A “receipts vault” that works
With folder rules, file names, and how to find any purchase in 10 seconds.
They’re dug up from the bone yard, pieced together in the dark when the rest of the world is asleep. They cost something to tell.
If you want to keep the lights on in this place, if these words are worth more to you than a cheap cup of coffee, then step up. Don’t just be a ghost passing through. Become a member. Keep the ink flowing.
You don’t lose receipts. They just go into hiding.
One day you need proof you paid, proof you returned, proof you’re not imagining that 187,43€ hit from a place you barely remember. The bank app stares back like a blank alley. Your email is a junk drawer. Your downloads folder is a crime scene.
What you need is a receipt organization system that behaves when you’re tired, busy, and slightly irritated at the whole modern world. A simple vault, a single naming rule, and a small habit that keeps you out of trouble. Low light. Clean edges.
Your receipts vault
Four folders, one decision, no backtracking
A receipts vault works because it’s boring. It’s the same in Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud Drive, OneDrive or anywhere else, because it’s just folders and files. No special app loyalty. No “new system” every season.
Keep it to four folders. Five max. Any more and you’ll start negotiating with yourself, and you’ll lose.
Use this structure at the top of your cloud storage (or inside a “Documents” folder). Exact names matter because your eyes learn them.
- Receipts Inbox (To File): The only place new stuff is allowed to land. Screenshots, PDFs, photos, email attachments you saved, everything.
- Receipts Vault (By Year): Your long-term storage. Inside, create one folder per year:
2026,2027,2028, and so on. - Warranties + Manuals: When the receipt is glued to a warranty, a serial number, or a user manual, it goes here. Keep the whole “proof bundle” together.
- Returns + Disputes: The hot zone. Chargebacks, return labels, chat transcripts, “we received your item” emails you saved as PDF. Stuff with a pulse.
Two rules keep the whole thing from rotting.
First, nothing skips the inbox. Not even a “quick save.” That's how you wake up six months later searching five places.
Second, inside Receipts Vault (By Year), don’t build a maze of categories. No “Food,” “Travel,” “Home,” “Health.” Categories are opinions, and your opinions will change. The file name will do the sorting for you. The year folder just keeps the pile from becoming infinite.
If you still have paper receipts, scan them and toss them in the inbox. Keep the paper only when you know you’ll need the original (some rebates, some tax situations, some warranties). Otherwise, it’s clutter with sharp corners.
File names that behave
One formula for every receipt you touch
The trick isn’t color-coding. It isn’t tags. It’s a filename that tells the truth, fast.
Use one formula. Every time. Even when you don’t feel like it.
Filename formula:YYYY-MM-DD_merchant_amount_category_payment_last4_notes
Keep it plain. Use underscores. Avoid special characters that cloud-drives treat like a prank. For amount, pick one format and stick to it (I like 187.43USD or 187.43 if you never deal with other currencies).
A few examples, because examples are where the lies get caught:
2026-02-01_CVS_14.28_personal_visa_1234_cold-meds.pdf2025-11-18_Delta_326.10_travel_amex_9911_seat-upgrade.pdf2024-06-03_IKEA_89.99_home_debit_4321_shelf-brackets.jpg
Three small rules make this naming system snap into place.
Date is purchase date, not the day you filed it. Your memory searches by when it happened.
Merchant is what you’ll type later. If the receipt says “SQ *TACOS TACOS,” name it TacosTacos or Square_TacosTacos. You’re building a handle you can grab.
Notes are for the weird part. The human part. The reason you’ll recognize it in a panic.
Now the tricky purchases, the ones that ruin neat systems:
- Online marketplaces: Name the marketplace as the merchant, then put the seller or item in notes.
2026-01-12_Amazon_23.17_household_visa_1234_usb-c-cable-anker.pdf - Split payments (gift card plus card, or two cards): Put the total amount in
amount, then explain in notes.2025-12-02_Target_112.40_gifts_mixed_na_split-40gc-72.40visa.pdf - Returns: Keep the original purchase in the year vault, then put the return proof in
Returns + Disputeswith the return date. Tie them together in notes with the order number.2026-02-20_Zappos_79.00_clothing_visa_1234_return-label_RMA48392.pdf
This is what “organized” looks like in real life. Not pretty. Just findable.
The receipt inbox workflow
How to find any purchase in 10 seconds
Your inbox folder is a waiting room with bad lighting. You don’t live there. You just pass through.
Keep the workflow small enough that you’ll do it when you’re half-asleep.
Process your Receipts Inbox (To File) on a schedule you can keep: twice a week, or every Friday, or the first of the month if your volume is low. Pick one. Put it on your calendar like it’s a bill.
When you process, do the same three moves every time:
- Rename the file using the formula.
- Move it into
Receipts Vault (By Year) / YYYY. - If it’s active trouble (return, dispute, reimbursement), file it into
Returns + Disputesinstead.
Now the part you came for, the 10-second find.
Most cloud storage search is good at one thing: matching text in file names. That’s why the name matters. If your service also searches inside PDFs and images using OCR, that’s a bonus, not your foundation.
Use search like you’re pulling evidence, not reminiscing.
| If you remember… | Search this | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| The store | merchant | File name match is instant. |
| The amount | 187.43 | Amounts are rare and sharp. |
| The month | 2026-02 | Date prefix narrows fast. |
| The file type | pdf or jpg | Cuts noise when you scanned. |
| A clue | wiper-blades | Notes catch the human detail. |
A practical combo looks like this: Costco 2025-10 63., or Delta 326.10 pdf, or RMA48392. Short. Brutal. Specific.
OCR tips, without pretending every platform works the same:
- Save receipts as PDF when you can, because many systems index PDFs better than photos.
- If your scanner app offers “searchable PDF,” turn it on. That’s OCR, and it makes the receipt text searchable later.
- For emailed receipts, save the email as a PDF (print to PDF works almost everywhere) and name it like the formula. Email search is fine until it isn’t.
Automation is allowed, but keep it on a leash. Two quiet options:
- Email rules: Auto-label or auto-forward receipts (common senders, “Your receipt,” “Order confirmation”) to a dedicated mailbox, then bulk-save once a week.
- Phone scanning: Use your phone’s document scan feature, save directly into
Receipts Inbox (To File), and stop taking crooked photos like you’re documenting a haunting.
Do less. Do it the same way. Your future self will notice.
You’ll feel it the first time you need proof and you don’t have to think. The search bar, a few clean terms, a file that tells the truth. A small, private vault that doesn’t judge you for being human. That’s the calm little revelation: order isn’t perfection, it’s a reliable place to put the evidence.
Between you and me
Honesty compels me to tell you that...
... there is a system for people who feel their life needs structure and order. And then there is the otherone for the more artistic minds. Those that need to wander the planes of mindfullness: It is one cardboard box labeled “Receipts.” You toss every receipt into it with no order at all. You close the box and go enjoy the singing of the Hermit Thrush, The Spirit Singer of the Wild.
The point is that whatever system you choose, make sure it fits your lifestyle. Because, in essence, both work.