Expense Categorizer
Every card spend coded, checked and receipted.
Expense Categorizer
Finance & Accounting
- RuleDone:
A new transaction appears, or a receipt is emailed or uploaded.
- RuleDone:
It reads the receipt and matches it to the transaction.
- RuleDone:
It checks for duplicates and reuses your past choices for known merchants.
- RuleDone:
It suggests the account, tax code and class from your lists.
- RuleDone:
It applies your policy and GST rules and chases missing receipts.
- PersonWaiting for approval:Waiting for you
It posts the category with the receipt attached, or sends it for approval.
For example: A 40-person design agency on Xero forwards card receipts to its receipt inbox.
Waiting for you. Nothing has changed yet.
Review for important actions. Customer-facing and record-changing actions are reviewed first.
What is Expense Categorizer?
In shortExpense Categorizer is an AI automation for Finance & Accounting teams that works with Gmail, Outlook, QuickBooks, Slack, WhatsApp and 2 more apps. Matches receipts to card transactions, picks the expense account and tax code, checks policy and duplicates, and posts to QuickBooks, Xero or Zoho Books. It is built for finance manager or founder, outsourced bookkeeper or CA firm, cost-centre managers (approvers) and employees who submit receipts.
Last reviewed
Key facts
- Department
- Finance & Accounting
- Starts when
- A new uncategorised card or bank transaction appears in your books, or a receipt is emailed to your receipt inbox or uploaded
- Works with
- Gmail, Outlook, QuickBooks, Slack, WhatsApp, Xero, Zoho Books
- Run modes offered
- Shadow, Draft, Assisted and Auto
- Human control
- Review for important actions
- Status
- Available now
The problem today
At month end the bookkeeper chases receipts, reads each one, picks an account, checks GST input credit and spots duplicates by eye. Today: 2–5 minutes per transaction, for 100–3,000 transactions a month. Missing receipts and wrong tax codes cause audit issues and lost input tax credit.
What it does
It watches your ledger for new card and bank spends and collects receipts from a forwarding inbox or upload. It reads each receipt, matches it to the right transaction and suggests an account, tax code and class from your own ledger lists. Rules then check your expense policy, GST eligibility and duplicates. Clean items are posted directly in Assisted and Auto modes; anything unusual goes to a manager or finance for approval.
How does Expense Categorizer work?
How it works- Rule you set
- AI step
- A person decides
- Step 1Rule
A new transaction appears, or a receipt is emailed or uploaded.
- Step 2Rule
It reads the receipt and matches it to the transaction.
- Step 3Rule
It checks for duplicates and reuses your past choices for known merchants.
- Step 4Rule
It suggests the account, tax code and class from your lists.
- Step 5Rule
It applies your policy and GST rules and chases missing receipts.
- Step 6Person
It posts the category with the receipt attached, or sends it for approval.
What you get
Key features- Matching: same amount (or within 3% across currencies at a trusted rate), date ± 3 days and a similar merchant name.
- Merchant memory: after people confirm the same account 3 times in a row, it is reused without AI.
- Missing-receipt reminders to the card holder on day 2 and day 4, then to the manager on day 6.
- Duplicate check: same file, same merchant + amount + date, or same supplier invoice number within 180 days.
- Policy rules: category limits, approval-only categories, alcohol, weekend and holiday spend, card holder vs cost centre.
- GST rules: no claimable tax code without a valid supplier GSTIN, or for categories on your blocked list.
- Reads photos, scans, PDFs and e-receipts (tested on Hindi and Spanish receipts).
How much does it do on its own?
Run modesPick a mode to see what Expense Categorizer would do at each step.
Every automation starts in Shadow. Move it up when you are ready, and back down at any time. How run modes work
Expense Categorizer in Shadow
Runs on real data and shows what it would have done. No app is changed and no message is sent.
- Rule
A new transaction appears, or a receipt is emailed or uploaded.
Watches for it
- Rule
It reads the receipt and matches it to the transaction.
Runs on real data, read only
- Rule
It checks for duplicates and reuses your past choices for known merchants.
Runs on real data, read only
- Rule
It suggests the account, tax code and class from your lists.
Runs on real data, read only
- Rule
It applies your policy and GST rules and chases missing receipts.
Runs on real data, read only
- Person
It posts the category with the receipt attached, or sends it for approval.
Shown to you as a suggestion
Shadow vs Auto for Expense Categorizer
Auto is the most it can do on its own. Here is each step side by side.
| Step | Shadow | Auto |
|---|---|---|
| In short | Runs on real data and shows what it would have done. No app is changed and no message is sent. | Runs without approval, with limits, alerts and a kill switch. Unlocks after a trial period in Assisted. |
| Step 1A new transaction appears, or a receipt is emailed or uploaded. | Watches for it | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 2It reads the receipt and matches it to the transaction. | Runs on real data, read only | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 3It checks for duplicates and reuses your past choices for known merchants. | Runs on real data, read only | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 4It suggests the account, tax code and class from your lists. | Runs on real data, read only | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 5It applies your policy and GST rules and chases missing receipts. | Runs on real data, read only | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 6It posts the category with the receipt attached, or sends it for approval. | Shown to you as a suggestion | Within your limits; anything outside them goes to a person |
| True in every mode | Never pays, reimburses, transfers or reconciles, and never creates accounts, tax codes, classes or vendors. | |
What it will never do on its own
Safety & human control- Never pays, reimburses, transfers or reconciles, and never creates accounts, tax codes, classes or vendors.
- Never overwrites a transaction a person already categorised or reconciled; it re-checks just before writing.
- Every exception needs a person in every mode: policy breach, high value (default INR 50,000 / USD 1,000), possible duplicate, low confidence, foreign currency, amount mismatch or an edited-looking receipt.
- The AI reason is a note only; the receipt and the human approvals are the audit evidence.
- Receipt files are kept 90 days (the ledger keeps its copy); card numbers are never stored.
- You approve before it acts
- Your data stays yours
- It knows its limits
- Stop anytime
What will you see on your dashboard?
Results you can trackTargets are quality goals the automation is built to reach. Estimates are calculated from your own volumes.
- Tracked
% auto-categorised
Measured on your own data
- Target
Uncategorised backlog (target: month-end pile down 80%)
A goal it is built to reach
- Tracked
Missing receipts (count and age)
Measured on your own data
- Tracked
Policy exceptions
Measured on your own data
- Tracked
GST credit at risk (missing GSTIN amounts)
Measured on your own data
- Estimate
Hours saved
Worked out from your own volumes
- Target
Category accuracy without edits (target: ≥ 90%)
A goal it is built to reach
- Target
Receipt total accuracy (target: ≥ 98%)
A goal it is built to reach
- Target
Duplicate recall (target: ≥ 98%)
A goal it is built to reach
- Target
Policy breaches flagged (target: 100%)
A goal it is built to reach
- Target
Wrong GST claims (target: 0)
A goal it is built to reach
A 40-person design agency on Xero forwards card receipts to its receipt inbox. A ₹1,200 taxi ride is matched and coded to Travel from merchant memory, while a team dinner with alcohol goes to the manager's card. A missing hotel receipt triggers a Slack message to the card holder on day 2.
Who is Expense Categorizer for?
- Finance manager or founder
- Outsourced bookkeeper or CA firm
- Cost-centre managers (approvers)
- Employees who submit receipts
Industries: Accounting & bookkeeping firms, Professional services, Agencies, SaaS & tech, E-commerce & retail
Connects to the apps you already use
Works withApp names are trademarks of their owners. Charviam connects to them; it is not a partner or reseller.
- Gmail(optional)
- Outlook(optional)
- QuickBooks
- Slack(optional)
- Xero
- Zoho Books
What do you need to set it up?
Setup- Connect QuickBooks Online, Xero or Zoho Books, and pick the bank and card accounts to watch (QuickBooks / Xero: the suspense accounts).
- Enter tax codes, classes and projects (projects on Xero only), plus card holders with their cost centres.
- Set policy rules, thresholds (receipt required above INR 2,000 / USD 75 by default) and confidence levels.
- To use GST rules, turn them on with a non-claimable tax code; your CA fills the blocked-category list.
- Choose email or Slack for receipt requests, and name manager and finance approvers.
Typical setup
- 01Connect your apps
- 02Configure the rules
- 03Run a watch-only trial
- 04Go live
Not included
- Reimbursing employees, payments or payroll approvals.
- Deciding tax law eligibility: it applies your mapping and flags, and your CA decides.
- Corporate card controls, expense report apps, customer invoices or supplier bills.
Questions about Expense Categorizer
FAQSee Expense Categorizer on your own data
WalkthroughIt starts in Shadow, where it only watches and suggests, so nothing changes in your apps until you say so.