Vendor and category rules: file receipts automatically in ReceiptBook

Choosing a category for the tenth fuel receipt of the quarter is busywork. ReceiptBook learns from what you have already filed and lets you write your own rules, so most new documents arrive in the Inbox with the right category already set. You still see every document before it's filed.

Vendor rules: offered, never forced

When you have confirmed at least two documents from the same vendor and most of them went under the same category, ReceiptBook asks, for example, Always file Metro Gas & Go under Fuel? with the explanation that new documents from this vendor get the same category and that you can remove the rule in Settings.

Tap Always to create the rule, or Not now to keep choosing by hand. From then on, new documents from that vendor get the category as soon as they're read, and the field shows the source Your rule. The rule also works with your own categories, so a vendor can go straight to something like Tools under Goods & materials.

Category rules: match more than the vendor name

Some patterns aren't about one vendor. Parking from three different car parks, small cash purchases, or anything paid in Swiss francs might all belong in one place. Category rules handle that.

In Settings > Rules, tap New rule. Under When a new document, set any of these conditions:

Every condition you set must match; leave one empty to accept anything. The total is compared in the currency shown next to the amounts. Under File it under, choose a standard category or one of your own.

The list shows each category rule with its conditions on one line and how many documents it has filed so far. Tap a rule to change it, or swipe to delete it. Vendor rules are listed below the category rules.

Which rule wins

ReceiptBook checks in a fixed order, and stops at the first match:

1. A category you picked yourself. Rules never overwrite it.
2. Vendor rules.
3. Category rules, checked on every new document after the vendor rules.
4. Automatic keyword and merchant categories (ReceiptBook Pro).
5. Apple Intelligence, on supported iPhones with iOS 26 (ReceiptBook Pro).

So a vendor rule for your office supplier beats a general under 20.00, Cash rule. If neither applies and you don't have Pro, the document arrives without a category and you choose one in review. The Inbox shows No category so it doesn't slip through.

Vendor names

Receipts print vendor names in odd ways: all caps, a branch number, a legal entity you don't recognize. In review, rename the vendor, and later documents from it show your name. Settings > Vendor names lists the names ReceiptBook has learned. Swipe to forget a name; later documents then show the vendor as printed.

ReceiptBook also remembers what is usual for a vendor, such as its currency, VAT rate and payment method, which helps when a receipt is hard to read.

Automatic categories with Pro

Without any rule, ReceiptBook Pro can still suggest a category from keywords and well-known merchant names on the receipt, on the iPhone. On supported devices, Apple Intelligence can fill a missing category too, including one of your own categories. Both are suggestions: the field is marked so you can see where it came from, and you confirm the document as usual. The Apple Intelligence post explains when it runs.

FAQ

Download ReceiptBook and let your regular receipts file themselves.