Apply — Automatically organizes invoices and receipts for tax preparation by reading messy files, extracting key information, renaming them consistently, and sorting them into logical fold
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Apply — Automatically organizes invoices and receipts for tax preparation by reading messy files, extracting key information, renaming them consistently, and sorting them into logical fold
Organizes by Category: Sorts into logical folders:
By vendor
By expense category (software, office, travel, etc.)
By time period (year, quarter, month)
By tax category (deductible, personal, etc.)
Handles Multiple Formats: Works with:
PDF invoices
Scanned receipts (JPG, PNG)
Email attachments
Screenshots
Bank statements
Maintains Originals: Preserves original files while organizing copies
How to Use
Basic Usage
Navigate to your messy invoice folder:
cd ~/Desktop/receipts-to-sort
Then ask Claude Code:
Organize these invoices for taxes
Or more specifically:
Read all invoices in this folder, rename them to
"YYYY-MM-DD Vendor - Invoice - Product.pdf" format,
and organize them by vendor
Advanced Organization
Organize these invoices:
1. Extract date, vendor, and description from each file
2. Rename to standard format
3. Sort into folders by expense category (Software, Office, Travel, etc.)
4. Create a CSV spreadsheet with all invoice details for my accountant
Instructions
When a user requests invoice organization:
Scan the Folder
Identify all invoice files:
# Find all invoice-related files
find . -type f \( -name "*.pdf" -o -name "*.jpg" -o -name "*.png" \) -print
Report findings:
Total number of files
File types
Date range (if discernible from names)
Current organization (or lack thereof)
Extract Information from Each File
For each invoice, extract:
From PDF invoices:
Use text extraction to read invoice content
Look for common patterns:
"Invoice Date:", "Date:", "Issued:"
"Invoice #:", "Invoice Number:"
Company name (usually at top)
"Amount Due:", "Total:", "Amount:"
"Description:", "Service:", "Product:"
From image receipts:
Read visible text from images
Identify vendor name (often at top)
Look for date (common formats)
Find total amount
Fallback for unclear files:
Use filename clues
Check file creation/modification date
Flag for manual review if critical info missing
Determine Organization Strategy
Ask user preference if not specified:
I found [X] invoices from [date range].
How would you like them organized?
1.**By Vendor** (Adobe/, Amazon/, Stripe/, etc.)
2.**By Category** (Software/, Office Supplies/, Travel/, etc.)
3.**By Date** (2024/Q1/, 2024/Q2/, etc.)
4.**By Tax Category** (Deductible/, Personal/, etc.)
5.**Custom** (describe your structure)
Or I can use a default structure: Year/Category/Vendor
Create Standardized Filename
For each invoice, create a filename following this pattern:
## Files Created
- `/Invoices/` - Organized invoices
- `/Invoices/invoice-summary.csv` - Spreadsheet for accounting
- `/Invoices/originals/` - Original files (if copied)
## Files Needing Review
[List any files where information couldn't be extracted completely]
## Next Steps
1. Review the `invoice-summary.csv` file
2. Check files in "Needs Review" folder
3. Import CSV into your accounting software
4. Set up auto-organization for future invoices
Ready for tax season! 🎉
Examples
Example 1: Tax Preparation (From Martin Merschroth)
User: "I have a messy folder of invoices for taxes. Sort them and rename properly."
Process:
Scans folder: finds 147 PDFs and images
Reads each invoice to extract:
Date
Vendor name
Invoice number
Product/service description
Renames all files: YYYY-MM-DD Vendor - Invoice - Product.pdf
Organizes into: 2024/Software/, 2024/Travel/, etc.
Creates invoice-summary.csv for accountant
Result: Tax-ready organized invoices in minutes
Example 2: Monthly Expense Reconciliation
User: "Organize my business receipts from last month by category."
Output:
# March 2024 Receipts Organized## By Category- Software & Tools: $847.32 (12 invoices)
- Office Supplies: $234.18 (8 receipts)
- Travel & Meals: $1,456.90 (15 receipts)
- Professional Services: $2,500.00 (3 invoices)
Total: $5,038.40
All receipts renamed and filed in:
`Business-Receipts/2024/03-March/[Category]/`
CSV export: `march-2024-expenses.csv`
Example 3: Multi-Year Archive
User: "I have 3 years of random invoices. Organize them by year, then by vendor."
Each file properly renamed with date and description.
Example 4: Email Downloads Cleanup
User: "I download invoices from Gmail. They're all named 'invoice.pdf', 'invoice(1).pdf', etc. Fix this mess."
Output:
Found 89 files all named "invoice*.pdf"
Reading each file to extract real information...
Renamed examples:
- invoice.pdf → 2024-03-15 Shopify - Invoice - Monthly Subscription.pdf
- invoice(1).pdf → 2024-03-14 Google - Invoice - Workspace.pdf
- invoice(2).pdf → 2024-03-10 Netlify - Invoice - Pro Plan.pdf
All files renamed and organized by vendor.
Create a script that watches my ~/Downloads/invoices folder
and auto-organizes any new invoice files using our standard
naming and folder structure.
This creates a persistent solution that organizes invoices as they arrive.
Pro Tips
Scan emails to PDF: Use Preview or similar to save email invoices as PDFs first
Consistent downloads: Save all invoices to one folder for batch processing
Monthly routine: Organize invoices monthly, not annually
Backup originals: Keep original files before reorganizing
Include amounts in CSV: Useful for budget tracking
Tag by deductibility: Note which expenses are tax-deductible
Keep receipts 7 years: Standard audit period
Handling Special Cases
Missing Information
If date/vendor can't be extracted:
Flag file for manual review
Use file modification date as fallback
Create "Needs-Review/" folder
Duplicate Invoices
If same invoice appears multiple times:
Compare file hashes
Keep highest quality version
Note duplicates in summary
Multi-Page Invoices
For invoices split across files:
Merge PDFs if needed
Use consistent naming for parts
Note in CSV if invoice is split
Non-Standard Formats
For unusual receipt formats:
Extract what's possible
Standardize what you can
Flag for review if critical info missing
Related Use Cases
Creating expense reports for reimbursement
Organizing bank statements
Managing vendor contracts
Archiving old financial records
Preparing for audits
Tracking subscription costs over time
Why This Skill Exists
Apply — Automatically organizes invoices and receipts for tax preparation by reading messy files, extracting key information, renaming them consistently, and sorting them into logical fold
What If Fails
If this skill fails to produce the expected output: (1) verify input completeness, (2) retry with more specific context, (3) fall back to the parent workflow without this skill.
