Expense Tracker
Keep an auditable record of your organization’s spend: capture an expense, attach a photo or PDF of the receipt, and (when AI is on) let CartonCrew read the vendor, date, and amount off the receipt for you. When the Reports extension is also enabled, expenses become a chartable data source.
Who this is for: anyone with editor access or above. Members can view expenses and receipts; editors create, edit, import, and run AI parsing; admins can delete.
What’s here
| Article | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Recording an expense | Manual entry, the mobile snap-a-receipt + AI parse flow, and CSV bulk import. |
Enabling Expense Tracker
Expense Tracker is a self-serve extension. Turn it on from the extension catalog (Settings → Extensions). Once enabled, an Expenses item appears in the navigation under the Operations group.
AI receipt reading is an extra layer on top. It only works when AI is turned on for your organization — open Settings → AI, switch on the master toggle, and make sure an API key is present. With AI off, every other part of Expense Tracker still works; you just type the receipt details in by hand.
The Expenses list
The main Expenses screen shows:
- KPI tiles — total spend this month, this year (calendar year), and the total of whatever rows are currently shown (with a count).
- A filter bar — free-text search (vendor, reference, notes), a From/To date range, a category dropdown, a vendor filter, and a Reimbursable only toggle.
- The expense table (a card list on phones) — Date, Vendor, Category, Amount, a paperclip icon when a receipt is attached, and a Reimbursable / Reimbursed badge. Click the paperclip to view the stored receipt; click a row to edit it.
- An Actions menu — Snap a receipt, New expense, Import from CSV, Refresh, Manage categories, and CSV/cloud export.
- A “Snap receipt” button on desktop and a floating camera button on phones, both of which open the mobile capture screen.
Categories
Categories are a per-organization pick-list, managed from Actions → Manage categories (add, rename, reorder, delete). The category you choose is stored as a label snapshot on each expense, so renaming or deleting a category never rewrites past entries — your history and Reports grouping stay intact.
Reports integration
When the Reports extension is enabled, an Expenses source shows up in the report builder. You can group spend by category, vendor, payment method, or reimbursable/reimbursed status, over either the expense date or the date it was recorded, and measure count, total, or average amount.
Gotchas
- AI parsing needs AI on. If AI is off (or no key is set), the “Read receipt” / “Parse with AI” button is hidden or unavailable. Settings → AI fixes it. The receipt is still stored either way.
- Receipts are private. They live in a private storage bucket and are only reachable through short-lived signed links from inside the app.
- Supported receipt files: JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, or PDF, up to 25MB. Phone photos are auto-compressed before upload.
- Deleting an expense removes its receipt too — this can’t be undone.
Last updated: 2026-06-09 · Applies to: CartonCrew v1.110+