To determine the best receipt scanner apps for small businesses, Forbes Advisor researched providers in the space and narrowed it down to the 11 top providers. We analyzed these across five primary categories for a total of 24 different metrics. The criteria were then weighted to favor features that matter most to small businesses. The best apps had the best overall scores based on our methodology.
To determine the best receipt scanner app, the following methodology was used:
Pricing and Plans – 10%
The app’s pricing model and subscription options were evaluated to gauge affordability and value for price. This includes the monthly price, as well as minimum user requirements, contract lengths, free trials and money-back guarantees.
Key Features – 30%
The app was evaluated based on the presence and quality of essential features such as OCR accuracy, receipt categorization, integration with other financial management tools and ease of use. Below are the key features analyzed.
- Mobile app
- OCR
- Smartphone camera scanning
- Document management
- Cloud storage
- Invoicing
- Bill pay
Unique Features – 20%
In addition to the app’s core feature set and overall functionality, we also evaluated the inclusion of additional features. This category includes the availability of software integrations, compliance, corporate card features and reporting and analytics.
Third-party Ratings and Reviews – 10%
To get a good understanding of how users tend to find the apps, we considered a range of third-party ratings and user reviews. We looked at both the average rating, but also the number of reviews each app had to ensure that the sample size was large enough to draw meaningful conclusions.
Expert Score – 30%
Lastly, we added in our own first-hand experience and expertise with these apps. This enables us to add qualitative metrics, such as ease of use, overall experience, quality of support, value for price and popularity.
