feat: document receipt scanning and up to five files per expense

src/components/TopicMenu.astro

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ const courses = [
       { href: '/expenses/splits/', title: 'Splitting', text: 'Six ways, and the leftover cents' },
       { href: '/expenses/currencies/', title: 'Currencies', text: 'Exchange rates, locked on save' },
       { href: '/expenses/recurring/', title: 'Repeating expenses', text: 'Rent and other regulars' },
-      { href: '/expenses/receipts/', title: 'Receipts', text: 'Photos and PDFs' },
+      { href: '/expenses/receipts/', title: 'Receipts', text: 'Scan, attach up to five' },
       { href: '/expenses/editing/', title: 'Editing and deleting', text: 'Fixes, undo, restore' },
       { href: '/balances/', title: 'Balances', text: 'Who owes whom, simplified' },
       { href: '/balances/settle-up/', title: 'Recording a payment', text: 'Settle up' },

src/content/docs/account.mdx

@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ Under **Backup**, tap **Download a backup**. You get one JSON file with:
 - plans, with RSVPs, availability and comments,
 - the names of everyone the file mentions, including [people not on Potluck yet](/groups/#people-not-on-potluck-yet) and people who left.
 
-Deleted expenses and payments are in it too, marked as deleted, since you can still restore them. Deleted comments are not. Receipt photos are not in the file, only a note of where each one is stored. For what is left out and how to keep the file safe, see [What your backup contains](/privacy-and-security/#what-your-backup-contains).
+Deleted expenses and payments are in it too, marked as deleted, since you can still restore them. Deleted comments are not. Receipts and photos are not in the file. For each expense, it notes where the first one is stored. For what is left out and how to keep the file safe, see [What your backup contains](/privacy-and-security/#what-your-backup-contains).
 
 The backup is for keeping. The [import screen](/groups/settings/#import-expenses) reads spreadsheets, not backups.
 

src/content/docs/expenses/editing.mdx

@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ Under each edit, Potluck lists every field that changed, with the old value and
 - **Paid by: you to you $60.00 and Ben $36.00**
 - **Name**, **Currency**, **Split**, **Date**, **Category** and **Notes**
 - For by-item bills: **Items**, **Tax**, **Tip** and **Discount**
-- **Marked as a refund** or **No longer a refund**, **Receipt added** or **Receipt removed**, and **Linked to a different plan**
+- **Marked as a refund** or **No longer a refund**, and **Linked to a different plan**
+- For [receipts and photos](/expenses/receipts/): how many went on or came off, like **2 attachments added** or **1 attachment removed**, or **Attachments changed** when files were swapped. Older edits may say **Receipt added** or **Receipt removed**.
 
 So if a number looks off, open the expense and check who changed what. Edits made before Potluck kept this detail show who edited it, without the list of changes.
 

src/content/docs/expenses/index.mdx

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ An expense says three things: how much, who paid, and who it was for. Potluck wo
 
 1. In a group, tap **Add expense** on the **Expenses** tab. From anywhere else, tap the big plus button, then **Add expense**, and pick the group under **Which group is this for?**
 
-2. Type the **Amount**. The yellow chip next to it shows the currency. Tap it to pay in a different one; see [Currencies](/expenses/currencies/).
+2. Type the **Amount**. The yellow chip next to it shows the currency. Tap it to pay in a different one; see [Currencies](/expenses/currencies/). Have the receipt? Tap **Scan a receipt** under the amount to fill in the expense from a photo; see [Scan a receipt](/expenses/receipts/#scan-a-receipt).
 
    <Screenshot
      name="expense-new"
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ An expense says three things: how much, who paid, and who it was for. Potluck wo
 
 5. Under **Split between**, choose who it was for and how to split it. **Equal** with everyone ticked is the default, unless your group has saved a [default split](/expenses/splits/#default-split). The six ways to split are explained in [Splitting](/expenses/splits/).
 
-6. Add **Notes** or a **Receipt** if you like, and choose whether it **Repeats** (see [Repeating expenses](/expenses/recurring/)).
+6. Add **Notes** or up to five [**Receipts and photos**](/expenses/receipts/) if you like, and choose whether it **Repeats** (see [Repeating expenses](/expenses/recurring/)).
 
 7. Tap **Save expense**. Potluck confirms what you added and what your share is.
 
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ Tap an expense to open it.
   alt="The detail page for a Rent expense of 1,450.00 euros, converted to $1,566.00 in USD at 1.08. It was paid by Ravi on Thursday, November 5, 2026. The card below says Split equally: You owe 725.00 euros, and Ravi paid with a share of 725.00 euros. It notes Added by Ravi 1 hour ago, then a Comments section with a Say something nice field."
 />
 
-You see who paid (and how much each, if several people did), how it was split and what each person owes, the items of a [by-item](/expenses/splits/#by-item) bill, the receipt and notes, and the exchange rate if it was in another currency. **History** lists who added and changed it; see [Edit history](/expenses/editing/#edit-history). At the bottom, **Comments** is a place for the group to talk about this expense ("was the tip in there?").
+You see who paid (and how much each, if several people did), how it was split and what each person owes, the items of a [by-item](/expenses/splits/#by-item) bill, the receipts, photos and notes, and the exchange rate if it was in another currency. **History** lists who added and changed it; see [Edit history](/expenses/editing/#edit-history). At the bottom, **Comments** is a place for the group to talk about this expense ("was the tip in there?").
 
 ## Expenses for a plan
 

src/content/docs/expenses/receipts.mdx

@@ -1,32 +1,135 @@
 ---
 title: Receipts
-description: Attach a photo or PDF of the receipt to an expense, and who can see it.
+description: Attach up to five photos or PDFs to an expense, look through them, scan a receipt to fill in the form, and who can see the files.
 ---
 
 import { Steps } from '@astrojs/starlight/components'
 
-A receipt settles arguments before they start. Attach one to any expense.
+A receipt settles arguments before they start. Attach it to the expense, along with anything else worth keeping: the second page of a long bill, the booking confirmation, a photo of the menu. Or scan it, and let Potluck fill in the expense for you.
+
+## Add receipts and photos
+
+<Steps>
+
+1. On **New expense** (or **Edit expense**), find **Receipts and photos** near the bottom of the form.
+2. Tap **Add**, then take a photo or pick files. You can pick several at once.
+3. Save the expense. The files upload with it.
+
+</Steps>
+
+An expense holds up to five files. The count next to **Receipts and photos** keeps track, for example **2 of 5**. Pick more than there is room for and Potluck adds the first ones and says **Five is the limit, so the rest were left out.** With five on, **Add** goes away until you remove one.
+
+Files keep the order you add them in, and are named that way: **Photo 1**, **Photo 2**, **PDF 3**. To take one off, tap the **x** on its corner. To move one to the end, remove it and add it again.
+
+Nothing uploads until you save. If you close the form without saving, the files you picked are thrown away.
+
+### Which files work
+
+- **Photos in PNG, JPEG, WebP or HEIC, and PDFs.** Anything else gets **Use a photo or a PDF.**
+- **Up to 10 MB each.** Potluck shrinks photos on your device before uploading them, to at most 2000 pixels on the longest side, so most phone photos fit easily. PDFs, and HEIC photos outside Safari, go up as they are. If a file is still over 10 MB, Potluck says **That file is over 10 MB.**
+
+Shrinking a photo also strips the extra information your camera saved with it, like where it was taken.
+
+If an upload fails, see [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/#a-receipt-will-not-upload).
+
+## Look at them on the expense
+
+On the expense's page, the files show under **Receipt** (or **Receipts and photos** when there are several). Tap a PDF to open it in a new tab. Tap a photo to open it full screen, where you can:
+
+- **Zoom**: pinch, double tap (double click with a mouse), or use the **Zoom in** and **Zoom out** buttons under the photo. A photo zooms up to four times.
+- **Move around**: drag a zoomed photo to see the rest of it.
+- **Go to the next one**: swipe sideways while the photo is not zoomed, or tap **Previous** and **Next**. The top says where you are, like **2 of 3**.
+- **See the file itself**: **Open the original** opens it in a new tab.
+
+On a keyboard, the left and right arrow keys go to the previous and next photo. Click or tab to the photo first, and **+** and **-** zoom, the arrow keys move a zoomed photo, and **0** starts over.
+
+## Scan a receipt
+
+Let Potluck read the receipt and fill in the expense from it: the name, the date, the total, and every item for a [by-item split](/expenses/splits/#by-item).
 
 <Steps>
 
-1. On **New expense** (or **Edit expense**), tap **Add receipt** near the bottom of the form.
-2. Take a photo or pick a file. Photos and PDFs up to 10 MB work.
-3. Save the expense. The receipt uploads with it.
+1. On **New expense** (or **Edit expense**), tap **Scan a receipt** under the amount.
+2. Take a photo of the receipt, or pick one you already have. Scanning reads photos, not PDFs. Potluck reads it right there on your device and shows how far along it is.
+3. Check what it read on **Here is what it says**. Untick anything that came out wrong, and fix any price that does not match the photo.
+4. Tap **Fill in the expense**.
+5. Check the form, pick who had what, and save.
 
 </Steps>
 
-To swap it, tap **Replace**. To take it off, tap **Remove receipt**.
+To start again with a different photo, tap **Try another photo**. To stop a reading that is taking too long, tap **Stop**.
+
+:::note[A scan is a suggestion]
+A scan only fills in the form. Nothing is saved until you save the expense, so check it against the receipt first. The reader guesses, and a smudge can turn an 8 into a 3.
+:::
+
+### What it reads
+
+- **The name** of the shop or restaurant.
+- **The date.** A date after today is a misread, so it is left out.
+- **The currency**, when the receipt shows it, like € or EUR. A plain $ is read as your expense's dollar currency, or US dollars.
+- **The total.**
+- **The items**, each with its price, and how many when a line says so (for example **2× Coffee**).
+- **Tax, tip and discount.** The receipt adds up when the items plus tax and tip, minus the discount, equal the total. When leaving some of them out makes it add up, those are left out, so check them on the review. VAT that is already inside the prices is left out, since nobody pays it on top.
 
-On the expense's page, the receipt appears under **Receipt**. Tap it to open it full size. PDFs show as **Receipt (PDF)**.
+It knows both decimal marks, so 1,234.50 and 1.234,50 both work. Payment lines, like what went on the card or the change you got, are not items.
+
+### Check what it read
+
+**Here is what it says** shows the photo next to what Potluck read. Pinch or use the zoom buttons to look closer.
+
+Every part has its own box: the name, the **Date**, the items and the **Total**. Untick the name or the date and the form keeps what you already had for it. With the items ticked, the amount always comes from the items: unticking **Total** only leaves out the **Everything else** line. Every price, including tax, tip, discount and the total, can be corrected right there.
+
+Two things start unticked:
+
+- **The name**, if you already typed something in **What was it?**
+- **The items**, if they come nowhere near the total. The total alone is safer.
+
+Watch for these notes under the receipt:
+
+- **The items come to $41.20; the receipt says $44.80.** A line was misread or missed. Check the prices against the photo, or untick the items to use the total only. The note goes away once the prices add up.
+- **No total line was found, so the total was worked out from the receipt. Check it against the photo.** The receipt had no total Potluck could read, so the total is the subtotal, or the items added up. When it is the items added up, correcting a price changes the total with it.
+
+The **Currency** line shows up only when the receipt is in a different currency from the expense.
+
+If nothing on the photo looks like a price, Potluck says **Nothing on it looked like prices. Attach the photo and fill it in by hand.** Tap **Just attach the photo** to keep it on the expense anyway.
+
+### What Fill in the expense does
+
+- The name goes into **What was it?**, the date into **Date**, and the total into the amount.
+- The items become a [by-item split](/expenses/splits/#by-item), with everyone who was in the split on every line. Tap names off each line to say who had what. Tax, tip and discount come along.
+- If the total printed on the receipt is clearly more than the items add up to, the difference becomes one more line, **Everything else**, so the expense matches the receipt.
+- A receipt in another currency switches the expense to that currency. See [Currencies](/expenses/currencies/).
+- With the items unticked, only the total goes in, and a by-item split goes back to **Equal**.
+
+**Attach the photo** is ticked to start with, so the receipt joins the expense's files too and counts toward the five. Untick it to leave the photo off. It does not show when the expense already has five files.
+
+Potluck says **Filled in from the receipt. Check it, then pick who had what.**
+
+### Getting a good read
+
+- **Printed till receipts work best.** Crumpled, faded, handwritten or very long receipts read less well.
+- **Lay it flat, in good light**, and fill the photo with the receipt.
+- **English only.** The reader knows the Latin alphabet with an English model. Receipts in other scripts, like Japanese or Arabic, are not read.
+
+If it cannot read the photo at all, Potluck says **That one did not read. Try a sharper photo, flat and well lit.** When the items do not add up the first time, it reads the photo again and says **Taking a closer look**. That takes a second or two more.
+
+### The first scan
+
+The first time you scan, Potluck downloads the reader, about 7 MB, and says **Getting the reader ready**. It comes from Potluck's own site and is kept on your device, so later scans start faster and work offline too.
+
+Without a connection on that first scan, Potluck says **The first scan needs a connection to fetch the reader. Try again online.**
+
+Scanning is not there while editing a [repeating expense](/expenses/recurring/), or on an expense that names someone who has left the group.
 
 ## Who can see a receipt
 
-Receipts are private to the group. Only members of the group the expense belongs to can open them, and they are not reachable by a public link.
+Receipts, photos and PDFs are private to the group. Only members of the group the expense belongs to can open them, and they are not reachable by a public link.
+
+Anyone who can [edit the expense](/expenses/editing/) can add or remove its files: the person who added it, anyone who paid it, and the group's owner and admins. Each change shows in the expense's [history](/expenses/editing/#edit-history).
 
-The person who uploaded a receipt can replace or remove it, and so can the group's owner and admins.
+Scanning happens on your device. The photo is never sent anywhere to be read. It leaves your device only if you attach it and save. See [Privacy and security](/privacy-and-security/#receipts-and-scanning).
 
 :::caution[Before you upload]
-Photos can carry more than the receipt: card digits, an address, or the location saved by your camera. Crop the photo, or attach a screenshot of it, if that matters to you.
+Photos can carry more than the receipt: card digits, an address, or the location saved by your camera. Potluck strips the location from the photos it shrinks, but PDFs and HEIC photos uploaded as they are keep theirs. Crop the photo, or attach a screenshot of it, if that matters to you.
 :::
-
-If an upload fails, see [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/#a-receipt-will-not-upload).

src/content/docs/expenses/recurring.mdx

@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ If you skip while the editor is open, your unsaved changes stay put.
 
 Whatever you write in **Notes** is copied to every copy, like a door code or the account number for the bill. Change the notes and the next copy gets the new ones. A [by-item](/expenses/splits/#by-item) bill keeps its items, tax, tip and discount on each copy too.
 
-Receipts are not copied. Add one to each copy if you need it. See [Receipts](/expenses/receipts/).
+Receipts and photos are not copied. Add them to each copy if you need them. See [Receipts](/expenses/receipts/).
 
 ## Who can change it
 

src/content/docs/expenses/splits.mdx

@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ For restaurant bills where people ordered different things. Assign each item to
 3. Enter the **Tax** and the **Tip**. The **15%**, **18%** and **20%** chips fill in the tip as a percentage of the subtotal. Tap a chip again to clear it, or type your own tip.
 4. Got a coupon or a happy hour deal? Enter it under **Discount**.
 
+Have the receipt? Tap **Scan a receipt** under the amount and Potluck fills in the items for you, with their prices and the tax, tip and discount, and everyone in the split on every line. Then tap names off each line to say who had what. See [Scan a receipt](/expenses/receipts/#scan-a-receipt).
+
 The **Total** is the subtotal plus tax and tip, minus the discount. It comes from the items, so you do not type an amount at the top.
 
 Tax, tip and discount are split in proportion to what each person ordered. If your food was a third of the subtotal, you pay a third of the tax and tip, and you get a third of the discount.

src/content/docs/faq.mdx

@@ -59,6 +59,14 @@ Yes, for 30 days. Anyone who was in it can open **Groups**, tap **Recently delet
 
 It suggests one from the description, starting with what your group used for the same thing before. Tap another category to change it. See [Suggested categories](/expenses/#suggested-categories).
 
+## Can Potluck read a receipt for me?
+
+Yes. Tap **Scan a receipt** under the amount on **New expense**. Potluck reads the name, date, total and items on your device, shows you what it found, and fills in the expense when you tap **Fill in the expense**. The photo is never sent anywhere to be read. Check it before you save: it is a suggestion, not a sure thing. See [Scan a receipt](/expenses/receipts/#scan-a-receipt).
+
+## How many receipts can I attach?
+
+Up to five photos or PDFs per expense, 10 MB each. See [Receipts](/expenses/receipts/).
+
 ## Can I export my data?
 
 Yes. Each group's **Expenses** tab has an **Export CSV** button that downloads every expense and payment in the group, with the balances. See [Download a group's expenses](/groups/#download-a-groups-expenses). On **Me**, **Your data** has a full backup, every group in one spreadsheet, and what you share with one friend. See [Export your data](/account/#export-your-data).
@@ -69,7 +77,7 @@ Yes. Export the group from Splitwise as a spreadsheet, then open the matching Po
 
 ## Does Potluck work offline?
 
-Not really. Potluck needs a connection to load and save your groups. If you lose signal, it says **You seem to be offline. We will retry when you are back.** Times you paint on a plan keep retrying on their own.
+Not really. Potluck needs a connection to load and save your groups. If you lose signal, it says **You seem to be offline. We will retry when you are back.** Times you paint on a plan keep retrying on their own. Once you have scanned one receipt, [scanning](/expenses/receipts/#the-first-scan) works offline too, but the expense still needs a connection to save.
 
 ## Something is wrong or missing. Where do I say so?