Every major accounting tool — QuickBooks, Wave, FreshBooks, Xero, Zoho Books — accepts CSV imports. The format is decades old and universally supported for a reason: it works.
The bottleneck isn't the import. It's getting your receipt data into a CSV in the first place. If you're typing it in manually, you're doing the hard part wrong.
Why CSV is the universal bridge format
Accounting software companies build their own data formats, but they all export and import CSV because they have to. It's the lowest common denominator that every tool supports.
When you import a CSV into QuickBooks or Wave, you're essentially filling in the same fields you'd type manually — date, vendor, amount, description — but in bulk. Instead of entering 30 transactions one at a time, you upload one file.
The challenge is that your receipts aren't CSV files. They're photos, PDFs, and paper slips. Converting them has traditionally meant typing.
The fast way: scan first, export as CSV
Receipt Converter extracts receipt data and exports directly to CSV. The workflow:
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Upload your receipt photos. Drop them on the site — JPG, PNG, HEIC, PDF all work. The AI reads the vendor, date, line items, tax, and total.
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Review the extracted data. Check that the total matches and the vendor name looks right. Edit anything that needs adjusting — it's a simple inline table.
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Export as CSV. One click. You get a properly formatted
.csvfile ready to import. -
Import into your accounting tool. Open QuickBooks, Wave, FreshBooks, or whichever tool you use, find the CSV import feature, and upload the file. Map the columns if needed (most tools have a mapping step), and the transactions appear in your system.
Drop any receipt photo below. Results in a few seconds, free.
QuickBooks CSV import
In QuickBooks Online:
- Go to Banking in the left menu
- Click Upload transactions
- Select your CSV file
- Map the columns: Date, Description (vendor), Amount
- Review and confirm the imported transactions
QuickBooks expects a specific date format (MM/DD/YYYY) and amounts as numbers without currency symbols. The CSV from Receipt Converter is formatted correctly for this.
QuickBooks Online imports need expenses as positive numbers in a "spend" column or as negative numbers in a combined amount column, depending on your account setup. If your transactions import as income instead of expenses, check the column mapping — the amounts may need to be in a different column or sign.
Wave CSV import
Wave (the free accounting tool popular with freelancers) has a transaction import feature under Accounting > Transactions > Import. It accepts CSV with columns for date, description, amount, and optionally category.
Wave is slightly more flexible about date formats than QuickBooks but follows the same basic pattern. Upload the file, review the preview, confirm the import.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks's import is primarily for expenses under Expenses > Import. It accepts CSV with date, vendor name, amount, and category columns. The category needs to match FreshBooks's expense categories — you may need to add a category column to your CSV or assign categories after import.
Xero
Xero uses a bank statement import (OFX, QIF, or CSV) under Accounting > Bank Accounts. The CSV format needs date, description, and amount columns. Xero's matching system then suggests which transactions match existing records.
What to do when columns don't match
Every accounting tool has a column-mapping step in their import flow. Even if the column names in your CSV are different from what the tool expects, you can map them manually: "This column called 'vendor' maps to your 'description' field."
If you're importing repeatedly, save the column mapping the first time. Most tools remember it.
Accounting tools import at the transaction level — one row per receipt, showing the total. Receipt Converter extracts individual line items, which is useful for expense reports and personal tracking. When exporting for accounting software import, use the total row rather than the individual line items, or use a CSV format where each receipt is a single row.
Batching for month-end processing
If you're doing this monthly rather than per receipt, the batch upload feature (available on Pro plans) lets you process up to 25 receipts at once. At month end:
- Upload all receipts from the month
- Review the batch — each receipt gets its own row in a summary view
- Export the whole month as a single CSV
- Import that CSV into your accounting tool
One upload session, one CSV, one import. The entire month done in 20-30 minutes instead of hours.
For submitting expenses externally rather than importing into accounting software, you probably want a PDF report instead. See our guide on how to create a PDF expense report from receipts.
Get your receipts into accounting software faster. Try Receipt Converter free →