Papirer

Smart input

Add expenses using natural language, voice, or receipt photos

Last updated 2026-02-03

Smart input

Logging an expense in Papirer should feel as natural as telling someone about it. No forms or fields to fill in: you type, speak, or scan, and the app takes care of understanding the rest.

All input methods are available to every user.

Contents

Natural language

At the bottom of the main screen there's an input bar. It's the heart of Papirer. Type as you'd tell a friend about a purchase, with no specific format to follow.

What the app detects

  • Amount — Numbers with or without currency symbols (50, $50, 50 dollars)
  • Description — What you bought (coffee, groceries, uber)
  • Date — Today, yesterday, last friday, november 15, 2 days ago
  • Category — Detected from description or specified with "in [category]"

Examples

coffee 4.50 at Starbucks
rent 1200 on the 1st
dinner friday 45 in dining
groceries 62 2 days ago
november 15 electricity 95
uber to airport 28
pharmacy yesterday 19
netflix last month 13

Tips

  • Order doesn't matter: "45 dinner friday" works the same as "dinner friday 45"
  • If you include a category name (like "in transport"), that category will be used
  • If you don't specify a date, today is assumed
  • The currency from your settings is used automatically

Voice input

When the input bar is empty, the send button turns into a microphone. Tap it and say your expense naturally.

  1. Make sure the input bar is empty
  2. Tap the microphone button (right side of the bar)
  3. Say your expense: "lunch with Sarah thirty dollars friday"
  4. Tap send when you're done, or the recording will auto-pause when it reaches the limit
  5. Review and confirm the transaction

While recording, you'll see an audio visualizer and a timer. Recording has a maximum of 20 seconds: at 15 the visualizer will change color as a warning.

Speak clearly and include the amount, description, and optionally the date. You don't need to be precise with the format: "thirty dollars" and "30" work the same.

Receipt photos

Tap the + button on the left side of the input bar to open the attachment menu. From there you can take a photo or pick an image from your gallery.

  1. Tap the + on the input bar
  2. Choose Camera to take a photo or Gallery to select an existing one
  3. The AI analyzes the receipt and extracts the merchant, amount, and date
  4. Review and confirm the transaction

For best results

  • Make sure the receipt is well-lit and in focus
  • Include the total amount in the photo
  • The app works with printed and digital receipts

PDF documents

From the same attachment menu (+ button on the input bar) you can select a PDF from your files. Handy for digital invoices or receipts that arrive by email.

  1. Tap the + on the input bar
  2. Choose PDF and select the file
  3. Review the extracted data
  4. Confirm to save

Share from other apps

If you receive a receipt, invoice, or screenshot in another app (email, messaging, files), you can share it directly to Papirer using your device's share option. The app will process it automatically as if you'd attached it from the input bar.

Recurring detection

If you type something like "netflix 13 monthly", "rent 1200 on the 1st every month", or simply the name of a known service like "spotify", the app detects it as a recurring expense and will ask you to confirm.

When this happens, a review draft opens with the recurring option already enabled. If the app has all the necessary information (frequency, day, amount), you just need to confirm. If a detail is missing, like the day of the month, you can configure it before saving.

From that same draft you can adjust the frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or custom), start and end dates, and whether each payment should require your confirmation before being recorded.

If the app gets it wrong and it's not a recurring expense, simply turn off the option in the draft and it will be saved as a regular expense.

Adding income

The app detects income from context. Just type it naturally:

salary 2500 march
freelance income 300

Processing status

After submitting a voice, photo, or PDF entry, you'll see a processing indicator in the input bar. The AI analyzes your input and creates the transaction.

If everything is clear, the transaction saves automatically and you'll see a brief confirmation. If the app needs you to review something (an ambiguous detail or a recurring detection), a draft will open so you can confirm or adjust the details before saving.

If processing fails, you can retry directly. And if it keeps failing, you can always type the expense manually in the input bar.

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