The Receipt Processing Time Trial Challenge

Ever worked for an organisation where you often needed to claim receipts for work-related expenses? I have.

People often complain about how laborious and slow the process is. I disagree. I think it’s fun.

Today I created a new game: The Receipt Processing Time Trial Challenge.

This is how the game works.

The moment you decide you need to submit a reimbursement form, set your timer.
You must collect and submit at least ten receipts for reimbursement. Anything less than that and you are unworthy of the game.
The timer stops the moment you submit/send your receipts to your head of finance.
No apps other than photo and email/messaging apps. Certainly no finance or accounting apps. That’s cheating. (Tell your organisation to repent if they’re using specialised apps.)
If your finance person informs you that you made a mistake that requires a resubmission, your score is disqualified.
Your score is determined by the number of seconds it takes you to process and submit your receipts, divided by the number of receipts.

Today’s score

Today, I managed to collate, process and submit 26 receipts in 23 minutes and 33 seconds, which gives me a score of 54.35 (that is, on average, it took me 54.35 seconds to process each receipt).

If you manage to beat me, let me know.

Wondering how I got such an impressive score? Here’s my process.

Step 1. Digitise everything

The moment I get a reimbursable receipt, I digitise it. If it’s a paper receipt, I take a photo and email it to myself immediately. (If I don’t do it immediately, I’ll forget.)

And, if I get an electronic receipt, I … don’t read it.

Don’t just take a photo of your coffee. Take a photo of the receipt too. Photo by Evan Qu (Unsplash)

Step 2. Put it in an email folder

I then put all of my digital receipts (those from step 1 plus my electronic receipts) into a folder in my email, ready for game time.

Step 3. Screenshots

Now, the game begins. I go through all of my unprocessed receipts in my receipts folder and take screenshots of my receipts. Gotta love Command-Shift-4. (Note: some receipts needed multiple screenshots)

Step 4. PDF-ify the receipts

I combine all of my screenshots into a single PDF.

Step 5. Excel-ify the receipts

Next, I manually go through each of my receipts and enter 1) the date of purchase, 2) the item description, and 3) the purchase cost. My bank details should be in the Excel spreadsheet from last time, meaning I don’t waste valuable seconds entering bank details.

Step 6. Check it over

Quickly check for any obvious errors. If there are errors, you are disqualified from the game. But don’t take too long. It will cost you valuable seconds.

Step 7. Save

You don’t want to forget to save. If you do, you’ll submit an incomplete spreadsheet. Then your finance person will email you back asking for more information. This would disqualify you from the game. Don’t forget to save.

Step 8. Submit/Send

Now it’s time to submit your PDF and spreadsheet to your finance person. The moment you hit “submit” (or in my case “send” as it’s an email), you can stop the timer. The game is over. You’re done.

Got What it Takes?

So, what do you think? Have you got what it takes? My wife, Emma, says you should “pick a better game”. She’s wrong. There is no better game.

If you would like to participate in the game with me or think you can process and submit at least ten receipts in less than 54.35 seconds per receipt, please reach out. I have a WhatsApp group dedicated to this very game. Want to join?

The time is short.

You have better things to do with your life than spend more than 54.35 seconds per receipt on reimbursement claims.