Turn receipt photos sent on Telegram into expense records

Reads a photo of a receipt with AI and logs the store, items, and total straight into Google Sheets.

How the work actually flows

A straight line.

Pattern: Sequence (1)

flowchart TD trig>"receipt photo sent"]:::trig s0["extract receipt data with ai"]:::svc s1["format expense entry"]:::task s2[("add to google sheet")]:::store trig --> s0 s0 --> s1 s1 --> s2 out[/"itemized expense logged in sheet"/]:::out pay{{"no more manual receipt entry"}}:::pay s2 --> out 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 stepAn outside serviceA record or sheetResultPayoff
Build size
Standard

A mid-size build with several tools working together.

Business functions
AI Agents & Autonomous SystemsMessaging & NotificationsSpreadsheet & Database OpsFinance & Accounting
Connects
TelegramGoogle Sheets

The problem it solves

You end up with a shoebox or camera roll full of receipts and no time to type them into a spreadsheet before month end. Manual data entry is tedious, and it's easy to lose a receipt or miscount a total.

Who it fits

Small teams or bookkeepers who need an easy way to log expenses from paper receipts.

How it works

  1. A receipt photo is sent to a Telegram bot
  2. AI reads the image and extracts the store, date, items, prices, and total
  3. The data is formatted so the total only appears once per receipt
  4. The receipt details are added to Google Sheets automatically
What you get

Receipts logged straight from a photo

You snap a photo of a receipt on Telegram and the store, items, and total land straight in your Google Sheet.

What you get

An organized, itemized expense log in Google Sheets built straight from receipt photos.

What you need

A Telegram bot account, an OpenRouter account for AI, and a Google Sheets account.

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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