Monarch gives you two ways to capture receipts and add them to your transaction history. You can scan or upload a receipt directly, or forward receipt emails to Monarch. Both methods use AI to extract key details — merchant, amount, and date — and match receipts to your existing transactions.
- Scanning and uploading: best for paper receipts, screenshots, and image files
- Email forwarding: best for online order confirmations, subscription receipts, and anything delivered to your inbox
Table of Contents
- How receipt imports work
- Matching receipts to transactions
- Scanning and uploading a receipt
- Forwarding receipts by email
- Frequently Asked Questions
How receipt imports work
Both scanning and email forwarding use AI to extract information from your receipt, suggest matching transactions, and enrich existing transaction details. When applicable, a single receipt may be split into multiple transactions grouped by category (for example, Groceries and Household).
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When a receipt matches an existing transaction, Monarch adds a Receipt Import tag, includes notes, and attaches the image. Amounts are not overwritten. Receipts are matched based on amount, date, and merchant name (case-sensitive):
- If the merchant name matches, the transaction date can be up to two days before or seven days after the receipt date.
- If the merchant name does not match, the transaction date must be within one day of the receipt date.
- When a match cannot be made, Monarch continues attempting to match the receipt to newly posted transactions. You can also manually create or match the transaction at any time.
If a receipt auto-splits into multiple transactions or adds a note, this is expected behavior — auto-split transactions and notes are enabled by default. To turn these off, select Settings (gear icon) from the Receipts page and update your preferences.
Matching receipts to transactions
Whether you scan, upload, or forward a receipt, matching works the same way. Monarch will attempt to auto-match each receipt to a transaction. If a match isn't found right away, you have two options:
- Select Add transaction to create a new transaction from the receipt details.
- Select Find match to search your recent transactions and match the receipt manually.
If a match isn't found right away, Monarch will continue trying to auto-match as new transactions arrive. Note that Monarch only matches receipts to posted transactions, not pending ones. If your receipt arrives before the charge clears, it will keep trying as new transactions post. To avoid duplicate transactions, don't create a new transaction if you're still expecting it to post.
Scanning and uploading a receipt
Scan or upload in the mobile app
You can start from either place:
- From the Receipts page: Open the navigation sidebar, select Receipts, then select Scan Receipt.
- From the Transactions page: Select Add > Scan receipt.
Then:
- Choose how you want to add your receipt:
- To scan a receipt: Align the receipt in the frame and take a photo. If your receipt is long, zoom out to fit the whole thing in one shot, no need to scan in multiple sections.
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To upload from your device:
- iOS: Tap Select existing photos and choose your image(s).
- Android: Select the photo icon in the top-right corner and choose your image(s).
- Select Add/Upload.
- Review the proposed details and edit as necessary: Merchant, Amount, Date, Subtotal, Tax, Tip, Line Items (if applicable)
- Select Create Transaction.
| Tip: For best results, take photos on a clean, flat, well-lit surface and avoid creases and shadows. |
Upload from your photo gallery on mobile
- Open your mobile device's photo gallery.
- Select the receipt image. (To bulk upload, select multiple files.)
- Select Share.
- Choose the Monarch app.
| Tip: Use Monarch widgets on iOS and Android to start scanning or uploading a receipt right from your home screen. You can also long-tap the Monarch app icon or setup an iOS shortcut. |
Upload on web
- Navigate to the Transactions page.
- Select the Receipts tab.
- Select Upload a file from the Upload receipt box in the top right.
- Choose your file(s). (To bulk upload, select multiple files in the file picker.)
- Select Open.
- Select the newly uploaded receipt to review and edit details as necessary: Merchant, Amount, Date, Subtotal, Tax, Tip, Line Items (if applicable)
Forwarding receipts by email
With email forwarding, you can capture receipts without any manual uploading. When you receive a receipt by email — an online order confirmation, a subscription charge, a delivery receipt — you can forward it directly to Monarch and it will appear in your Receipts tab automatically, ready to match to a transaction.
Email forwarding works well for:
- Online order confirmations (Amazon, DoorDash, Instacart)
- Subscription and service receipts
- Retail receipts sent via email
Setting up your email addresses
Before you can forward receipts, you'll need to verify which email address you'll be forwarding from. For security purposes, Monarch only processes receipts from verified email addresses.
Your Monarch account email and any household member emails are already verified, no setup needed if you're forwarding from one of those.
To add a different address:
- Select Transactions > Receipts > Settings > Add new email
- Enter the email address you want to forward from and select Save
- Open that email inbox and look for a verification email from Monarch
- Return to Monarch, enter the six-digit code, and select Verify
Once verified, you can forward receipts from that address with no further setup. You can add multiple verified email addresses. To remove one, go to Transactions > Receipts > Settings, select the delete icon next to the address, and select Remove email to confirm.
If you add an email address that's already verified in another Monarch account, receipts will route to the most recently added account. Monarch will notify the member whose account was originally linked to let them know their forwarding address is now linked to a different account and is no longer active.
Forwarding a receipt
Forward any receipt email to receipts@my.monarch.com. No special formatting or subject line is required. Monarch extracts the receipt data from the email body and generates a visual image of the email, which is attached to the receipt record. You'll see this image when you open the receipt in your Receipts tab.
Monarch extracts details like merchant, amount, date, and line items where available. Parsing quality varies by merchant — structured receipt emails from major retailers typically extract well, while plain-text or non-standard formats may have limited detail. Refund line items are not currently extracted. Each forwarded email is treated as a single receipt, so an email bundling several separate order confirmations won't split into multiple receipts — for best results, forward each receipt as its own email.
A forwarded email will import even without an attachment. If there is an attachment, supported types are JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC, HEIF, and PDF. Size limits are 10MB per attachment and 30MB per email, including all attachments.
| Tip: If you're forwarding a large batch of receipts at once (for example, to catch up on past purchases), send them in smaller groups and give each a little time to process. Only a limited number of receipts are processed at a time, so forwarding many at once may cause some not to import. |
Receipts typically appear in your Receipts tab within a few minutes. Monarch also notifies you as your receipt moves through the process — when it's imported, when it's matched to a transaction, and if an import error occurs.
If a forwarded receipt isn't appearing
First, confirm you're forwarding from a verified sender address. If Monarch receives an email from an unverified address, it will send a reply letting you know the address isn't recognized. Double-check that the forwarding address is receipts@my.monarch.com and allow a few minutes for processing.
If you receive a "Receipt import error" notification, Monarch received your email but couldn't extract the receipt details — usually a hard-to-read photo or an unusual format. Re-forward with a clearer image, or send the original attachment or confirmation email instead of a screenshot.
If you've confirmed the above and the receipt still isn't appearing, a few other things can cause an email to be dropped before it imports: the email exceeds the size limits, it was flagged as spam, or a large batch was forwarded at once. Try forwarding again as a single email, from your verified address, with a reasonably sized attachment. If it still doesn't appear, contact Monarch Support and we can look into it on our end.
Frequently Asked Questions
- If I delete a receipt, will it delete the transaction too?
- Why didn't my category change after scanning a receipt?
- How are taxes handled with auto-split transactions?
- I'm not receiving the verification email.
- I use Apple Hide My Email. Will email forwarding work?
- My forwarded receipt isn't matching to a transaction.
- Where can I learn about AI in Monarch and how my data is protected?
If I delete a receipt, will it delete the transaction too?
No — receipt deletion and transaction deletion are separate. You can delete either independently.
Why didn't my category change after scanning a receipt?
This is expected if your receipt only had one category. Monarch will add a note but won't change the existing category. Categories are only updated when the receipt includes multiple categories and Autosplit is turned on.
How are taxes handled with auto-split transactions?
When a transaction is split, taxes are distributed proportionally based on the split amount. Delivery fees and other fees are split evenly across all items.
I'm not receiving the verification email.
Check your spam or promotions folder. To request a new code, go to Transactions > Receipts > Settings and select Resend. Verification codes expire after 24 hours.
I use Apple Hide My Email. Will email forwarding work?
Yes, but you'll need to add and verify your actual Apple email address as a verified sender, since your Apple private relay address is different from the address you'll be forwarding from.
My forwarded receipt isn't matching to a transaction.
Monarch matches by merchant, amount, and date. If the receipt email has slightly different details than your transaction, you'll need to match manually. Go to Receipts, find the unmatched receipt, and select Find match.
Where can I learn about AI in Monarch and how my data is protected?
You can read more about AI in Monarch. Data is never stored by our AI partners, and we never allow third-party partners to train on your personal data.
Review our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for more on how your data is handled and stored.