How do I upload Expense Receipts to Xero Bookkeeping?

When you pay with a Wise Business card, you can attach a receipt in the Wise app, or on the web. Wise uses optical character recognition (OCR) and AI to read the receipt and pre-fill the vendor and tax rate for you, so you only need to check the details and save.

The expense details and attached receipt flows through to Xero as a spend transaction once it’s been categorised by the finance team. For more on how Wise stores and manages receipts across your business, see Expenses Receipts Management

Note: This article covers uploading and saving receipts. To learn how a completed expense reaches Xero, see Card expenses bookkeeping with Xero: how expenses sync to Xero

Before you start

• Ensure your Xero integration is connected in Wise Business.

• The team member uploading the receipt has a Wise Business card and access to the transaction in the Wise app or on the web.

• Your admin has set a default vendor and default expense account in your Xero integration settings (requires the Manage software integrations and tools permission).

Upload a receipt on mobile

After paying with your Wise Business card, open the Wise app and follow these steps:

1. Tap the card transaction you want to add a receipt to.

2. Tap Add receipt. You can either take a photo of the paper receipt or upload one from your phone (photos or PDF). Make sure it clearly shows the total amount, vendor name, and the tax applied at purchase.

3. Wise will scan and read the receipt automatically using AI.

4. On the confirmation screen, check that the AI has captured the following details correctly:

   • Vendor — the merchant Wise matched from your Xero contacts.

   • Tax — the tax amount read from the receipt.

5. If either looks wrong, tap the field to update it with the correct details.

6. If the receipt scan fails, you'll be asked to input the vendor name and/or select the tax rate.

7. Tap Confirm details to save the expense.

8. You’ll also be asked to add a short description of what the purchase was for (for example, 'Team lunch — Q3 planning offsite'). This helps your bookkeeper categorise the expense later.

Tip: The clearer the photo, the better the AI reads it. Flatten the receipt, keep it well-lit, and make sure the total and tax amount are in frame.

Upload or review a receipt on the web

Bookkeepers, admins, and cardholders with web access can also add or review receipts on the web:

1. Navigate to Expenses on the left-hand navigation panel.

2. To add a receipt that's missing, click Add receipt and choose a file (JPG, PNG, or PDF) or click on a specific transaction to upload it in the transaction details window.

3. In the transaction details window, review the AI-suggested vendor and tax rate. Update either if needed and set the expense account if it hasn't been categorised yet (requires the Manage software integrations and tools permission).

4. Click Save to save any changes.

5. When you're ready to sync to Xero, click Mark ready to sync (requires the View all transactions and download statements permission)

Note: As long as the expense hasn't been synced to Xero yet, you or your bookkeeper can reopen it and edit the vendor, tax rate, or description. Once it's synced, edits will need to happen in Xero.

For supported file types, size limits, and how Wise stores receipts long-term, see Expenses Receipts Management.