# File receipt photos in Drive, without posting the books > File a receipt by putting the photo in a dated Drive folder and one checked line in a sheet. ChatGPT may propose the filename from the supplier, date, and total you type. Do not upload the photo. The free ChatGPT plan was listed on 25 October 2026 with no paid price in the text. This has not been live-tested. - Task: Receipts into bookkeeping - Tool: ChatGPT - Industries: Tradespeople, Consultants, Cafes - Who it's for: A sole trader with a camera roll of receipts who wants the photo findable, and who will type the books separately. - Time to set up: One sitting for the folders, then one photo at a time - Monthly cost (USD): $0 on the free plan - Monthly cost (GBP, planning figure): £0 on the free plan - Difficulty: beginner - Last tested: Not yet tested - Updated: 25 October 2026 ChatGPT's pricing page on 25 October 2026 listed a free plan and did not print a dollar price for Go, Plus, or Pro. The Google AI plans page, same day, said a Google Account gives you 15 GB of storage, included in the total offered on Google One plans. This guide adds no subscription. The Claude playbook is the one that reads a photo into a bookkeeping row. This one only files the image. GBP figures are a budgeting conversion at £1 = $1.33 and €1 = £0.86, rounded to the nearest pound, fixed for this edition on 24 October 2026. They are not a live rate and not a quote. Vendor list prices are usually quoted before tax. ## Before you start The row that gets typed into the books is the [Claude receipt guide](/playbooks/claude-receipts-to-bookkeeping). PDFs that are not receipts stay on the [data-entry page](/playbooks/claude-pdf-data-entry). The month folder sits inside the wider [client and admin folder layout](/playbooks/chatgpt-client-folder-layout). Build that tree first if Drive is currently one long list. ## What you need - A Google account whose Drive you can open. - A private sheet with columns for date, supplier, total, and filename. - The receipt in front of you, so you can read the supplier, the date, and the total. ## Step by step ### 1. Make a year folder and a folder for this month In Drive, choose New, then Folder. Google's help page says there is no single correct layout, and it suggests short, meaningful names, with a date if that helps. Use Receipts, then the year, then the month, such as 2026-10. Do not drop every photo into one folder called Stuff. You create the folders. The model does not. ### 2. Read three facts off the paper Write the supplier, the date, and the total somewhere you can see them. If the total is unclear, leave it blank. Do not guess the VAT. The Claude guide is where a model reads the photo into a row you then check. This page does not do that read, because a filename does not need the image in a chat. ### 3. Ask for a filename, not an expense category In a ChatGPT Project, paste only those three facts and ask for one filename: date, supplier, total, with no spaces that will annoy a phone. The Projects article says you add instructions under Project settings. Tell it to refuse if a fact is missing. The pricing page marked Projects on the free plan and file uploads on Free as limited. Do not attach the photo. ### 4. Rename the photo and move it yourself Drive's help page says you can drag a file onto a folder, or right-click, choose Organize, then Move. You need permission to move it, or Drive makes a shortcut instead. Rename the photo to the filename you accepted, then move it into the month folder. If the suggested name invents a supplier, delete the invention and type what is on the paper. ### 5. Add one line to the sheet Date, supplier, total, filename. If you could not read the total, leave the cell empty. The sheet is a finding aid. GOV.UK says a sole trader must keep records of business income and expenses for Self Assessment. This line is not that record by itself. The photo and the supplier's document are what you keep. The how-long page did not return a separate retention sentence in the text we fetched, so read it before you delete anything. ### 6. Hand the checked row to the books later When you sit down to the accounts, open the month folder and the sheet together. The Claude receipt guide is the transcription into a bookkeeping row. Do not skip the check because the filename looked tidy. A tidy name can still sit on the wrong total. ## What can go wrong ### Uploading the photo to get a clever name A receipt can show a card fragment, a home address, or a staff meal. Type three facts. Leave the image in Drive. ### Letting the filename invent VAT The name is a label. If the paper does not show a VAT amount, the name must not imply one. The books playbook says the same about the row. ### A folder shared to anyone with the link Supplier receipts are business records. A public link is how they leave. Keep the folder private. ## UK notes ### Costs, including VAT The recommended path is £0. The plans page said a Google Account includes 15 GB, which is part of the storage total on Google One plans. If you are already paying for storage, this guide does not change that bill. ChatGPT paid prices were not in the 25 October text, so they are not converted. VAT on a software invoice is separate from the VAT on the receipt you are filing. ### Data flow The photo stays in your Drive. ChatGPT receives only the supplier, date, and total you type. That can still be personal data if the supplier is a person. Do not type card numbers. UK GDPR applies to people, not to every limited company, but a sole trader's receipts often name individuals. Keep the folder restricted. ### HMRC and Making Tax Digital GOV.UK says sole traders and partners must keep income and expense records for Self Assessment. From the 2024 to 2025 tax year, cash basis is the default unless you opt out. This folder does not choose your accounting method and it does not file a Making Tax Digital update. If a figure is unclear, it stays off the return until you can read it. This is practical orientation, not tax, legal, or accounting advice. ## Test log - 25 October 2026 — pending. Pending first test. The steps were compiled from Google Drive help, the ChatGPT pricing page, and GOV.UK's self-employed records overview. They have not been run on a live Drive. ## Sources - [Organize your files in Google Drive](https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2375091) (accessed 25 October 2026) - [ChatGPT pricing](https://chatgpt.com/pricing) (accessed 25 October 2026) - [Business records if you're self-employed](https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-records) (accessed 25 October 2026) ## Disclosure AgentShed is independent and this playbook is not sponsored. There is no affiliate link on this page. If that changes, the link will use rel="sponsored" and a sentence beside it will say so. The verdict is not for sale. ## Questions ### Is this the same as the Claude bookkeeping guide? No. That guide reads the photo into a row you check before it nears the books. This one only files the image and a one-line log. Do both if you want the photo and the row. Do not upload the photo here. ### Can I point ChatGPT at the camera roll? Not in this setup. Free-plan uploads were listed as limited, and a receipt image is more than a filename needs. Type the three facts. ### Does the sheet replace my accounting software? No. It helps you find the photo. The statutory record is whatever you already use for Self Assessment, and a Making Tax Digital update is a separate job this page does not do. Canonical page: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-receipt-photo-filing