Receipt Tracker OCR Reduces Expense Fraud by 75%
Last updated:
July 16, 2025
Specialised receipt OCR technology has helped Smart Receipts to cut expense fraud by 75%. The company integrated Taggun’s API, which is specialised for receipt and invoice scanning. This approach helped the app climb to the top of Google Play's finance category, achieving a top market position.
The solution reliably processes 100,000 receipts each day, automating what was once a time-consuming manual process. The platform uses AI to automatically extract key details from receipt images into a structured format. It captures essential data points including merchant details, dates, total amounts, and detailed line items. This level of automation streamlines expense management and delivers significant time savings for users.
Will Baumann
Founder
,
Smart Receipts
Finding a Smart Solution to Receipt Chaos
Will Baumann, Smart Receipts' founder, encountered a common frustration during business travel. Manual receipt scanning and expense reporting were time-consuming and error-prone. This experience inspired him to create an app to automate the process.
The platform had to meet several key goals. It needed to accurately extract information from various receipt and invoice formats to be effective. The system also had to be scalable enough to handle millions of requests per month while delivering results in real-time. A primary requirement was to address the financial risk of fraudulent receipt submissions.
This presented a crucial choice. Building the necessary AI and OCR technology in-house would demand significant resources and development time. This path could divert focus from creating a polished user experience. The alternative was to integrate a specialised, third-party API to handle the complex data extraction, allowing for a much faster time-to-market.
Smart Receipts Leverages TAGGUN AI for Unparalleled Efficiency
Smart Receipts chose to integrate Taggun’s specialised API rather than build the technology itself. This decision allowed the company to focus its resources on developing its user interface and go to market much faster. The integration was straightforward using well-documented API
The resulting platform transforms smartphones into powerful receipt scanners and expense report generators. It uses TAGGUN's AI to automate scanning, offering over 20 customisable data types including dates, prices, and categories.
Users can easily set up expense folders, input receipts via photo or import, and generate reports with a single click. TAGGUN's AI swiftly processes the information, extracting data with high accuracy.
"We love Taggun," Baumann says. "The service is accurate, fast, and covers what we need.
"This collaboration has led to significant efficiency gains. As Baumann notes, "When 100,000 customers each scan 1 receipt per day, this saves 11 working days in productivity."
By combining Smart Receipts' user-centric design with TAGGUN's AI, the platform has become a top-ranked solution in expense management, streamlining what was once a tedious, error-prone task.
Streamlined Processes, Measurable Results
The results highlight how Smart Receipts, powered by TAGGUN's AI, has significantly improved expense management efficiency and accuracy for a wide range of users:
- 75% reduction in expense fraud.
- Time savings equivalent to 11 working days per 100,000 daily receipt scans.
- Consistently ranked among top 3 apps in its category on Google PlayServes hundreds of thousands of users daily.
- Streamlined expense reporting for businessesSimplified personal finance management for individuals.
- Customisable data capture with over 20 different data types.
The receipt tracker OCR integration
Smart Receipts integrates Taggun's technology via a developer-friendly REST API. This provides a direct and rapid integration path, supported by comprehensive documentation and code samples for developers.
Core Extraction Technology
The underlying AI models provide a robust and flexible solution for data extraction.
- The OCR engine offers multi-language support for global use cases.
- It is built to handle many different receipt layouts and styles across various file formats.
- The system uses machine learning models which can be trained with feedback to improve accuracy over time.
Real-Time Processing
The solution is built around real-time API processing. Smart Receipts sends receipt images to the API endpoint, and the API returns the extracted data immediately within the same transaction. This eliminates the technical overhead of managing asynchronous webhooks or polling for results.
Structured Data Output
The API delivers structured JSON output that is ready to be used by the Smart Receipts application. This output can include over 100 data fields, such as full line item details, merchant data, dates, and taxes. Each data point in the JSON response is confidence-ranked, allowing developers a way to verify the extraction accuracy.
Automated Fraud Detection
The API also includes a fake receipt checker, which provides an automated way to flag suspicious submissions and helps reduce expense fraud.
Redefining Expense Management Through AI Innovation
The strategic integration of Taggun's specialised OCR API gave Smart Receipts a distinct competitive advantage. This 'buy over build' approach accelerated their time-to-market and allowed the company to focus on its core product development. The partnership delivered key results, including a 75% reduction in expense fraud, significant time savings, and proven scalability for hundreds of thousands of daily users.
This case study shows that selecting a technology partner requires evaluating both the technical solution and the provider's support. For mission-critical functions like expense management, reliable service and responsive support are essential components of a successful long-term partnership. Ultimately, the Smart Receipts story provides a clear model for using specialised APIs to build effective and scalable financial technology.