How to capture and organize your receipts in MS OneNote for expense reports

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through the process of capturing and organizing your expense receipts using Microsoft OneNote. By following these steps, you can streamline your expense reporting, making it easier to manage and submit your receipts without the hassle of loose papers.

Step 1: Set Up Your OneNote Notebook

• Open Microsoft OneNote on your desktop.
• Create a new section in your existing notebook and name it "Expense Report."
• For each month, create a new page:
  • Click "Add Page."
  • Enter the month’s name in the page title field.
• To make this process quicker:
  • Type all the month names on a single page.
  • Right-click and select "Link to Pages." This will automatically generate new note pages for each month.

Step 2: Capture Receipts as You Go

• Install the OneNote mobile app on your phone (iPhone or Android).
• Whenever you incur a business expense, immediately take a photo of the receipt:
  • Open the OneNote app and navigate to the "Expense Report" section and select the appropriate month.
  • Tap the camera icon and choose "Take Picture."
  • Swipe to select "Document" mode to capture the receipt.
  • Adjust the borders of the receipt if necessary and hit "Confirm."
• If you have additional receipts, tap the "Add" button and repeat the process.

Step 3: Organize and Edit Receipts

• After capturing receipts, you can edit them if needed within OneNote.
• To add more receipts later, select the note page title field to bring up the keyboard, tap the camera icon, and repeat the previous steps.

Step 4: Prepare for Expense Submission

• When you are ready to submit your expense report:
  • Open OneNote on your desktop and navigate to the appropriate month.
  • Change the page size by selecting the "View" tab and choosing "Letter Size."
  • Ensure all receipts fit within the printable margin (anything outside the gray area may need resizing).

Step 5: Export or Print Receipts

• You can either print the receipts directly or export them as a PDF:
  • To print, select the print option and choose your printer or save as PDF.
• Submit the printed or PDF version along with your expense report.

Conclusion

By using Microsoft OneNote to capture and organize your receipts, you can simplify your expense reporting process significantly. Make it a habit to snap photos of receipts immediately after expenses, and you'll eliminate the stress of lost paperwork. For your next steps, consider setting up your OneNote notebook today and start capturing those receipts for a seamless expense report experience.