Turn receipt photos into categorized expenses via Telegram

Send a receipt photo to Telegram and get back a categorized expense summary within moments.

How the work actually flows

A straight line.

Pattern: Sequence (1)

flowchart TD trig>"receipt photo sent in chat"]:::trig s0["read receipt via OCR"]:::svc s1["extract and categorize data"]:::task s2["flag anomalies like zero total"]:::task s3["send summary back to user"]:::svc trig --> s0 s0 --> s1 s1 --> s2 s2 --> s3 out[/"categorized expense summary delivered"/]:::out pay{{"expense tracking without manual entry"}}:::pay s3 --> 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 serviceResultPayoff
Build size
Advanced

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

Business functions
Knowledge Base & RAGMessaging & NotificationsDocument Processing & OCRFinance & Accounting
Connects
TelegramGoogle VisionOpenRouter

The problem it solves

Tracking expenses means saving receipts, typing totals into a spreadsheet, and sorting them into the right category by hand. It is tedious enough that receipts pile up and get entered late, or not at all, making it hard to see where your money is going.

Who it fits

A freelancer or small business owner who wants expense tracking without manual data entry.

How it works

  1. You send a photo or text of a receipt in Telegram
  2. The system reads the receipt using OCR
  3. AI extracts the store, date, items, and total, and assigns a category
  4. It flags anything that looks wrong, like a zero total
  5. A summary of the expense is sent back to you in Telegram
What you get

Receipts categorized without manual entry

Snap a photo of a receipt in Telegram and get back a categorized expense summary in moments, ready for your records.

What you get

A categorized expense summary delivered straight to your Telegram chat.

What you need

A Telegram bot, a Google Cloud account for OCR, 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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