Paper receipts are easy to lose. With Telegram connected, you can snap a photo the moment you’re handed one and send it to the Billfetch bot. You don’t need to open Billfetch at all.
Connect Telegram
You do this once, from a device where you’re signed in to Billfetch and Telegram is installed.
- Open Settings and choose Telegram (under Integrations).
- Select Connect Telegram.
- Select Open Telegram. Telegram opens a chat with the Billfetch bot — tap Start.
- Back in Billfetch, select I’ve tapped Start.
The bot replies to confirm you’re connected, and the Telegram page in Settings shows which bot you’re connected to and since when.
The connection link works once and expires after 15 minutes. If it expires, select Connect Telegram again for a fresh one.
Send a receipt
- Open your chat with the Billfetch bot.
- Send a photo of the receipt, or attach a PDF, JPEG or PNG file.
- The bot replies Received ✓ with the file name to let you know it’s in review.
You can add a caption to the photo if you like.
Every receipt goes through the same steps as an uploaded document: Billfetch reads it, suggests a supplier, amount and category, and puts it in This month under Awaiting approval. Once you approve it, it’s matched to the payment in your bank.
If something goes wrong
The bot always tells you what happened:
- Already in your vault — you sent the same file before, so nothing new was added.
- Only photos, PDFs, JPEG or PNG files — other file types aren’t accepted.
- Over 20 MB — Telegram doesn’t let bots download files that large. Upload the file in Billfetch with Add document instead.
- This chat is not connected — the chat isn’t linked to your account. Connect it from Settings › Telegram.
Tip: Take the photo flat and in good light, with the total and date visible. The clearer the photo, the less you’ll need to correct when you review it.
Disconnect Telegram
Open Settings › Telegram and select Disconnect. The bot then stops accepting files from that chat. Receipts you’ve already sent stay in Billfetch.
If the Telegram page says the bot isn’t set up, Telegram receipts aren’t available on your account yet. Contact us if you’d like to use them.