No paper for a receipt? Take a picture of the gas pump

In a prior post, I wrote about how I use document management software to push transactions and the supporting documentation into accounting software. As I’ve developed this method of doing my accounting, I’ve realized that the key to keeping accounting in real-time is using the document management software for every transaction, if possible. It also helps me make sure every transaction that goes through my bank account is legitimate. So what do you do when you can’t get a receipt?Gas Pump This week, after I fueled up my car at the gas station, the screen on the pump said it was out of paper. I hate it when that happens! Since I couldn’t walk away with a receipt, I took this picture of the pump. With paper receipts, my document management software extracts information like the date, vendor and amount automatically. I wondered what it would do with this picture. Hubdoc used the date I submitted the receipt, but as it usually does with non-receipt documents, it didn’t capture anything else.  Still, it didn’t take long to publish it to my accounting software after entering the vendor and amount. Receipt Bank captured the amount from the gas pump, but didn’t get the vendor right. Strangely, it picked up “Department of Agriculture and Food” from the weights and measures sticker on the pump, even though the Sam’s Club logo was on the screen. Taking a picture of the pump instead of a receipt isn’t ideal since it requires more data entry, but it’s better than nothing.

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