Another way to avoid the shoebox full of receipts at tax time

Sage Point&Claim is a new tool now available in Australia for capturing receipts using your phone or tablet.

According to Sage Australia, Sage Point&Claim is a new arrival in Australia. Available for iOS and Android, this free app captures receipts by using the phone's or the tablet's camera, and then automatically extracts the data, classifies the expense and stores the record in an ATO-compliant manner.

The collected data is accessible via a web portal and can be exported for processing by other software, but Point&Claim is largely aimed at the clients of the 7,500-plus tax agents that use Sage's HandiSoft practice suite including the HandiTax software for preparing, lodging and managing tax returns.

A separate web portal will provide tax agents with convenient, real-time access to their clients' Point&Claim records - with permission, of course - and there are mechanisms for sharing the data with other parties.

As a bonus, Point&Claim can also be used to record warranty information.

BIT has presented several ways of turning paper receipts into electronic records. The apps and services we've mentioned include DocketBank, Evernote, ExpenseMagic, Expensify, Invitbox, Receipt Bank and Shoeboxed.

These basically stand alone, though they may provide integration with certain accounting programs. The Xero Touch app lets Xero cloud accounting users capture receipts by taking photos of them, while MYOB AccountRight and Essentials have a 'smart bills' feature that can process invoices and receipts that arrive in PDF form or that have been scanned or photographed.