# Review: Receipt Scanner Apps

> It’s tax season and, for many musicians, that means a nightmare of trawling through piles of receipts to sort out expenses. To help you with your admin, I’ve had a look at the two most popular receipt apps that you can use to streamline your taxes. Imagine taking a photo of your receipt and…

Published: 2016-10-20 · Author: Jonny Venvell

![](../../assets/uploads/review-receipt-scanner-apps/receipts-1372960_960_720-1.jpg)

It’s **tax season** and, for many musicians, that means a nightmare of trawling through piles of receipts to sort out expenses.

To help you with your admin, I’ve had a look at the two most popular receipt apps that you can use to **streamline your taxes.** Imagine taking a **photo** of your receipt and watching the app extract the data to a spreadsheet that you can send to your accountant!

**Read on** to find out how you can spend less time on **admin** and more time making **music**.

![](../../assets/uploads/review-receipt-scanner-apps/IMG_4872.PNG)![receipt2](../../assets/uploads/review-receipt-scanner-apps/receipt2.jpg)

### 1. [1Tap Receipts](http://1tapreceipts.com/)

**1Tap Receipts** gets my vote as the **best up-and-coming receipt app** out there (in fact, it looks so good that I’ve started using it myself). Its smart scanning technology is incredible and it’s designed to work for **musicians** in the British tax system.

**Features**

* Automatic data extraction from photos of receipts (I was very impressed by how well it handled an almost illegibly scrawled receipt from my bowmaker) – no need to type anything in
* Receipt splitting (e.g. a group meal or a receipt for which you have both personal and business expenses)
* Yearly expense tracker
* Currency conversion
* Processes email receipts from online purchases
* Spreadsheet export
* Designed specifically for self-employed freelancers in the UK
* Free to download and use, with 10 free scans/month and unlimited manual receipt entry
* Paid version (currently discounted to £3.75/month) allows unlimited scanning of receipts
* Available on [iPhone](https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/1tap-receipts-hmrc-self-assessment/id1092491157?mt=8) and [Google](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.onetap.app.receipts.uk\&hl=en_GB)

![](../../assets/uploads/review-receipt-scanner-apps/helen-leek-2.jpg)![receipt3](../../assets/uploads/review-receipt-scanner-apps/receipt3.jpg)\
“With 1Tap, my receipts are filed and out of my head before I’ve left the shop.” – *Helen Leek, [piano](https://encoremusicians.com/hire/pianists) teacher at the Royal College of Music Junior Department*

![](../../assets/uploads/review-receipt-scanner-apps/rsz_1rsz_ixpenselt.jpg)![receipt4](../../assets/uploads/review-receipt-scanner-apps/receipt4.jpg)

### 2. [iXpenseIt](http://www.mobilewareinc.com/ixpenseit.html)

**iXpenseIt** comes highly recommended by some of my musician colleagues, who love its easy-to-use design. iXpenseIt simplifies daily expense tracking and monthly budgeting by allowing you to record expenses anywhere.

**Features**

* Simple budget
* Recurring expenses
* Running total of yearly income and expenses
* Currency conversion
* Mileage tracker
* Data export (can be viewed from any web browser)
* £3.99 to download, with a premium version available
* Available on [iPhone](https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ixpenseit-track-expense-income/id284947174?mt=8)

![](../../assets/uploads/review-receipt-scanner-apps/rich.jpg)![receipt5](../../assets/uploads/review-receipt-scanner-apps/receipt5.jpg)\
“Using iXpenseIt to scan receipts on the move is my saving grace!” *-Richard Waters, violist in the Philharmonia Orchestra*

In my opinion, **1Tap Receipts** is great for UK-based musicians while **iXpenseIt** may be more suitable for non-UK musicians. Bottom line? If you’re a self-employed musician, your life will be so much easier with a receipt scanner app so **download** one of these today!

Do you use a different tax app? Email Paula at [paula@joinencore.com](mailto:paula@joinencore.com).

Encore is one of the world’s largest musicians’ networks and the fastest way to find great musicians.Join now for free at [www.joinencore.com](https://www.joinencore.com)