If you pay for QuickBooks Online, you already have receipt capture. Most businesses never set it up properly, so receipts still end up in a shoebox, a glovebox, or an inbox. This guide walks through a setup that works for a Canadian small business, including GST and HST.
Before you start: QuickBooks changes its menus from time to time, and some features depend on your plan and region. Where a screen looks different from what's described here, Intuit's QuickBooks Canada help centre has the current steps. The setup decisions below stay the same.
What you need first
- Sales tax set up correctly. In Alberta that's 5% GST. In HST provinces it's the combined HST rate. Your GST/HST registration number should be entered.
- Bank and credit card accounts connected. Receipt matching works by pairing each receipt with a transaction from your bank feed.
- A tidy chart of accounts. If your expense categories are a mess, receipts will be filed into a mess faster.
- A decision on who submits receipts. Just you, or everyone who spends company money?
Step 1: Check your GST/HST settings
Open the sales tax settings and confirm the agency (Canada Revenue Agency), your registration number, your filing frequency, and the rate for your province. Getting this wrong is the most common reason receipts post with the wrong tax, which then has to be fixed at filing time.
Step 2: Connect every account money leaves from
Connect each business bank account and credit card. Receipts are only useful when they can be matched to the real transaction. If a card isn't connected, its receipts can't be matched and will create separate expenses instead.
Step 3: Set up the three ways receipts come in
| Method | Best for | How to set it up |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile app photo | Paper receipts: fuel, supplies, meals | Install the QuickBooks mobile app on every phone that buys things for the business, and sign each person in. |
| Email forwarding | Online orders and e-receipts | In the receipts area, turn on the forwarding email address and add every email address allowed to send to it. |
| Upload from a computer | Catching up on a backlog | Drag and drop images or PDFs into the receipts area. |
The receipts area usually sits under Transactions or Bookkeeping, depending on your QuickBooks version.
Step 4: Learn the review routine
QuickBooks reads each receipt and pulls out the vendor, date, and amount, and often the tax. It then suggests either a match to an existing bank transaction or a new expense. Before you confirm each one, check three things:
- Match, don't duplicate. If the purchase is already in your bank feed, match the receipt to it. Creating a new expense instead counts the purchase twice.
- Category. Is it in the right expense account?
- Tax code. GST in Alberta, HST where applicable, and no tax on items that don't carry it.
Step 5: Add bank rules for recurring vendors
For vendors you pay every month (phone, software, fuel cards), set up bank rules so those transactions are categorized automatically. That leaves receipt review for the purchases that actually need a look.
Step 6: Set team habits
- Snap paper receipts at the time of purchase, not at the end of the month.
- Add a short note when it isn't obvious: which job, which client, what it was for.
- Forward e-receipts straight from the inbox they arrive in.
- Block 15 minutes a week to review and confirm everything in the queue.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Creating new expenses instead of matching | Expenses are counted twice | Always match when the bank transaction already exists |
| Wrong tax code | Wrong GST/HST claimed | Check provincial rates and default tax codes |
| Personal receipts mixed in | Messy books and awkward questions later | Separate cards, and one rule: business purchases only |
| Nobody reviews the queue | Hundreds of unconfirmed receipts at year-end | A weekly 15-minute review, on the calendar |
Keep your records the CRA way
The CRA generally expects business records to be kept for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to, and accepts electronic copies that meet its requirements. Check the CRA's current guidance before discarding paper originals.
When QuickBooks' built-in capture isn't enough
If you process a high volume of receipts and supplier bills, manage many clients as a bookkeeper, or want supplier documents fetched automatically, a dedicated tool may be worth it. See our comparison of receipt apps for Canadian businesses.
Rather have it done for you? We set up QuickBooks receipt capture remotely for businesses anywhere in Canada: GST settings, bank feeds, rules, team phones, and a training session. Setup is from $999, or $750 after your $249 prescription credit. Start with the free Admin Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is receipt capture included in QuickBooks Online?
Receipt capture is part of QuickBooks Online. Check your plan and region in case features differ.
Does QuickBooks pull GST off receipts automatically?
It often reads the tax amount, but not always correctly. Check the tax code on every receipt before confirming it.
Can my employees submit receipts?
Yes. They can use the mobile app, or forward e-receipts from email addresses you've approved.
Can I throw away paper receipts after scanning?
The CRA accepts electronic records that meet its requirements and generally expects records to be kept for six years. Check the CRA's current guidance first.