01 · Before
Manual receipt accounting
Employees sent or stored receipt photos, and the data from them had to be transferred to a spreadsheet manually.
AUTOMATION CASE
Fuel expense automation via Telegram bot and AI
Employees send fuel receipt photos to a Telegram bot, AI recognizes the amount, the system adds the data to Google Sheets, stores the receipt photo on Google Drive, and sends a report to Telegram.
- Telegram bot
- AI/OCR
- Google Sheets
- Google Drive
- Expense tracking
- Automated notifications
- 01
Receipt photo
- 02
Telegram bot
- 03
AI recognition
- 04
Google Sheets
- 05
Google Drive
- 06
Telegram report
Briefly about the task
Employees frequently traveled on business and refueled their cars at their own expense. The company then compensated those fuel expenses based on the receipts. The process was manual: receipts could get lost, photos stayed in chats, sums had to be transferred to a spreadsheet by hand, and reports were delayed.
02 · What we did
Telegram bot + AI scenario
We built a Telegram bot that accepts receipt photos, sends them to AI for recognition, and runs an automated accounting scenario.
03 · Result
Automated expense journal
Expense data automatically lands in Google Sheets, receipt photos are stored on Google Drive, and the team gets a Telegram report.
What was the problem
When employees travel regularly for work, fuel expenses quickly turn into a separate administrative process. You need to collect receipts, not lose photos, identify the amount correctly, enter the data into a spreadsheet, save the proof, and notify the responsible person.
Receipts got lost
Receipt photos stayed in personal chats, galleries, or were forwarded manually.
Data was entered manually
Amounts on receipts had to be reviewed, verified, and entered into the spreadsheet by hand.
Accounting took time
Even a simple receipt required several manual steps: find the photo, identify the amount, write down the data, store the proof.
No single archive
Receipt photos were not always stored in a structured place, so they were hard to find quickly.
Reports were delayed
The team got the information not in real time but only after manual processing.
How we automated the process
We designed a scenario where the employee just sends a receipt photo to a Telegram bot. From there, the automation processes the receipt, extracts the data, writes it into the spreadsheet, stores the photo, and sends a report.
- 01
Employee sends a receipt
The employee takes a photo of the fuel receipt and sends it to the Telegram bot.
- 02
AI recognizes the amount
AI analyzes the receipt photo and identifies the fuel amount.
- 03
Data is written to Google Sheets
The automation appends a new row to the spreadsheet with the required data.
- 04
Photo is stored on Google Drive
The original receipt photo is uploaded to a dedicated Google Drive folder.
- 05
Report is sent to Telegram
After processing, the system posts a Telegram message with the result.
What goes into Google Sheets
After the receipt is processed, the system creates a structured record in the spreadsheet, so expenses can be quickly reviewed, filtered, and used for compensation.
Поля
- processing date
- employee or Telegram user
- fuel expense amount
- expense type
- processing status
- Google Drive link to the receipt photo
- comment or technical info, if needed
Google Sheets
| Date | Employee | Amount | Category | Status | Receipt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-13 | Employee 1 | UAH 1,250 | Fuel | Processed | Link |
Декоративний приклад. Не реальні персональні дані.
Tools in the automation
Telegram bot
Accepts receipt photos from employees in an interface they already use.
AI/OCR
Recognizes data on the receipt photo and identifies the fuel amount.
Google Sheets
Stores a structured expense journal for further accounting.
Google Drive
Archives receipt photos and lets you quickly return to the original.
Telegram notifications
Sends a report or message to the responsible team after each processing.
Automation logic
Connects all services into one stable process without manual data hand-off.
What the business got
Less manual entry
The team no longer needs to manually transcribe amounts from each receipt into the spreadsheet.
Receipts don't get lost
Each photo is automatically stored on Google Drive and tied to its spreadsheet row.
Faster compensation calculation
Expense data is available immediately after the receipt is processed.
Transparent expense journal
The company sees expenses in a structured way: who sent the receipt, the amount, and where the photo is stored.
Simple interface for employees
Employees don't need to open complex systems — sending a photo to Telegram is enough.
Fewer errors
Automation reduces the number of manual steps, and with them the risk of mistakes during data entry.
Who this automation is for
This scenario is useful for businesses where employees regularly travel for work, buy fuel, or make other expenses that the company later compensates.
Logistics companies
For tracking driver expenses, routes, and fuel compensations.
Couriers and delivery services
For collecting receipts, controlling expenses, and quick reporting.
Sales representatives
For employees who frequently travel to meetings, between clients, or sales points.
Field service teams
For technicians, engineers, installers, and field specialists.
Construction and repair crews
For teams that move between sites and have regular transport expenses.
Agricultural and field teams
For employees working at multiple locations who frequently use transport.
Multi-location companies
For teams moving between offices, sites, warehouses, or stores.
What can be scaled further
Once the basic receipt accounting scenario is live, automation can be extended to cover more complex financial and operational processes.
Expense categorization
Automatically detect expense type: fuel, parking, car wash, repairs, supplies.
Duplicate detection
The system can check whether the same receipt was uploaded earlier.
Compensation approval
The responsible person can approve or reject an expense via Telegram.
Monthly reports
Automatic expense reports by employee, team, or period.
Expense limits
Add limits for fuel or other expense categories.
Accounting integration
Data can be pushed to other systems for further accounting.
Why this case matters
This case shows how a small manual process can be turned into a simple, stable automation. The employee performs a familiar action — sends a photo to Telegram — while the system handles recognition, spreadsheet entry, photo storage, and notifications.
Want to automate receipts, expenses, or compensations?
Describe your process — we'll suggest how it can be automated via Telegram, AI, Google Sheets, Google Drive, or other tools.