods bought for resale or goods used",
"Construction industry - payments to subcontractors",
"Wages, salaries and other staff costs",
"Car, van and travel expenses",
"Rent, rates, power and insurance costs",
"Repairs and maintenance of property and equipment",
"Phone, fax, stationery and other office costs",
"Advertising and business entertainment costs",
"Interest on bank and other loans",
"Bank, credit card and other financial charges",
"Irrecoverable debts written off",
"Accountancy, legal and other professional fees",
"Depreciation and loss or profit on sale of assets",
"Other business expenses",
"UNSURE".
Rules: never guess numbers you can't read (use null and explain in notes);
VAT = 0 if no VAT is shown; flag in notes anything that looks personal,
like entertaining clients (usually not allowable) or a capital item
(equipment, tools, vehicles), which may need different treatment.

Make template outline

Add an error handler on module 3 that moves unreadable files to a Receipts/Needs attention folder instead of stopping the scenario.

What UK rules apply?

• MTD start dates. Qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024–25: from 6 April 2026. Over £30,000 in 2025–26: from 6 April 2027. Over £20,000 in 2026–27: from 6 April 2028 (GOV.UK).
• Quarterly update deadlines: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. HMRC won’t give penalty points for late quarterly updates in the 2026–27 tax year, but you must send them before you can submit your return.
• Digital records and digital links. Spreadsheets are allowed with bridging software; moving data between them must be digital, not retyped (GOV.UK).
• Allowable expenses. Categories follow HMRC’s self-employment headings (SA103F notes). AI suggestions are a starting point: business entertainment, personal use and capital items need a human (or your accountant) to decide.
• Keep records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline for the tax year (GOV.UK).

What can go wrong?

• Duplicates. If you scan the same receipt twice, you’ll get two rows. Sort by date and supplier when you review.
• Mixed VAT rates. Supermarket receipts with zero-rated and standard-rated items confuse AI. Check VAT on those by hand if you’re VAT-registered.
• Wrong tax year. The tax year runs 6 April to 5 April. Start a new sheet (or tab) each year.
• Personal items. The AI can’t know that the laptop is 60% business use. That’s what the “Business %” column is for.
• This isn’t tax advice. If you’re unsure whether something is allowable, ask your accountant.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
2. GOV.UK: Create digital records for MTD for Income Tax
3. GOV.UK: Choose the right software for MTD for Income Tax
4. HMRC: Self-employment (full) notes SA103F (2026)
5. GOV.UK: Business records if you're self-employed
6. Make pricing

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Tool prices and screens change; we re-check every guide regularly. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.