Construction Receipt: Everything to Know + Free Templates

Construction businesses must closely monitor all expenses such as materials, labor, and services. The construction receipt is central to the construction project.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total construction spending in April 2024 was estimated at an annual rate of $2.099 trillion.

Here is a complete guideline with all you need to know about construction receipts and their management.

What is a construction receipt?

A construction receipt is used as proof of payment for work done in the construction industry. Construction receipts are essential because they document all financial transactions.

The construction receipt should contain the following information:

• Receipt numbers

• Services

• Costs

• Taxes

• Company

• Client names

• Contact details

These are the essential elements that make up an effective construction receipt.

How should you manage construction receipts?

It’s critical to have an efficient system for managing construction receipts for your construction projects. A streamlined construction invoicing and receipt process is essential for efficient management.

In our experience, the best way to manage construction receipts is to consider the following:

1. Software and digital tools

Use receipt scanning apps with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to digitize receipts by capturing the data from each receipt.

2. Organized filing systems

Organize and categorize by the type of construction receipt (materials, labor costs, equipment) and the project phase for easy retrieval and review.

You can use a cloud-based system for safe storage and further assurance of your digital receipts not being lost or falling into the wrong hands.

3. Regular reviews and audits

Periodically review receipts to ensure expenses are accounted for and correctly classified.

Plan internal audits to verify the accuracy and completeness of receipt documentation and prepare for external audits.

How does Shoeboxed manage receipts and expenses?

Shoeboxed simplifies the management of receipts and expenses by providing a comprehensive platform for managing all financial documents.

Shoeboxed - ideal for construction companies looking to simplify and streamline receipt and expense management

Shoeboxed is a great way to take control of construction invoices, receipts, and expenses for your construction project.  

Receipt digitization

Shoeboxed digitizes paper receipts for a construction company or contractor by scanning documents through its app or outsourced service.

The construction receipt is digitized by snapping a photo using your phone's camera and the Shoeboxed app. The app extracts information from the scanned documents and receipts and uploads it to the user's Shoeboxed account - no more manual data entry.

Shoeboxed offers a mail-in service for physical receipts or documents if the user wishes to outsource the scanning.

Users and contractors can send in a batch of their receipts through a pre-paid envelope called the Magic Envelope.

Shoeboxed will scan, digitize, and human-verify the construction receipt before uploading it to the user's account.

The receipts are stored in the cloud and accessible anywhere, anytime.

The Magic Envelope fits on your car dashboard or in your briefcase, so when running around to different projects, you can fill it with receipts for expenses on the road—gas, meals, supplies, etc.

Users can also forward a construction receipt or document regarding a construction project from their email inbox to their Shoeboxed account, use a custom Gmail plug-in for auto-importing e-receipts in their inbox and send them to their Shoeboxed account, or drag and drop receipts into the cloud using a desktop or laptop.

Shoeboxed is the only receipt scanner app that will handle both your paper receipts and your digital receipts—saving customers up to 9.2 hours per week from manual data entry!

Automated data extraction

Shoeboxed uses OCR technology to turn all these receipts into a digital file with data extracted, such as the vendor name, date, amount, and category.

The OCR technology reduces the errors in manual data entry and saves time to free up construction owners for other and more important things.

Categorization

Shoeboxed automatically categorizes receipts, thus allowing for easy organization of expenses by type.

It then auto-categorizes these expenses into 15 tax or custom categories.

Shoeboxed makes all extracted data searchable, allowing you to find any necessary receipt or expense detail in seconds.

It saves you time during financial management and reporting, and all your digitized receipts and data are stored in a single place; you can access them whenever needed.

Reports

With the extracted data, users can automatically generate reports illustrating how much they have spent and in which areas.

Integrates with accounting software

And Shoeboxed works with what you already use.

Shoeboxed integrates with popular accounting software, including QuickBooks, Xero, and Wave.

All the digitized receipts and categorized expenses will sync with your accounting software, keeping financial data up to date-and ready for tax-filing purposes.

Compliance, tax, and audit-ready

Shoeboxed ensures all receipt data is captured and organized so you can comply with financial regulations.

The searchable and organized data from Shoeboxed makes the audit process easy, so all documents and information are at your fingertips.

Why are construction receipts important?

We have found that construction receipts are essential for the following reasons.

1. Financial tracking

Construction receipts are an excellent itemized source for following up on the financial end of construction work and also serve as a detailed record of total costs for the work completed.

Through tracking receipts and payments, project managers can monitor expenses compared to the budget and ensure that the project is financially on track.

2. Taxes

Proper documentation can provide significant tax savings. Many expenses can be written off as tax deductible.

A construction receipt holds the power to guarantee tax compliance and relieve you of potential penalties and fines.

3. Compliance and audit-ready

Construction projects are supposed to be authorized through various local, state, and federal authorities.

A construction receipt provides evidence and assurance that there are no illegal or suspicious financial transactions within the business entity.

With Shoeboxed, the itemized receipts are audit-ready. This gives auditors clear visibility and access to all financial transactions.

Construction receipts give a paper trail to both parties involved. It also provides them with a transparent base for pricing and costs.

Free construction receipt templates

You can use a printable construction invoice template to simplify construction invoicing and a construction receipt template when payments are received.

Construction receipt examples are available to help contractors maintain consistent and comprehensive records of their transactions.

Here are some free printable construction receipt templates to download and use as construction receipt examples.

Construction receipt template by Invoice2go

Download the construction receipt template here.

Construction receipt template by Invoice Fly

Download the construction receipt template here.

Construction receipt template by Jobber

Download the construction receipt template here.

Frequently asked questions

Why should you save a construction receipt?

All of the construction receipts need to be kept for several reasons:

1. Tracking and budget management

Construction receipts account for all the expenses incurred in a project in great detail.

2. Regulatory compliance and auditing

Receipts show compliance with various demands from local, state, and federal regulations. One primary way of preparing for auditing is through receipts.

3. Tax preparation

Proper documentation of expenditures through receipts is necessary to identify the amount of deductible expenses during tax preparation.

Accurate records can ensure significant tax savings and ensure compliance with tax regulations.

What is the advantage of using a construction receipt template?

Using a construction receipt template is much easier than starting from scratch. You can go in on construction receipt templates and edit sections that need to be changed. The same can be said for construction invoice templates.

How does Shoeboxed help to manage construction receipts effectively?

Shoeboxed can significantly enhance the management of construction receipts with its following features:

1. OCR receipt digitization technology

Shoeboxed provides the feature of converting paper receipts into digital form, which OCR technology enables. This means all your receipts are transformed into a digital format where critical information like the vendor's name, date, amount, and category are extracted automatically.

2. Automated classification and storage

Shoeboxed automatically organizes and classifies the construction receipt, which helps categorize the expenditure under material, labor, or equipment categories. The digitized construction receipt is then safely stored in the cloud.

3. Expense tracking and reporting

Shoeboxed processes receipt data, thus providing insights at the user's disposal anytime. This enables better financial oversight and decision-making. Users can also automatically generate detailed expense reports using Shoeboxed.

4. Compliance and audit readiness

Shoeboxed helps ensure audit readiness by accurately capturing and organizing the data from the construction receipt and having all documents and information easily accessible when needed.

In conclusion

Construction receipts are part of every project management process. It presents a detailed record of every financial transaction that occurred during construction. Digital management of receipts with a very orderly system will give you control over your finances to ensure project success.

Caryl Ramsey has years of experience assisting in bookkeeping, taxes, and customer service. She uses various accounting software to set up client information, reconcile accounts, code expenses, run financial reports, and prepare tax returns. She is also experienced in setting up corporations with the State Corporation Commission and the IRS.

About Shoeboxed!

Shoeboxed is a receipt scanning service with receipt management software that supports multiple receipt capture methods: send, scan, upload, forward, and more!

You can stuff your receipts into one of our Magic Envelopes (prepaid postage within the US). Use our receipt tracker + receipt scanner app (iPhone, iPad , and Android) to snap a picture while on the go—auto-import receipts from Gmail. Or forward a receipt to your designated Shoeboxed email address.

Turn your receipts into data and deductibles with our expense reports, including IRS-accepted receipt images.

Join over 1 million businesses scanning & organizing receipts, creating expense reports, and more—with Shoeboxed.

Try Shoeboxed today!