How to Upload Receipts and Complete Bookkeeping Tasks in Addition

Keeping your bookkeeping up to date is essential for understanding your business finances, but missing receipts, outstanding paperwork and unanswered questions can slow down the process.

Addition makes it easier to stay on top of your bookkeeping by showing you exactly what your finance team needs from you. Whether you're uploading receipts, explaining transactions without paperwork or providing stocktake reports, you can manage everything directly through the platform.

In this article, we'll walk you through how to upload receipts in Addition, complete outstanding bookkeeping tasks, handle missing paperwork and provide your finance team with the information they need to keep your accounts accurate and up to date.

Step 1: Log In to Addition and Check Your Overview Page

Start by logging in to your Addition account and navigating to the Overview page.

Your dashboard displays any outstanding tasks that require your attention, including transactions awaiting paperwork and additional requests from your finance team.

For example, you might see a notification showing four transactions awaiting paperwork.

Click on this task to open the bookkeeping area, where you can review the outstanding transactions and provide the necessary information.

This means you don't need to search through emails or wait for your accountant to chase you for missing documents. Addition shows you exactly what needs your attention.

Step 2: Check the Status of Your Bookkeeping

One of the useful features of Addition is the ability to see how up to date your bookkeeping is.

Within the Bookkeeping area, you'll find an overview showing which accounting periods have been completed and which are still outstanding.

For example, your dashboard might show:

June: Bookkeeping completed.
July: Bookkeeping still in progress.
August: Bookkeeping still in progress.

This gives you a clear indication of how current your financial information is.

If your books are complete up to the end of June, you know that your financial reports are based on bookkeeping completed through that period.

If later months remain outstanding, this may be because your finance team is waiting for additional receipts, invoices or transaction details.

By completing these tasks, you give your finance team the information they need to continue processing your accounts.

Step 3: Review Transactions Awaiting Paperwork

Addition organises transactions awaiting paperwork by bank account.

This makes it easier to identify where outstanding documents are needed.

For example, you might have:

HSBC: Three transactions awaiting paperwork.
Wise: One transaction awaiting paperwork.

Select the relevant bank account to view the outstanding transactions.

Each task relates to a transaction your finance team needs more information about before they can complete the bookkeeping.

You can work through these tasks individually, providing receipts or explanations as required.

Step 4: Upload a Receipt for a Business Expense

If you have the receipt or invoice for a transaction, you can upload it directly through Addition.

For example, imagine you've made a purchase from Harbour & Grade Boutique and your finance team needs the supporting receipt.

To upload the document:

Find the transaction in your outstanding bookkeeping tasks.
Click Complete Task.
Review the transaction summary to confirm you've selected the correct expense.
Select Upload One or Multiple Files.
Choose the relevant receipt or invoice from your device.
Check that you've uploaded the correct document.
Click Submit.

Your receipt will be sent to your finance team, allowing them to review the supporting paperwork and process the transaction correctly.

You can upload more than one file if the transaction requires additional documentation.

This is particularly useful when you have several supporting documents relating to a single purchase.

Step 5: What to Do if You've Lost a Receipt

Ideally, businesses should retain supporting documentation for their expenses. However, receipts can sometimes go missing.

Addition allows you to explain what happened rather than leaving the transaction unresolved.

For example, imagine you reimbursed an employee called Holly Chen for postage she paid for personally.

You know what the payment relates to, but you no longer have the original receipt.

To complete the task:

Open the relevant transaction.
Select the option to add a message or explanation.
Explain what the payment was for and why the paperwork is unavailable.
Send the message to your finance team.
Select No Paperwork.
Complete any additional categorisation fields required.

You might leave a message such as:

"I've lost the receipt for this transaction. It was a reimbursement for postage that Holly paid for personally."

Your finance team will receive the explanation and can use it when reviewing how the transaction should be recorded.

It's important to remember that selecting No Paperwork doesn't automatically mean an expense qualifies for a tax deduction or VAT reclaim. Your finance team may need additional information to determine the correct treatment.

Providing an explanation is still better than leaving the transaction unanswered.

Step 6: Assign Transactions to the Correct Business Unit or Sales Channel

Depending on how your business is configured in Addition, you may be asked to assign transactions to specific tracking categories or business units.

This helps your finance team understand where expenses belong within your business.

For example, imagine your company sells products through multiple channels, including Amazon and Shopify.

You might need to allocate an expense to:

Business unit: Homeware
Sales channel: Amazon

This ensures the expense is attributed to the relevant part of your business.

Accurate categorisation is particularly useful for companies operating across multiple brands, product categories or sales channels.

It allows your finance team to prepare more detailed financial reports and helps you understand how different areas of your business are performing.

Step 7: Add a Description to Give Your Finance Team More Context

Sometimes a receipt alone doesn't explain why a purchase was made.

Addition allows you to add a description when submitting supporting paperwork.

For example, imagine you've purchased product samples for an upcoming trade show.

When uploading the receipt, you could add a description such as:

"Product samples purchased for the trade show demonstration day."

This gives your finance team additional context about the expense.

It can be particularly helpful when a transaction could relate to several different business activities.

Providing clear descriptions helps your finance team categorise expenses accurately and reduces the need for follow-up questions.

One of the advantages of working with Addition is that you have a dedicated finance team that becomes familiar with your business over time.

Rather than repeatedly explaining how your business operates, you're working with people who understand your suppliers, sales channels and financial processes.

This familiarity can make day-to-day bookkeeping more efficient.

Step 8: Complete Transactions That Don't Have Supporting Paperwork

Not every transaction will have a receipt or invoice attached.

For example, you might see a Shopify-related payment in your Wise account that doesn't have any supporting paperwork.

If you're unable to provide a document, you can select No Paperwork and provide any relevant information requested.

However, if you're unsure what a transaction relates to, it's better to flag that uncertainty to your finance team rather than guessing.

They can then investigate the transaction and determine how it should be handled.

Once you've completed the outstanding transaction tasks, the bookkeeping area will show that you have no remaining bank transaction tasks requiring your attention.

Your finance team can then continue processing the information you've provided.

Step 9: Review Additional Bookkeeping Tasks

Alongside transactions awaiting paperwork, Addition may display other tasks assigned by your finance team.

These are requests for information that may not relate to a specific bank transaction.

For example, your finance team might need you to:

Confirm damaged stock that should be written off.
Upload a monthly stocktake report.
Provide additional information about business expenses.
Clarify stock quantities or inventory movements.

These tasks appear in your dashboard so you can provide the required information without relying on separate email conversations.

Step 10: Confirm a Damaged Stock Write-Off

If your business holds inventory, your finance team may need confirmation when stock is damaged and can no longer be sold.

For example, imagine your warehouse has identified a shipment of damaged lamps.

Your finance team might create a task asking you to confirm the quantity of stock that should be written off.

To complete this task:

Open the damaged stock write-off request.
Review the details provided by your finance team.
Confirm the number of damaged units.
Upload supporting documentation if available.
Alternatively, provide the details in a message.
Send your response.
Click Complete to finish the task.

For example, you could write:

"Please write off 100 damaged units from the June inventory."

Your finance team can then use this information when updating your accounting records.

Providing accurate stock information is important because damaged inventory can affect your stock valuation and reported profitability.

Step 11: Upload a Stocktake Report

Another common bookkeeping task is providing your finance team with a stocktake report.

Many businesses use Excel spreadsheets to manage inventory and record stock quantities.

If your finance team requests a stocktake report, you can upload it directly through Addition.

For example, if you've been asked for the June stocktake:

Open the June Stocktake Report task.
Select the option to upload a file.
Choose your completed stocktake spreadsheet.
Upload the document.
Click Complete Task.

Your finance team will receive the report and can use it when reviewing your inventory records and preparing your accounts.

Keeping stock information accurate is particularly important for product-based businesses, where inventory values directly affect financial reporting.

Step 12: Explore Addition's Inventory Management Features

While many businesses use Excel to manage stock, Addition also offers an inventory management module.

This can be particularly useful for consumer brands and ecommerce businesses that sell products across multiple channels.

Addition's inventory system connects with sales channels such as Shopify and Amazon, helping businesses manage inventory information without relying entirely on manual spreadsheets.

The platform also supports detailed cost of goods sold reporting.

Depending on your business setup, you can analyse costs by:

Sales channel: Understand the cost of goods sold through platforms such as Amazon and Shopify.
SKU: Review costs associated with individual stock-keeping units.
Product type: Analyse costs across different product categories.

This level of detail can help ecommerce businesses understand product profitability and make better decisions about pricing, inventory and sales performance.

If you're currently managing stock through spreadsheets, Addition's inventory module may provide a more streamlined alternative.

Speak to the Addition team if you'd like to learn more about how the inventory features could work for your business.

Step 13: Return to Your Overview Page and Check Your Tasks

Once you've uploaded your receipts, explained transactions without paperwork and completed any additional requests, return to the Overview page.

Your dashboard should now show that you have no outstanding tasks requiring your attention.

This means you've provided the information currently requested by your finance team.

They can continue working through your bookkeeping and update your financial records accordingly.

It's worth checking your Overview page regularly, as new tasks may appear when your finance team identifies additional information they need.

Completing these requests promptly helps keep your bookkeeping moving and reduces delays in preparing your financial reports.

Why Keeping Your Bookkeeping Up to Date Matters

Accurate bookkeeping is about more than simply recording transactions.

It provides the financial information you need to understand how your business is performing and make informed decisions.

When receipts are missing or transactions remain unexplained, your finance team may be unable to complete your accounts for the relevant period.

This can affect the accuracy and timeliness of your financial reporting.

By regularly completing bookkeeping tasks in Addition, you can benefit from:

More accurate financial records: Supporting documents help your finance team record transactions correctly.
Better visibility over business performance: Up-to-date bookkeeping provides a clearer picture of income, expenses and profitability.
Fewer outstanding queries: Providing information promptly reduces delays caused by missing paperwork.
Improved expense categorisation: Assigning transactions to the correct business units and sales channels supports more detailed reporting.
More efficient communication: You can respond to requests directly through the platform rather than managing multiple email conversations.
Better inventory reporting: Stocktake information and damaged stock updates help maintain accurate inventory records.

With Addition, you can see what information is outstanding and provide it directly to the finance team responsible for managing your books.

Final Thoughts

Keeping your bookkeeping up to date doesn't need to involve endless email reminders, missing receipts or complicated spreadsheets.

Addition brings your outstanding bookkeeping tasks together in one place, allowing you to upload receipts, explain transactions, assign expenses to the correct categories and provide additional information when needed.

You can also respond to stocktake requests, confirm damaged inventory and monitor which accounting periods have been completed.

By staying on top of these tasks, you help your finance team maintain accurate financial records and keep your business accounts moving forward.

Need Help Keeping Your Bookkeeping Up to Date?

Managing receipts, expenses, bank transactions and inventory records can quickly become time-consuming, particularly as your business grows.

With Addition, you get an easy-to-use financial platform alongside a dedicated finance team that understands your business and helps keep your accounts accurate and organised.

Whether you need support with bookkeeping, expense management, financial reporting or ecommerce inventory, we're here to make managing your business finances simpler.

Book a free call with our team today and discover how Addition can help you spend less time on financial administration and more time growing your business.