Building Your Business Business Tools The 8 Best Receipt Scanners Keep track of your purchases By Dawn Papandrea Updated on August 22, 2022 Fact checked by Sarah Fisher Fact checked by Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher is an associate editor at The Balance with two years of personal finance and business writing experience. She has written about personal finance for SmartAsset, and has held internships at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's office. learn about our editorial policies We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Photo: Image by Brooke Pelczynski © The Balance 2019 The best receipt scanners can handle documents larger than the standard letter or legal-sized paper. They also allow you to scan to multiple locations including dedicated file folders, email, fax, cloud storage, and USB memory storage. Still, there are a wide variety of options available—ranging from scanners with high resolution for enhanced images and text to compact models for traveling professionals to scanners with a suite of software features. Whatever your business needs are, here are the best receipt scanners to consider. Best Overall: Brother DS-940DW Amazon Buy on Amazon Buy on Walmart The ultra-compact Brother DS-940DW scanner measures just 12.6 x 2.5 x 1.8 inches and weighs 1.5 pounds, making it the perfect size to slip into a laptop bag or backpack. With single-pass duplex scanning and speeds of up to 16 pages per minute (ppm), you can tackle order forms and sales receipts in no time. You can also scan receipts up to 72 inches in length at 600 dpi—great for warranty and returns paperwork. Along with a built-in battery, the scanner includes a USB 3.0 cable for a hardwired connection when needed. This unit lets you scan documents to specific file locations, email, and even microSD memory cards with the included reader slot. The receipt scanner is also compatible with Windows-, macOS-, and Linux-based computers, ensuring that you won't have any connection issues. Best for Portability: Brother DS-640 Amazon Buy on Amazon Buy on Best Buy One of the best mobile scanners available, the Brother DS-640 measures 11.9 x 2 x 1.5 inches and weighs just over 1 pound. It scans up to 16 ppm in both color and black-and-white and can scan to file locations, email, or cloud storage services for easy organization. The included USB 3.0 cable connects the scanner to your Windows-, macOS-, or Linux-based computer for file transfers and power. With 1,200 dpi resolution, you can scan receipts up to 72 inches long, warranty and contract paperwork, and even business and ID cards with excellent clarity and detail. The included suite of software includes programs that allow you to make minor edits like text and color optimization and to convert scanned images into editable Microsoft Word documents. This receipt scanner is also Energy Star-certified so it won't drain your laptop battery. Runner-Up, Best for Portability: Epson WorkForce ES-50 Amazon Buy on Amazon Buy on B&H Photo Video Buy on Best Buy Compact and lightweight, the Epson WorkForce ES-50 is another excellent option for traveling professionals. It can scan single pages in as little as 5.5 seconds and up to 10 ppm, quickly tackling contracts, receipts, and other documents easily. While you have to manually feed in single sheets, the scanner has an auto-feed function that keeps the rollers moving as you feed in paper to scan multiple pages to a single PDF, Word document, or Excel sheet. It also uses a USB 3.0 cable to connect to your Windows or macOS laptop. Even more, you can scan documents to specific file locations or cloud storage services like Dropbox, iCloud, and Google Drive. The receipt scanner comes with software that allows you to adjust the image quality from 600 to 1,200 dpi, enhance text and colors, and automatically remove blank pages from documents. This scanner is also made of recyclable materials and features a sleep mode to save energy. Related: The Best Portable Scanners Best Wireless: Raven Pro Document Scanner Amazon Buy on Amazon Buy on Raven.com The Raven Pro Document Scanner can scan up to 60 ppm and has a 100-sheet automatic feeder, as well as built-in anti-jam technology. The 8-inch touchscreen lets you choose a resolution from 200 to 600 dpi, select single or duplex scanning, scan in color, greyscale, or black-and-white, and choose a location to scan your document to. You can even name and organize documents on the scanner. With built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, you can scan receipts to fax, email, USB memory storage, or cloud storage services without a computer. The Raven cloud storage service also lets you edit documents and search for files by title and keyword. Plus, the included editing software features text recognition—even for handwritten notes. This receipt scanner measures just 12.4 x 8.2 x 7 inches. Related: The Best Document Scanners Best Desktop Scanner: Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i Amazon Buy on Amazon Buy on Walmart At 11.2 x 3.9 x 3 inches, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i makes for a great compact desk scanner. It features a 10-sheet automatic document feeder that can handle receipts and other paperwork up to 34 inches long and scans in color, greyscale, and black-and-white up to 12 ppm. Single-pass duplex scanning lets you send two-sided documents to specific file locations, email, cloud services, or USB memory storage devices. You can even convert scanned images into editable and searchable PDF, Word, and Excel files. This receipt scanner has a 600 dpi optical resolution for crisp, clean text and accurate colors. It also uses both an AC wall adapter and a USB cable, which connects to your Windows or macOS laptop for power. Better yet, it's Energy Star-certified for low power consumption. Best Software Features: Brother DS-720D Amazon Buy on Amazon Note The Brother DS-720D has been discontinued, but you can still buy it on Amazon. The Brother DS-720D scanner comes packaged with an entire suite of software to keep important paperwork organized and easily accessible. It includes Brother's proprietary BR-Receipts program, which turns your scanned images into searchable and editable PDF, Word, and Excel documents, as well as export images to Quicken and Quickbooks. It also includes Presto! Bizcard and Pagemanager database software to create organized folders for your documents. With single-pass duplex scanning, you can scan up to 8 ppm with a resolution of 1,200 dpi for ultra-crisp text and accurate images. There are also carrier sheets included for smaller receipts, ID cards, and business cards. Connect the scanner to your Windows or macOS laptop via the USB cable for file transfers and power. Related: The Best Photo Scanners Best for Mac Users: Doxie Q Amazon Buy on Amazon Designed for use with macOS and iOS devices, the Doxie Q scanner features a collapsible, eight-page automatic document feeder for scanning multiple pages at a time in either 300 or 600 dpi. The manual feed slot can also scan single pages in as little as 7.5 seconds. With built-in Wi-Fi, you can scan documents and receipts to cloud storage services, file locations, or USB memory storage without needing a computer. A built-in SD card slot can scan and save images and documents for organizing and editing, too. This receipt scanner is powered by a rechargeable battery that gives you up to 1,000 scans per charge (almost 2.5 hours of continuous use on a single charge). It also lets you sync all of your devices so you can easily find JPEG, PNG, or PDF scan files on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Best for Speed: Brother ADS-2200 Amazon Buy on Amazon Buy on B&H Photo Video The Brother ADS-2200 scanner can tackle large stacks of receipts in very little time. With both single- and double-sided scanning, it can scan 35 pages, or 70 images, per minute. The 50-sheet automatic feeder also allows you to scan multiple sheets at a time. If you frequently deal with sales receipts, this scanner can handle documents up to 196 inches long. The included software suite allows you to scan images and documents to dedicated file locations, email, mobile devices, and USB memory storage for easy organization. It also features automatic background and blank page removal, as well as image de-skewing for accurate image and text placement. Connect the Energy Star-certified scanner to your Windows, Linux, or macOS computer via the USB for file transfer. Final Verdict When it comes to receipt scanners, Brother is the market leader, and its DS-940DW (view at Amazon) is perfect for your business location or on the go. With duplex scanning and a speedy 16 ppm capability, it’s a lightweight powerhouse at a budget-friendly price point. If you’re looking for super speed with lots of features and a sleek touch-screen, the Raven Pro Document Scanner (view at Amazon) is splurge-worthy. What to Look for in a Receipt Scanner Size Do you want something portable or something that will sit on your office desk? What size documents do you plan to scan? Tied into that decision is weight, especially if you’re going to be carrying it around. Speed In general, the faster your scanner, the more you can expect to pay. So think about how much that matters to you. If you’re only putting the occasional receipt or contract through, then waiting slightly longer is probably not going to be a big deal. But for daily digital scanning, pay attention to the ppm when comparing models. Auto-feed If you scan a lot of multi-page documents, you should pay attention to how many pages you can put into the auto-feeder at once so you can load it up and walk away. Features From duplex scanning to touchscreens to software that is compatible with other programs you use, think about which features can streamline your workflow and keep you more organized—and then figure which ones are worth paying a few extra bucks. FAQs How does a receipt scanner save the images you scan? Receipt scanners create digital files of receipts and other paper documents and let you retrieve them in a couple of different ways. You might be able to send the documents to your computer or device wirelessly or via a USB connection, send them directly into a cloud backup, or save them to a memory card. Is it better to just scan documents using your phone or tablet? While there are apps for mobile devices that let you scan by taking a photo, doing so is a manual process that can get tedious. That’s especially true if you have very long receipts. With a receipt scanner, you can feed the papers in (in many cases, a stack at a time) and let the scanner go to work for you. What’s the difference between a receipt scanner and a regular scanner? A receipt scanner lets you feed the paper through so the hardware can capture the image quickly, whereas, with a flatbed scanner or one that is built into a multifunction printer, you must lay the item down on the glass. Flatbeds could be better in certain situations, such as if you have a photo or delicate item you don’t want to put through a feeder. But for businesses that do a lot of scanning, a receipt scanner is the way to go. Meet the Expert This roundup was written by Dawn Papandrea, a personal finance reporter who also covers consumer topics. She is a full-time freelancer with two decades of writing experience. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Brother. "DS-940DW." Brother. "DS-640." Epson. "Blank pages appear in my scanned image when using Epson Scan 2. What should I do?" Epson. "Workforce ES-50 Portable Document Scanner." Raven Support. "What Is DPI and How Does It Impact Scan Quality?" Raven. "Raven Pro Document Scanner." Fujitsu. "Image Scanner ScanSnap S1300i." Brother. "DSMobile 720 D." Doxie. "Doxie Q Original Tech Specs." Brother. "Brother ADS 2200."