If your invoices already arrive by email, you can connect the mailbox and let Billfetch collect them. Billfetch only reads: it keeps PDF attachments and emails that look like invoices, and never stores your other mail.
Before you start, consider using a separate mailbox just for invoices, or your Billfetch forwarding address. Then Billfetch reads only that address and your personal mail is never scanned.
Outlook.com or Microsoft 365
You sign in with Microsoft, so Billfetch never sees your password.
- Open Sources and select Add connection.
- Choose Outlook / Microsoft 365.
- Optionally pick a date under Collect history from (optional) to fetch older invoices.
- Select Continue to Microsoft and sign in with the mailbox you want to connect.
- Approve read access to that mailbox.
You come back to Billfetch and the mailbox appears under Sources. If access expires later, use Reconnect on its card.
Gmail
Gmail connects with an app password rather than your normal Google password.
- Open Sources, select Add connection and choose Email (IMAP).
- Under Using Gmail?, choose App password and follow the steps:
- Turn on 2-Step Verification for your Google account (app passwords need it).
- Create an app password, name it “Billfetch” and copy the 16-character code.
- Select Fill in Gmail server settings, enter your full Gmail address as the User and paste the app password.
- Choose a date under Collect history from and select Connect mailbox.
Prefer not to connect Gmail at all? Choose Forward invoices instead, and set up a Gmail filter that forwards invoice emails to your Billfetch forwarding address.
The same Email (IMAP) option works for other providers too — enter their server, user and app password.
What Billfetch keeps
- PDF attachments are saved as documents.
- Emails without an attachment are checked first, and only those that look like invoices are saved.
- Everything else is left alone and is not stored.
To narrow things further, open the connection’s Settings and add a Sender filter (optional), such as shopify.com, [email protected]. When it’s set, only mail from those senders is fetched.
When mail is collected
A normal mailbox is checked when you select Sync now on its card.
If the mailbox receives nothing but invoices, turn on This mailbox only receives invoices (when connecting, or later in the connection’s Settings). The mailbox is then checked automatically, and every email is stored without the invoice check. Don’t turn this on for your personal inbox.
After collection
New documents appear in This month under Awaiting approval, ready for you to check and approve.
Tip: To stop collecting, choose Disconnect on the card. Documents already collected stay in Billfetch.