Snap a receipt, and PortaPro reads it, finds the bank transaction it paid for, and files it as an expense with the receipt attached. Split one purchase across categories, let rules fill in the coding you use every week, send each category to the right Schedule C line, and, if you want, push your expenses to QuickBooks with the receipt attached.
This article covers the receipt inbox, reading a receipt into an expense, splitting an expense, categorization rules, Schedule C lines, and the QuickBooks expense push.
Where it lives
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Receipt inbox | Financials → Expenses → Receipts |
| Expense list and Add Expense | Financials → Expenses → Expenses |
| Categorization rules | Financials → Banking → Rules |
| Matching receipts to bank lines | Financials → Banking → Reconciliation |
| Schedule C line per category | Settings → Finance → Expense Categories |
| QuickBooks expense push | Financials → QuickBooks |
Expenses and Banking are part of the Core plan.
The receipt inbox
Financials → Expenses → Receipts has three tabs: To file, Filed and Dismissed.
Add receipts as you get them:
Photos (JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC) and PDFs up to 10 MB each are accepted. Each receipt lands in To file and shows "Reading…" for a few seconds while PortaPro reads the vendor, date, total, tax, payment card and line items.
When it has been read, each row tells you what PortaPro found:
| The row says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Match found · "Matches {bank account} · {date} · {amount}" | A bank transaction lines up closely with this receipt |
| Needs review · "Might match …" | A possible bank transaction, less certain |
| "Looks like an expense already entered without a receipt" | An expense you already recorded is missing its receipt |
| "No bank line found yet" | Nothing to match yet. The bank line may not have synced |
Nothing is filed on its own. Every receipt waits in To file until you review it.
Row actions
Reviewing and filing a receipt
Review receipt shows the receipt next to the expense it will become.
Under Where does this receipt go? you choose one:
Then check Vendor, Amount paid, Date, Category, Paid with and Notes. A category filled in for you is tagged from your rule or vendor default. If the receipt names a vendor you don't have yet, add it right there.
The button says what will happen: Attach receipt, Add expense and match, or Add expense. Filed receipts move to the Filed tab ("On the $X expense from {date} · {vendor}").
Reading a receipt in Add Expense
You can also start from Add Expense. Drop a receipt into the Receipt section of a new expense and PortaPro reads it and fills in the amount, date, reference number (the receipt number or the card's last four digits) and the vendor, if it is one of yours. Check the fields before saving. If the receipt can't be read, the form says "We couldn't read this receipt. Fill in the fields by hand."
Receipts in Reconciliation
The receipt inbox and the bank feed work from both directions. In Financials → Banking → Reconciliation, a bank line whose best match is a receipt shows File receipt, which opens the same review with that bank line chosen. Matched expenses with no receipt are flagged "· no receipt", with Attach receipt right there. The Missing Receipts filter on the expense list shows the same gap.
Splitting one purchase across categories
One hardware-store receipt can be tank parts, shop supplies and fuel. On the expense form or the receipt review, switch on Split across categories: "For one purchase that covers more than one kind of expense. Each part lands on its own Schedule C line."
Expense reports and the Schedule C export count each split on its own category.
Categorization rules
Rules fill in the category and vendor for bank lines and receipts you code the same way every time: the Shell station, the parts supplier, the dump fee.
Rules only fill in the form. "Rules only fill in the category and vendor on the 'Add as expense' and receipt forms. You still confirm every expense; nothing is created or matched on its own."
Creating rules
- Match: Bank transaction text or Receipt vendor name
- How: contains, is exactly or starts with (case and punctuation don't matter)
- Text, for example "SHELL OIL". The editor shows how many of your unmatched bank lines it would catch.
- Category and Vendor to fill in
- Only when the amount is (optional): At least / At most
- Advanced → Priority: when two rules match, the lower number wins (default 100)
Managing rules
The Rules tab lists each rule with what it fills in, its amount range, its source (Learned or Manual), how many times it has been used, and an Active switch. Test your rules takes any bank text (or one of your recent unmatched bank lines) and shows which rule would apply. Deleting a rule never changes expenses already recorded.
Creating, editing and deleting rules is for admins.
Schedule C lines for your categories
Settings → Finance → Expense Categories shows every expense category and the Schedule C line it lands on: "Each category's tax line decides where its expenses land on the Schedule C export. Your accountant can tell you if a line should change."
The Schedule C report and its export read exactly these lines, so what you set here is what your accountant sees.
Pushing expenses to QuickBooks
If you use QuickBooks Online, PortaPro can push your recorded expenses there with the receipt attached. Set it up under Financials → QuickBooks → Push expenses to QuickBooks.
It is off by default, on purpose. "If your bank or credit card is connected to QuickBooks (its bank feed), leave this off: QuickBooks already gets those transactions from the bank, and pushing them from PortaPro too would record every expense twice."
When you turn it on, choose:
Each expense becomes a QuickBooks expense (a Check for check payments) with its vendor, category lines and first receipt attached. Editing a pushed expense updates it in QuickBooks; voiding it deletes it there. Stripe processing fees are never pushed, because Stripe takes them out of the payout: record them from the deposit in QuickBooks.
Expenses are not sent to QuickBooks Desktop.
Limits and privacy
Troubleshooting
"iPhone HEIC photos can't be read yet." The photo couldn't be converted. Upload it as a JPG (iPhone Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible) or as a PDF.
"This doesn't look like a receipt." PortaPro couldn't find a vendor, date or total. Use Read again after retaking a clearer photo, or file it by hand.
The receipt was read but shows "No bank line found yet." The bank transaction usually hasn't synced. File it as a New expense; it is matched when the bank line arrives. Or wait and use Sync now in Banking.
The amount on the receipt and the bank line differ. Tips and card surcharges do that. The expense uses the bank amount, which is what actually left your account.
A rule filled in the wrong category. Change it on the form before saving, then edit or turn off the rule in Banking → Rules. Use Test your rules to see which rule applied.