In the past few years, a variety of new software has been developed to help individuals and business owners track and manage their expenses using digital receipts and receipt scanning software. Here are our top 5 ways to use tech tools to track your spending:

1. Consider going paperless

The #1 reason people make mistakes tracking their expenses, or forget to include lucrative write-offs on their taxes, is because they’re still using hard copy methods. Paper receipts and reports get lost, misplaced, smudged, and torn. Not to mention the damage they do to the environment. Going paperless will make all of your expenses instantly searchable within your chosen software application.

2. Get receipt scanning software

Speaking of software, there are some amazing programs out there to help you track your business expenses quickly and easily. One of our favorites is a cloud-based software application called Shoeboxed.

Shoeboxed turns all of your paper clutter into digitized receipts, no matter how buried your office is! When you sign up, you’ll get a bunch of “Magic Envelopes” in the mail. Just toss your paper clutter, including receipts, bank statements, and whatever else you’ve got, into the envelopes. When Shoeboxed receives them, they will scan and digitize all of your receipts for you and upload the data to your secure account. You’ll then be able to get an instant snapshot of all your business expenses, assign them categories, and create one-click expenses reports.

3. Create one-click expense reports

Gone are the days of passing around a hard copy spreadsheet from employee to employee, or stapling receipt after receipt to a smudged piece of paper. Using your chosen receipt scanning software, you’ll be able to create an instant report of expenses based on category, date range, or whatever criteria you want.

4. Put your smartphone to work

Track expenses while you’re traveling for business, on your way to a meeting, or working abroad. The Shoeboxed app for iOS and Android lets you snap pictures of receipts and instantly upload them to your cloud-based account. This way, you won’t accumulate paper clutter in your wallet, purse, or car, and you’ll keep your account updated in real time.

5. Be consistent

The easiest way to keep track of your business expenses is by being consistent. Mobile receipt scanning software makes it easy to scan receipts and track expenses any time of day or night, wherever you happen to be. Since it only takes a second or two to scan a receipt, there’s no excuse to let the paper clutter build up!

Keeping track of your expenses and sharing them with your tax professional will ensure the highest refund come tax time. It will also save you hours of time throughout the year and prevent reports and receipts from getting lost in the shuffle.