Mobile snap receipts pictures are blurry and can't read them. Why?

Hello there! Welcome to the Community, @rudzap3594.

Let me share some solutions so you can view the transactions in QuickBooks Online.

At times, pictures taken are not of good quality. To get a clear photo, it helps to have the receipt on a flat surface. Try putting it on a fridge with magnets, or laying it on a table with paperweights at the top and bottom of the receipt. Make sure that it is clear before uploading them in QuickBooks.

You can go to the Receipt Capture page to upload receipts in QuickBooks Online (QBO) using a mobile app.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Home, click the + icon located in the lower part.

2. Click Receipt capture.

3. Hit Use this photo.

4. Select the Upload photo.

5. When you are ready. Click Done.

Once done, if the Receipt option is not showing on your end, access your QuickBooks through your computer or using the mobile browser. From there, you can follow the steps to manage your receipts in the Receipts tab.

You can email your receipts or bills to QuickBooks. We'll start a transaction for you based on the info in the image.  All you have to do is categorize it. Follow these steps to set up the email forwarding feature.

Let me know if there's anything else that I can help with. Have a good one.

With my S21 ultra, the receipt looks clear until it takes then it's blurry and unreadable. Husband's S10 works fine. I can do mobile deposits with the bank & pictures are clear so it's not my phone that's the issue. The S21 ultra worked fine snapping receipts until a week or two ago so something definitely changed.

You came into the right place for support, Plumber11.

Let's perform some troubleshooting since in your case, this has nothing to do with your camera settings. Let's refresh the data stored in the app by following the steps below:

1. In your QuickBooks Online Mobile App, select the Gear icon. 
2. Choose the Refresh Data menu. 
3. Tap Yes.

To check the result of the troubleshooting, try to snap a receipt and make sure the photo is no longer blurry. If yes, I'd suggest uninstalling the application and reinstall it. This is done to start using the app on a clean slate.

To do that, follow the steps below:

1. Go to your phone's settings.
2. Locate the QuickBooks Online app and uninstall it. 
3. Go to the App store if or Play Store to install the app.
4. Log in to the app and try to use the snap receipt feature again to see if it works well.

To guide you with the complete workflow of managing receipts attachments, visit this article: Capture and categorize expense receipts and bills in QuickBooks Online.

Feel free to visit this article to find answers to your other QBO mobile questions: QuickBooks Online Mobile app FAQ.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions about recording receipts. I'm more than willing to help. Have a great day!

My s21 is doing the same thing. I read your article. I went to my quickbooks mobile app. To the settings gear icon. I do not see anything in there to refresh data. Is there another way to go about it? Thanks 

Hello @Dapurplepeter,

Refreshing the data of QuickBooks Online installed on your mobile device is one of our troubleshooting steps to get rid of some unexpected problems while using the app. Have you followed the next suggestion saying you need to delete and install the app again?

If yes and the results after snapping your receipts are still blurry, I'd recommend contacting our Customer Care Support. With their tools, one of our specialists can create a ticket associated with your account, which we have on file, and submit it to our engineering team for further investigation.

You can do so by following the steps below:

1. On your QuickBooks Online app, go to the ? icon.
2. Select Help and Support.
3. Click Contact Us.
4. Enter Captured receipts are blurry in the What can we help you with? field.
5. Tap Let's talk.
6. Choose a channel where you wish to connect with our dedicated support.

In addition, here's an article you can read to learn more about when are you able to connect to our support: Contact QuickBooks Products and Services Support.

Lastly, I've also included this reference for a compilation of articles you can use while working with us: Banking with QuickBooks Online.

If there's anything else that I can help you with, please let me know by leaving any comments below. I'll be here to lend a hand.

S21 ultra same problem.

S21 ultra user, same issue, no help from the live support.

Hi there, montessoriworks.

I can see that there are separate threads that have similar questions about capture receipts in QuickBooks Online.

Let me share this link so you can follow the steps provided in the threads: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/reports-and-accounting/re-it-samsung-galaxy-s21-ul...

The Community is always here if you need anything else.

S21 Ultra, same problem.

I want to make sure this concern is taken care of, @brantholland.

Have you tried the troubleshooting steps provided by my colleague Charies_M above, such as refreshing the mobile app data and uninstalling and reinstalling the app? If you haven't yet, I encourage you by doing so. This way, it'll fix some data issues, thus causing the app to capture blurry images.

However, if the issue persists after the troubleshooting steps, I suggest reaching out to our QuickBooks Support Team. They can further check on this matter and provide other troubleshooting steps to get this fixed. To reach them, you can follow the detailed steps shared by my peer JonpriL above.

If you need more guidance categorizing your captured receipts in QuickBooks Online (QBO), feel free to check out this article: Capture and categorize expense receipts and bills.

Keep in touch if you need any more assistance capturing receipts using the QBO mobile app. I've got your back.

I have a new S21 ultra phone. I am having the same problem. When I snap a picture, the picture is clear but after the picture takes it is blurry. Since there are others with the same problem, that is a clear indicator it is an issue on Quickbooks end. I need a resolution or another app to use. 

Oneplus Nord N200 5G

same problem. In Canada.

is there any alternative for quickbooks that works better?!

Hi, @Mahdavimail. 

I understand the need to snap and upload clear receipts to QuickBooks. I'm here to help you today.

While capturing receipts, the quality of the images depends on the device's camera. Getting blurry results can be caused by the following:

• The long shutter speed of your mobile device can capture a camera shake, which would produce a blurry image. 
• Your subject may have been slightly moved, causing a motion blur, made worse by a long shutter speed. 
• The lens is not capable of producing sharp photos.
• The ISO setting in your mobile device may have been set to a very high number, resulting in lots of noise and loss of detail.

For now, I'd suggest reviewing the factor that may affect the blurry result so you can fix the issue immediately. On top of that, make sure that your QuickBooks Online mobile app is updated to the latest version to avoid future problems.

You can learn more about uploading receipts from this link: Upload your receipts and bills to QuickBooks Online. Aside from that, you can also email your receipts. The system extracts info from it and creates a transaction for you to review.

In case you need an additional application while uploading your receipts, you can visit our apps store.

Leave a comment below if you have any other questions about receipts. I'm always here to help. Have a good one!

I am a professional cinematographer in Hollywood. I use Samsung S21 Ultra which has the best camera on any mobile hand device on the market. I still get blurry images. It is definitely NOT a camera nor operator related issue. 

Same issues with the Note 20 Ultra and Tab S7. I can take clear pictures with the phone app on both devices, but the photos are always blurry when uploading reciepts through the Quickbooks app. Is there a fix to this problem other than taking a picture with my phone app then selecting that clear picture to use inside of the quickbooks app. I do not want my camera roll to be full of recipt photos. 

Thank you for sharing your experience, @TrilliumTree.

Since you're still having blurry pictures of your receipts, I advise getting in touch with our Customer Support so they can further check your account in a secure setting, find the problem, and assist you in fixing it.

Here's how to reach them from the app:

1. From the Menu (☰), tap the question mark icon at the upper-right corner of the page.
2. Click on Help & Support under the Help & Feedback page.
3. Tap on Contact us under Help & Support.
4. Type -in a short description of your concern under the What can we help you with? window, then click on Let's talk.
5. Choose a way to connect with support.

You can check this article for more information about the different types of support we offer and their availability: QuickBooks Online Support.

After forwarding your images of receipts and bills to QuickBooks, check out this article on how to review and categorize your bills and receipts: Upload your receipts to QuickBooks Online. 

You can always get back to this thread if you have questions or other concerns about your receipts. I'm always here to help. Have a great rest of the day.