Extract receipt details into a CSV for books
A developer built a custom GPT to read receipt photos and turn them into bookkeeping-ready CSV rows, while still requiring a person to verify the results.
- What they did
- They configured a custom GPT to look at receipt images and pull the key fields into a format that could be copied into bookkeeping software. The demo included receipts from Yummy Kitchen, Farm Boy, and Costco, and the model identified the main amounts while placing purchases into broad buckets such as groceries or goods. The user expected to review the output before entering it anywhere important.
- How it went
- The setup seemed handy for quick entry, and one commenter estimated a human-checked version of this flow might be about 90% accurate. The poster also said the model can make odd errors on dates and numbers, especially when a receipt is crumpled or curved, so it should not be trusted on its own.
- Tips
- Treat the output as a draft that still needs auditing. A second check against the original receipt is especially important when numbers are hard to read or the document is folded.
Try it yourself with ChatGPT
I’m uploading [receipt images or PDFs] for [business or personal books]. Read each receipt and extract the merchant, date, net or subtotal, tax, total, payment method if shown, and a sensible category from [my list of categories] or a standard bookkeeping category. Return the result as a single CSV that I can paste into [my accounting app or spreadsheet]. If any value is unclear, mark it as uncertain rather than filling in a guess. Before you end, stop and ask me to confirm any receipt that would be used for posting, payment, filing, or submission, then give me a short list of the receipts that need manual review.
Fill in the [brackets]. Agents can make mistakes, so review anything before it is sent, paid or deleted.
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