Log receipts to Google Sheets by photo through Telegram

Reads a photo of a receipt, pulls out the details, and logs the purchase to Google Sheets automatically.

How the work actually flows

It branches. Every path runs.

Pattern: Parallel Split (2)

flowchart TD trig>"receipt photo sent in chat"]:::trig s0["extract text via ocr"]:::svc s1["structure details with ai"]:::svc trig --> s0 s0 --> s1 gx{"+ where to send details"}:::gate s1 --> gx p00["log item to sheet"]:::task gx -->|"log to spreadsheet"| p00 p10["send summary in chat"]:::task gx -->|"send summary"| p10 p00 --> out p10 --> out out[/"expense logged and summarized"/]:::out pay{{"expenses tracked without manual 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 itAn outside serviceEvery pathResultPayoff

Build size

Advanced

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

Business functions

AI Agents & Autonomous SystemsMessaging & NotificationsDocument Processing & OCRSpreadsheet & Database OpsReporting & AnalyticsFinance & Accounting

Connects

TelegramGoogle VisionOpenRouterGoogle Sheets

The problem it solves

Typing up every receipt into a spreadsheet after a purchase is tedious and easy to put off, so expense records fall behind. By the time you sit down to reconcile, you're squinting at faded receipts trying to remember what was bought.

Who it fits

A small business owner or bookkeeper tracking expenses from paper receipts.

How it works

You send a photo of a receipt to a Telegram bot
The system reads the text off the receipt using optical character recognition
AI structures the details into vendor, date, items, and totals
It logs each item to Google Sheets and sends you a readable summary in Telegram
You can also ask the bot questions about your past spending

Quick estimate

What it is worth to you

Your numbers, your hourly cost. We add nothing hidden.

How many receipts do you log per week?

per week

Minutes to manually enter each receipt

minutes

Loaded hourly cost of the person doing this

$ per hour

0Hours freed per month

0Value per year at your hourly cost

Assumes the freed time is put toward other work and that receipts still get an occasional spot check for accuracy.

What you get

A structured expense record in Google Sheets and a summary message confirming what was logged.

What you need

A Telegram bot account, a Google Vision API key, an OpenRouter API key, and Google Sheets.

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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