Turn receipt photos into spreadsheet expense entries automatically

Text a receipt photo to a Telegram bot and the automation logs the expense details straight into Google Sheets.

How the work actually flows

It branches. Every path runs; a person has to approve before it continues.

Pattern: Parallel Split (2)

flowchart TD trig>"you send a receipt photo"]:::trig s0["extract receipt details with ai"]:::task s1(("confirm and categorize in chat")):::human trig --> s0 hg(("you confirm and categorize")):::human s0 --> hg hg -->|"approved"| s1 hg -. "sent back" .-> s0 gx{"+ where to save the record"}:::gate s1 --> gx p00["save receipt to drive"]:::task gx -->|"receipt image"| p00 p10["log expense to sheet"]:::task gx -->|"expense record"| p10 p00 --> out p10 --> out out[/"expense logged and receipt saved"/]:::out pay{{"no manual expense data entry"}}:::pay out --> pay classDef task fill:#e7f6fe,stroke:#34b8f0,color:#2c2a29 classDef svc fill:#f6f8fa,stroke:#7c8795,color:#2c2a29 classDef mi fill:#e7f6fe,stroke:#0079a8,color:#2c2a29,stroke-width:2px classDef human fill:#fff,stroke:#0079a8,color:#0079a8 classDef store fill:#f6f8fa,stroke:#0079a8,color:#2c2a29 classDef trig fill:#00a4eb,stroke:#0079a8,color:#fff,font-weight:bold classDef trigtime fill:#00a4eb,stroke:#0079a8,color:#fff,font-weight:bold classDef trigdata fill:#8ad4f5,stroke:#0079a8,color:#06314c,font-weight:bold classDef gate fill:#fff,stroke:#e8a23d,color:#6b4708,font-weight:bold classDef out fill:#1f9d6b,stroke:#167a53,color:#fff,font-weight:bold classDef pay fill:#06314c,stroke:#021f33,color:#fff
Starts itA stepA personEvery pathResultPayoff
Build size
Advanced

A larger build with multiple systems, AI reasoning, and custom rules.

Business functions
AI Agents & Autonomous SystemsMessaging & NotificationsSpreadsheet & Database OpsFile & Cloud Storage
Connects
TelegramGoogle DriveGoogle SheetsGoogle GeminiOpenRouter

The problem it solves

Tracking business expenses means saving paper receipts, typing amounts into a spreadsheet, and trying to remember what each purchase was for weeks later. That manual entry is tedious and details are easy to get wrong or forget entirely.

Who it fits

Small business owners or teams who want to track expenses without manual data entry.

How it works

  1. Sending a receipt photo to your Telegram bot starts the automation
  2. AI reads the image to pull out the merchant, price, items, date, and payment method
  3. You confirm and categorize the expense right in the Telegram chat
  4. The receipt image is saved to Google Drive with an organized file name
  5. The expense details are added as a new row in the matching monthly Google Sheet
What you get

Expenses logged after a quick confirm

You text a photo of a receipt and its details are pulled out and organized, ready for you to confirm and file in your spreadsheet.

What you get

A logged expense entry in Google Sheets and a saved copy of the receipt in Google Drive.

What you need

A Telegram bot, a Google Workspace account, a Gemini API key, and an OpenRouter API key.

We can build this. But should you?

The hard question is not how to build it. It is whether this is the right thing to build first.

That is what a Fractional Chief AI Officer figures out with you, before anyone writes a line of code.

Let's Talk Strategy

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