HourSaved

Turn receipts and trip notes into a mileage and expense log draft

Snap photos of your receipts, paste your trip notes, and the AI drafts a mileage table and an expense table, flagging anything blurry, missing or personal so you fix it before tax time.

Setup
10 min
Saves
About 30 min a use (our estimate)
Level
Easy
Last checked
Works with
Any AI chat that reads images, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Phone camera
Step in a real app
Described from the official help page, not run on a real account

Run once on made-up data on with Claude. One run, not proof.

Version 1 · Draft: not yet approved by the owner · How we test

What this does

It turns a week of receipts and trip notes into draft mileage and expense tables. The prompt tells the AI to write UNCLEAR or CHECK instead of guessing, and you fix those.

This is not tax advice. Ask your accountant what counts and which mileage method fits you.

Before you start

  • An AI chat that reads photos. In Claude, click "+" at the lower left of the chat box, then "Add files or photos."
  • Receipt photos, and trip notes with odometer readings.
  • Setup time: about 10 minutes (our estimate).
  • Privacy: cover card and loyalty numbers.

Steps

  1. Photograph each receipt flat and in focus.
  2. Type the week's trip notes: date, start, destination, why, odometer.
  3. Attach the photos in a new AI chat, then paste the prompt and notes.
  4. Check both tables against the receipts. Fix every UNCLEAR and CHECK.
  5. Split any trip or receipt that mixed business and personal use.
  6. Copy the tables into your books, and keep the receipts.

The IRS gives more weight to records made at or near the time, so do this weekly.

The prompt

Prompt · fill the [brackets]
Help me build a draft mileage and expense log from my receipts and trip notes.
I've attached photos of receipts and pasted my trip notes below.

Rules:
- Use only what is on the receipts and in my notes. Don't guess.
- Make two tables.
  Table 1, Mileage: Date | Start | Destination | Business purpose | Odometer start | Odometer end | Miles
  Table 2, Expenses: Date | Vendor | What it was | Amount | Paid with | Business purpose | Receipt #
- If odometer readings are given, figure miles as end minus start and show the math. If only miles are given, copy them and mark them as my estimate.
- If a date, amount, vendor, place or purpose is blurry, missing or unclear, write UNCLEAR. Never fill it in.
- If a trip or receipt looks personal or mixed, write CHECK and say why.
- Don't add mileage rates, deductions or tax advice.
- Under the tables, list every UNCLEAR and CHECK item so I can fix it.
- Don't send anything. This is a draft for me and my bookkeeper.

Trip notes:
[paste your notes]

Before and after: the made-up input, then the real output the AI gave us.

Try it with made-up data

Birch & Bolt Handyman (made up), week of April 8, 2030. For this test we typed the receipt text instead of attaching photos.

Trip notes:

  • Mon Apr 8: shop to Alvarez house, fix porch rail. Odometer 41,220 to 41,238. Then back to shop.
  • Tue Apr 9: shop to Fairway Hardware for deck screws, then to Kim job (deck repair). Odometer 41,250 to 41,267.
  • Wed Apr 10: drove to lumber supplier, about 22 miles round trip, forgot odometer.
  • Thu Apr 11: dentist, then picked up paint at Pine St Paint for the Alvarez job. Odometer 41,300 to 41,321.

Receipts: R1 Fairway Hardware, 04/09/2030, deck screws x3, $41.85, Visa. R2 Pine St Paint, 04/11/2030, exterior paint 2 gal, $88.40, Visa. R3 QuickFill Gas, 04/10/2030, $52.10, debit. R4 Corner Diner, date smudged, $23.60, cash, "lunch w/ ?" written on back.

What the AI gave us

Mileage

DateStartDestinationPurposeOdo startOdo endMiles
04/08/2030ShopAlvarez houseFix porch rail41,22041,23818 (41,238 − 41,220)
04/09/2030ShopFairway Hardware, then Kim jobBuy deck screws; deck repair41,25041,26717 (41,267 − 41,250)
04/10/2030UNCLEARLumber supplierUNCLEARUNCLEARUNCLEAR22 (your estimate)
04/11/2030UNCLEARDentist, then Pine St PaintCHECK: mixed41,30041,32121 (41,321 − 41,300)

Expenses

DateVendorWhatAmountPaid withPurpose#
04/09/2030Fairway HardwareDeck screws, 3 boxes$41.85VisaDeck screws (notes link this trip to the Kim job)R1
04/10/2030QuickFill GasFuel$52.10DebitUNCLEARR3
04/11/2030Pine St PaintExterior paint, 2 gal$88.40VisaPaint for Alvarez jobR2
UNCLEARCorner DinerLunch$23.60CashUNCLEARR4

To fix: Apr 8, it's unclear whether 18 miles includes the drive back to the shop. Apr 11 (CHECK), the dentist stop is personal, so decide the business share.

(Three more to-fix items trimmed here.) Good: the math was right, and most gaps were marked UNCLEAR. But it filled one: the receipt says "deck screws x3", the log says "3 boxes", a unit nobody gave it. Fix it to match the receipt. A person still had to add Monday's drive back and split Thursday's trip. Photo reading was not tested, so blurry photos may cause more errors.

Check before you send

  • Each amount and date matches the receipt, digit by digit.
  • Every trip has a specific business purpose, not just "errand."
  • Personal and mixed trips are split or removed.
  • Units and quantities match the receipt.

Don't paste

  • Card or bank numbers, or photos of your card.
  • Medical or other personal receipts.
  • Customers' home addresses. Use a job name.

When not to use this

  • To rebuild a whole year from memory. Logs made at the time are stronger records.
  • To decide what's deductible or which mileage method to use.

Questions owners ask

What does the IRS want in a mileage log?

Publication 463 lists date, business destination, business purpose and miles per trip, plus total miles for the year.

Should the AI add the mileage rate for me?

No. Rates change, and the IRS lists two business rates for 2026. Your bookkeeper applies the right one.

Sources

Related guides

Money adminSort a month of bank transactions into expense categories (you check, your accountant decides)Money adminTurn your messy money notes into a tidy question list for your bookkeeper or CPAMoney adminExplain a bill or invoice line by line in plain words

All 7 money admin guidesAll 45 guides

The newsletter

One new guide a week, free.

Start with the free starter: three short emails over your first week. First the 15-minute Start here guide, then the three jobs we'd hand to AI first, then one question about what eats your week. The first two come with a practice task and the check you do before anything goes out. After that, one new guide every Tuesday: one task, the prompt to paste and the check to do. At most one ad, always labeled.

  1. Day 1Your first 15 minutes with a free AI assistant
  2. Day 3Summarize a long email thread into decisions, open questions and next steps
    Draft routine email replies in your own voice, without promises you didn't approve
    Write payment reminder emails in three tones (friendly, firm, final)
  3. Day 6What eats your week? Reply in one line, plus how the weekly guide works