The instructions in this FAQ apply to both the old and Digit user interfaces.

Not sure which interface you're using? Click here to work it out!


Behind the scenes of the Squirrel Street data extraction process: 

  • When we receive your documents, we process them with state-of-the-art scanners that crop and enhance the scanned images automatically.
  • The documents then go through the Optical Character Recognition system (OCR) so every single keyword is extracted as accurately as possible with respect to the quality of the document, which results in a searchable document within your Squirrel Street account.
  • Our extensively trained team based in Australia validates and extracts the data*.
  • The data is grouped into two types:
    • Receipts

      The images of your receipts will be added to your account along with the information we extract from them, including store/vendor name, date, total amount, tax (Australia & New Zealand only), invoice number, currency, payment type and last 4 digits of the card used (if applicable).

    • Other Documents

      The images of your Other Documents will be added to your account along with the information we extract from them, which is document name and date only.

    • See this article on what we extract from Receipts and other Documents.

*While we cannot guarantee 100% accuracy as humans are involved, we pride ourselves in almost certainly being the fastest, most cost-effective and accurate method of processing your documents. You'll wonder why you ever did it yourself.

For security reasons, operators should not be not aware of which customer they are working on at any point in time, and therefore are not able to make decisions on a customer-by-customer basis. They have strict instructions on how to validate the data.  Please see https://support.squirrelstreet.com/support/solutions/articles/24000013540-what-are-our-policies-on-what-to-data-enter- for more information


To understand how to best help our processing wizards, check out our rules below.





  • Stapled or paper clipped pages can belong to the same business document if total amount paid is stated clearly. Tax Invoices that have been stapled together without a total amount paid will be scanned separately as per our policy.
  • If you need to merge separated documents together please follow the simple instructions in this FAQ.
  • Plastic sleeves: If you want to send your documents in the same magic envelope but need to have them subdivided under two/or more envelope codes for the same account, you can separate them using plastic sleeves and include a note.  Make sure you add a coversheet inside each plastic sleeve.
  • Unopened envelopes: Documents that are still in their original envelopes (e.g. DL sized envelopes) need to be removed, unless you wish the the documents to be subdivided (see above).  We may charge additional processing fees if we receive documents in their original envelopes.
  • Comments: We usually ignore handwritten notes* as we encounter many other notes that are not intended for our operators, and it is very difficult to distinguish the ones that are meant to be read by our operators.
    *To draw an operator’s attention to a specific handwritten note, please add (or use a stamp) "Notes for Squirrel Street" in front of it. If, where it's not apparent, any document needs to be entered as a receipt or other document, please specify it on the document so it stands out.

General Rules


Mail-in documents:

  • By default we keep the documents for 4 weeks before they are shredded, unless you've opted to have your documents returned (for an additional $11/month)
  • Coversheet: If you send documents using your own envelope a cover sheet needs to be printed and included for identification of your account. 
    • To obtain yours using the old User Interface, login then click on 'Print coversheet' via Dashboard.
    • To obtain yours using the Digit Interface, login then go to the settings menu button to the top right (with the image of a cog), select "Manage Envelopes" then "Send your own Envelope" and "Print Coversheet"

  • Staples/Paperclips: Stapling or paper clipping pages/documents is usually the way our customers ask for documents to be scanned as one document, and are interpreted as such by our operators.



Electronic submissions:

  • Formats we support: Images (png, .jpg, .gif, .tiff), Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx), Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsx), 
    Open Office (.odt, .ods) and the email body itself (eg Uber).
  • Email attachments: Make sure your digital image is not reduced to a very small resolution, as our system might pick it up as a signature, logo, etc and might reject it.
  • File submission: Any documents that need to be processed separately have to be in separate files. This prevents re-processing of documents, which saves time for everyone.
  • You’ll receive an email notification when your document is blurry, multiple tax invoices have been scanned in as one document without total amount paid, or your document is incomplete or cropped such that we can't extract fields such as Vendor name or Total.
  • Scanners: if you are using an office scanner, make sure you send the scanned documents to your own email address before forwarding to us. This way you can ensure it was scanned properly and retain a soft copy in your email archives.