# Receipt details extraction prompt: free ChatGPT template > Pull date, vendor, tax, total and job from receipt photos into a table, with "Unreadable" instead of guesses and a check that each receipt adds up. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/receipt-details-extraction-prompt · Updated 2026-10-01 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [SOPs and operations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-sops-and-operations) · [Finance](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-finance) · [Trades](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-trades) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 1, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this when you have a stack of receipts (photos from the truck, scans, or text from email receipts) and need the details in a spreadsheet. AI reads receipts well, but a faded digit or a crumpled corner still gets read as something, and a confident wrong total is worse than a blank. This prompt asks for "Unreadable" instead of a best guess, keeps full card numbers out, and adds a quick math check on every receipt. ## The prompt Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every `[BLANK]` with your own details. It uses the four parts from [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format): Role, Context, Task and Format. Copy prompt ```text Role: You are a data entry assistant for [BUSINESS]. You copy what a receipt says; you never guess. Context: For each receipt, pull these fields: [FIELDS]. Copy names and amounts exactly as printed. If a field is cut off, faded or hard to read, write "Unreadable"; if it isn't on the receipt, write "Not on receipt." Never copy a full card number; the last four digits are enough. Our job reference rule: [JOB RULE]. Task: Extract the fields from every receipt, then check each one: do the line items plus tax equal the printed total? Flag any receipt where they don't. Format: One table, one row per receipt, with the fields as columns plus a final column, Check, that says "OK" or what doesn't add up. Dates as YYYY-MM-DD. No commentary before the table. Receipts (attached as photos, or pasted below): [RECEIPTS] ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[BUSINESS]`** Your business name, so the AI knows whose expenses these are. **`[FIELDS]`** The columns your spreadsheet already has, in order, such as Date, Vendor, Subtotal, Tax, Total, Card (last 4), Job. **`[JOB RULE]`** How receipts get tied to a job or customer, and what to write when that's missing. **`[RECEIPTS]`** Attach the photos, or paste the text of emailed receipts. Crop out anything you don't want shared. ## Example, filled in **A made-up example** from the free lesson [Daily Job Alerts: Email Each Tech Their Jobs from Google Sheets with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-daily-job-alerts-google-sheets-gmail). Rapid Flow Plumbing is the made-up plumbing company from the Daily Job Alerts lesson. Its techs photograph supply-house receipts, and the office types them up weekly. One receipt here doesn't add up. Copy example ```text Role: You are a data entry assistant for Rapid Flow Plumbing. You copy what a receipt says; you never guess. Context: For each receipt, pull these fields: Date, Vendor, Subtotal, Tax, Total, Card (last 4), Job. Copy names and amounts exactly as printed. If a field is cut off, faded or hard to read, write "Unreadable"; if it isn't on the receipt, write "Not on receipt." Never copy a full card number; the last four digits are enough. Our job reference rule: techs write the customer's last name on the receipt. Put it in Job, or write "Not written" if it's missing. Task: Extract the fields from every receipt, then check each one: do the line items plus tax equal the printed total? Flag any receipt where they don't. Format: One table, one row per receipt, with the fields as columns plus a final column, Check, that says "OK" or what doesn't add up. Dates as YYYY-MM-DD. No commentary before the table. Receipts (attached as photos, or pasted below): Keystone Plumbing Supply, 09/30/2026. 1/2 in ball valve x2 18.98, PEX crimp rings 9.49. Subtotal 28.47, tax 1.71, total 30.18. Visa ending 4417. Handwritten: Bell QuickFuel, 09/30/2026. Diesel 21.4 gal. Total 87.53. Mastercard ending 0921 Harmon Hardware, 10/01/2026. Drain auger cable 64.99. Subtotal 64.99, tax 3.90, total 58.89. Visa ending 4417. Handwritten: Mercer ``` ## What a good answer looks like - Three rows, with "Not on receipt" for the fuel receipt's subtotal and tax rather than invented numbers. - "Not written" in Job for the fuel receipt, not a guessed customer. - The Harmon Hardware row flagged: 64.99 plus 3.90 is 68.89, not the printed 58.89. - Card shown as last four only. ## How to check it before you use it An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the [Reply Faster lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-reply-to-customer-emails): check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out. - Open each photo next to its row and compare the total. Reading text from an image ([OCR](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ocr)) can swap a 5 and a 6 without any warning. - Look at every flagged row on the paper receipt. A mismatch is often a misread digit, and sometimes a real error to raise with the vendor. - Confirm no full card number or other private detail made it into the table. - Paste into your sheet only after the check column is clean or explained. ## Why this prompt works The Role ("you never guess") and the "Unreadable" rule give the AI a correct answer for the hard cases, which is what stops it from making one up. The add-up check is cheap [self-verification](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/self-verification) that catches misreads before they reach your books. The [AI Receipt Extractor](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-receipt-extractor-n8n-google-sheets) lesson builds the automated version in n8n. ## Practice it in the free lesson **[AI Receipt Extractor: Receipts to Google Sheets with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-receipt-extractor-n8n-google-sheets)**: Drop a photo of a receipt into an n8n chat. An AI agent reads it, pulls out the date, vendor and amount, picks a category, and adds a row to Google Sheets. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of n8n, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/receipt-extractor) Also useful: [Build an AI Agent That Categorizes Business Expenses](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-ai-agent-categorize-business-expenses-google-sheets) ## Terms used here [Data extraction](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/data-extraction) · [OCR (optical character recognition)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ocr) · [Structured output](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/structured-output) · [Personally identifiable information (PII)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/pii) ## Related prompts - [Expense categorization prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/expense-categorization-prompt): Sort a batch of expenses into your own categories, with a short note each and a Needs Review bucket for anything unclear… - [Reimbursement decision email prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/reimbursement-decision-email-prompt): Check an employee's expense request against your written policy, show the rule that decides it, and draft a short email with the… - [Tech daily job briefing prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/tech-daily-job-briefing-prompt): Turn today's job schedule and office notes into a short morning briefing for each technician, in time order, with unassigned… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)