Mobile Receipt Capture

What is this page about: This page explains how to download and sign in to the Light app, how to add a receipt and submit an expense, and how Light's AI reads the merchant, amount, date, and items from a receipt photo. It also covers correcting extraction errors, setting category and description, tracking expense status, and what happens if you lose signal while travelling.

# On this page

• Download and sign in
• Add an expense
• Review and edit the details
• Submit and track status
• Notifications and offline mode
• Troubleshooting

Capturing a receipt on the Light app takes under a minute. Open the app, add a photo, and Light's AI reads the merchant, amount, date, and line items for you, so you don't have to type them in by hand. A receipt isn't required either, you can fill in an expense manually if you don't have one.

# Download and sign in

1. Search "Light Inc" in the App Store or Google Play, or use the direct links:

   • iOS: Light on the App Store
   • Android: Light on Google Play

2. Open the Light app and tap Sign in. Light uses a single sign-in flow for every account, whether your company uses a plain email login or SSO, there's no separate SSO button to look for.

3. Grant camera and photo library permissions when prompted. Light needs these to capture and process receipts.

# Add an expense

1. Open the Light app.

2. Tap the + / Add expense button.

3. Optionally attach a receipt:

   • Take photo
   • Browse photos
   • Browse files

4. If you take a photo, it uploads right away, there's no confirmation step to accept or retake it. If a shot comes out blurry or angled, just take the expense's photo again from the edit screen.

Use the Light app's own camera rather than your phone's default camera. It's built to produce a cleaner image for extraction.

For a receipt that scans cleanly:

• Use natural light and avoid glare from flash or direct sun.
• Keep the receipt flat, straight, and fully inside the frame.
• Hold the phone 6 to 12 inches from the receipt and wait for it to focus.

# Review and edit the details

Once a receipt uploads, Light extracts what it can and takes you straight to an editable form, there's no separate "review" screen to pass through first.

1. Check the extracted amount, category, date, and description, and correct anything that's off.
2. Pick a category yourself if one isn't already set. Light doesn't suggest a category based on the merchant, this is always a manual choice.
3. There's no cost centre or project field on this screen. If your company tracks expenses by cost centre or project, check with Finance on how that gets applied.
4. Tap Save.

If the extraction missed something or misread a field, just correct it directly, there's no separate low-confidence prompt or "use as-is" option, you always land on the same editable form either way.

# Submit and track status

1. Once your draft expenses are ready, tap Submit to send them for approval.
2. Track your expenses from the Drafts and Submitted tabs. There's no dashboard breaking things out by pending, approved, and paid, and no filters by status, date, or category, the two tabs are the full picture on mobile.
3. The app's home screen shows your Tasks, not an expense status dashboard, use the Drafts/Submitted tabs for expense tracking specifically.

# Notifications and offline mode

Light sends a push notification when an expense is submitted, approved, rejected, or paid, when a manager requests clarification, and for corporate card authorisations and declines. Manage which of these you receive under Settings > Notifications in the app.

If you lose signal while travelling, you can still fill in an expense, Light shows "Can't save while offline" and keeps it as a draft on your device until you're reconnected. There's no automatic submission once you're back online and no Sync button, you'll need to open the draft again and save or submit it yourself.

# Troubleshooting

Camera won't open. Check that Light has camera permission under your phone's Settings > Permissions. Restart the app if the permission is already granted. Reinstall if the issue continues.

Extraction is inaccurate. Retake the photo in better light, flatten any folds or creases, and use a receipt that hasn't faded. If accuracy is still poor, correct the fields manually on the edit screen.

Expense won't submit. Confirm you have an internet connection and that you're signed in. If it still fails, take a screenshot and contact support.

# Related articles

• Submitting expenses via Slack
• AI Receipt Capture and Categorization
• Expense management overview

Also searched as: scan receipt on phone, mobile expense submission, receipt OCR app, upload receipt photo, offline expense sync