How to Scan a Receipt to PDF (Free)

Receipts are the paper documents most likely to be lost — and the most likely to fade, thanks to thermal printing. Scanning them to PDF the day you get them produces a permanent, legible copy that survives in your filing system, your email, or your expenses tool.

Here is how to scan a receipt to PDF for free from your phone.

Snap and straighten in one take

1. 1Lay the receipt flat on a contrasting surface — a dark desk under a white receipt works well.
2. 2Open the Scan PDF tool on your phone and point the camera at the receipt.
3. 3Position the camera so the whole receipt is inside the frame, then let it auto-capture.
4. 4On the review screen, rotate it if it came in sideways.
5. 5Try the B&W filter — it turns a washed-out thermal print into crisp black text on white.
6. 6Save and download a single-page PDF.

Receipts are long and narrow, which is exactly what page detection is for: it crops away the desk around the paper and returns a tight, straight document instead of a photo of a crumpled strip.

A dark filter is a receipt’s best friend

Thermal receipt paper is glossy and often prints grey-on-grey. The B&W filter on the adjust screen re-thresholds the image into black text on white, which keeps small print like card numbers and line items readable even under hard light.

Keep the PDF legible for the accountant

• Check the date, total, and last-four digits of the card are readable before saving
• Photograph the receipt flat — curling edges cast shadows that hide the printed amount
• For very long receipts, capture the full strip or split it into two pages rather than cropping

Even faded receipts can be rescued

Fluorescent light often brings back text that has faded almost to nothing; hold the receipt under a bright lamp and use the Magic filter rather than plain photo. Combined with the B&W pass, a receipt you thought was dead usually survives.