Add a new business

In Receipt Bot, all documents and expenses are linked to a ‘Business’. However, you do not need a ‘Registered Business’ to get started with bookkeeping automation; it is a broad term for a person, business, company, department, partnership or charity to whom the invoices and bank or card statements are addressed.

The business information is used for document classification (purchase invoices vs sales invoices) purposes. The country information is used to apply correct currencies, forex and VAT/GST rates, and the industry information aids in auto-assigning accounting categories. Therefore, it is essential to provide this information as accurately as possible.

This help article covers detailed steps to add a business via the web interface or mobile app.

Prerequisites

It is important to have the following details prepared before you start:

• Business name (as it appears on invoices, bank, or card statements)
• Country and currency information
• Access to your accounting software (If planning to integrate Receipt Bot)

Steps to add a new business

Step 1 – Click the gear icon at the top right corner and select the Add New Business option.

Step 2 – Complete the new business form providing the following information
– Business Name: Enter as it appears on invoices, bank and card statements. To avoid duplication, you cannot add two businesses with the same name in one account.
– Short Name: It is mainly used to create a document inbox for emailing invoices and statements and is unique across the system. (Just like you cannot have two Gmail accounts with the same ID.) So, you might get a ‘Name already taken’ error. Please make the short name recognizable. The system displays the short name if the business name is longer than 30 characters.
– Country: Select the country where the business is registered or based.
– Base Currency: It is auto-selected based on country. Invoices/receipts in other currencies will be translated into this currency. If the base currency in Receipt Bot does not match the base currency in your accounting software, then your document exports will not work.
– City/State (Optional): If state-specific VAT/tax information is on documents, it is helpful to provide it.

Step 3 – Click the Next button to proceed to the next step.

Step 4 – Select the modules to be enabled for data extraction:
– Purchases: Extract data from scanned purchase documents.
– Sales: Extract data from scanned sales documents.
– Bank Statements: Convert PDF statements into Excel, CSV or other formats.
– Other Documents: Extract grids/tabular data from any document (e.g., supplier statements, payroll reports).

Step 5 – Select the radio button for the accounting software to integrate with the Receipt Bot.
You have the following options in this step:
– Option 1: Integrate with Xero
– Option 2: Integrate with QuickBooks Online
– Option 3: No Integration (Use Receipt Bot Standard Setup)

Integration makes it easy to export data from invoices and receipts to your accounting software. However, you can also use Receipt Bot alone to manage expenses and revenues. If your accounting software isn’t supported, you can manually download the data and upload it yourself.

If you integrate accounting software with Receipt Bot, the system will import the accounting master data. The imported master includes the chart of accounts, contacts, VAT/GST rates, payment methods, and currencies. If you have enabled locations or classes in QBO or tracking categories in Xero, those will also be imported.

If you select “No Integration,” Receipt Bot will set up default lists of accounting categories and VAT/GST Rates that will be assigned to your invoices or receipts.

Step 6 – Click the “Finish” button at the top right corner.
If you have chosen to integrate with accounting software, the “Connect” button will appear in the top-right corner. Please follow the steps as instructed on the page to integrate with the relevant accounting software.
The system will show a confirmation that the business setup has been completed in the Receipt Bot.

Step 7 – Click the “Get Started” button to close the wizard.

You’ll then be redirected to the dashboard of your newly added business. You can now start uploading your documents for data extraction. The system will automatically extract relevant data from uploaded documents. For further guidance, please refer to this knowledge base article to Upload Documents for Data Extraction.

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Steps to Add a New Business Using the Receipt Bot Mobile Apps

You can also add a new business using the Receipt Bot mobile app, and the process is similar to the steps for the web app.

Step 1 – Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the top left corner of the mobile app.

Step 2 – Select the “Add New Business” option from the menu.

Step 3 – Fill out the business form with the necessary details.

Step 4 – Tap the “Next” button.

Step 5 – Select the modules to be enabled for data extraction.

Step 6 – Tap the Finish button to complete the process.

You can start scanning your documents for data extraction using the Receipt Bot mobile app.

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Related articles

• Upload Documents to Receipt Bot
• Create and update accounting categories

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why do I need to set up a business in Receipt Bot?
A ‘Business’ in Receipt Bot refers to a person, company, department, partnership, or charity to whom invoices, bank, or card statements are addressed. It does not require a registered business to get started.
Accurate business details help with document classification (purchase vs. sales invoices), currency and tax rate application, and auto-assigning accounting categories. Providing accurate information ensures better automation.

Q. What languages and countries does Receipt Bot support?
Receipt Bot currently supports documents in English for specific countries. If your country is not listed but your documents are in English, you can contact support at hello@receipt-bot.com.

Q. Do I need to integrate Receipt Bot with accounting software?
Integration is optional. If you integrate with Xero or QuickBooks Online, Receipt Bot will import your accounting data (chart of accounts, contacts, VAT rates, etc.). Receipt Bot will import a default set of accounting categories and VAT rates for the business if you don’t integrate.

Q. Can I integrate Receipt Bot with accounting software later?
You can integrate later, but if you have documents processed in Receipt Bot before integrating them with your accounting software, you must manually assign suppliers, categories, payment methods, and VAT rates to previously uploaded documents.

Q. What should I do if I see a “Name already taken” error?
The Short Name must be unique across the system, similar to an email ID. If the name is taken, modify it slightly while keeping it recognizable. Or ask the support team at hello@receipt-bot.com to check if it can be acquired for you.

Q. What happens if the base currency in Receipt Bot does not match my accounting software?
Ensure that the base currency in Receipt Bot matches the one in your accounting software. Else, the document export will not work correctly, and the system may create transactions with incorrect amounts in your accounting software.