Categories / Admin & Back-Office
Receipt chasing and bill coding with Ramp
Theater and training company · all expenses in by the 5th; old AP tool cost $40,000/yr
- Task
- stop chasing cardholders for receipts before month-end close and replace a NetSuite AP app whose OCR never coded line items
- Result
- expenses now all in by the 5th (previously chased until 1–2 days before the 15th close); about 90% of spend runs through Ramp; budgeting started a month earlier; replaced an AP automation tool that cost around $40,000 per year
- Tools
- Ramp (cards with automated project codes, mobile receipt capture, Bill Pay OCR reading vendor and each line item, accounting rules for coding); NetSuite
- Setup
- issue Ramp cards → map location / line of business / department / show to automated project codes → staff snap receipt photos in the app → send vendor bills to Ramp Bill Pay where OCR reads vendor and line items and applies accounting rules → sync individual transactions (not one big journal entry) to the ledger
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A ready-to-send prompt built from this card. Your AI will ask a few questions about your business, then give you a beginner setup plan.
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Help me set this up for my business: "Receipt chasing and bill coding with Ramp".
Example business: improv comedy theater and corporate training company (three city locations, separate…. Task: stop chasing cardholders for receipts before month-end close and replace a NetSuite AP app whose OCR never coded line items.
Reported result: expenses now all in by the 5th (previously chased until 1–2 days before the 15th close); about 90% of spend runs through Ramp; budgeting started a month earlier;…
Tools: Ramp (cards with automated project codes, mobile receipt capture, Bill Pay OCR reading vendor and each line item, accounting…
Setup outline:
1. issue Ramp cards → map location / line of business / department / show to automated project codes → staff…
Starter prompt from the guide (use it as a base):
Here are my last 30 card transactions with account codes: [PASTE]. Propose accounting rules of the form "if merchant is X then account Y, location Z", and list any merchants where the coding changed between purchases so I can decide.
First, ask me up to 5 questions about my business and tools. Then give me a beginner step-by-step setup plan, plus copy-paste prompts/templates I can use. Plain English, and tell me if any step needs a tech helper.
via autopilotbusiness.ai/use-case/improv-theater-company-ramp-receipt-capture-line-item-ocr-bill-coding/Step-by-step setup guide
> Cost: Freemium. Ramp is free ($0) for cards, receipt capture and basic bill pay with QuickBooks or Xero. Plus is $15 per user per month plus a platform fee and adds Smart OCR, auto-coding, NetSuite and multi-entity.
Honest note: The coding rules are rule-based (set by you); the bill reader (OCR) is AI-assisted. The source is a Ramp-published story from a mid-sized, multi-entity organisation using NetSuite, so a small shop will see smaller numbers. The $40,000 figure is the tool it replaced, not a measured saving.
Prerequisites
- A Ramp account (apply online; approval is Ramp's decision) and a QuickBooks, Xero or other supported accounting system.
- Your coding list: the locations, departments or projects you want on every expense.
Step-by-step setup
Step 1. Issue cards with project codes. Under Manage Spend → Funds → Issue, create a card per person or project and add the accounting coding (project or class) you want under Advanced → Accounting coding, so spend is coded at purchase.
Step 2. Add accounting rules. Open Accounting → Accounting rules (see Ramp's accounting rules article) and Add a rule, for example "if merchant is X, code to account Y and location Z". Rules run before an agent or a person.
Step 3. Make receipts instant. Cardholders text the receipt photo to Ramp, email receipts@ramp.com, or use the app; Ramp matches it to the transaction.
Step 4. Send bills in. Forward supplier invoices to your Bill Pay AP email address or drag PDFs into Bill Pay; Ramp reads the vendor and each line item and puts the bill in Drafts. Check the coding before approving.
Step 5. Connect the accounting system. QuickBooks and Xero sync on all plans; NetSuite, Sage and multi-entity support need Ramp Plus ($15 per user per month, per Ramp's pricing page).
Easier: let your AI do it
Ramp has an official MCP server, a secure plug that lets an AI chat like Claude or ChatGPT look at your Ramp spending with your permission.
- An admin turns it on and controls who can use it under Integrations → Ramp MCP → Manage access.
- In Claude, add Ramp from the connector directory (one click), or add a custom connector with
https://mcp.ramp.com/mcp. In ChatGPT (Plus or Pro), use the Ramp app. Sign in to Ramp when asked. - Try: "Which card transactions from last week are still missing receipts or codes, and who owns them?"
What success looks like
Most spend arrives coded with its receipt, so the close is a review.
Common issues & fixes
- Receipt did not match: forward it to
receipts@ramp.comor text it to Ramp; Ramp matches by merchant and amount. - Bill lines coded wrong: correct them once and add an accounting rule for that vendor.
- NetSuite option missing: it needs Ramp Plus.
Optional: Maintenance
- Monthly: review uncoded transactions and add a rule for any repeat.
Copy-paste prompt
Use this with any AI chat. It helps you list the coding rules before you add them.
Here are my last 30 card transactions with account codes: [PASTE]. Propose accounting rules of the form "if merchant is X then account Y, location Z", and list any merchants where the coding changed between purchases so I can decide.Sources
- Case: Ramp customer story (improv theater company). Credit: the company's finance team (vendor-published).
- Ramp pricing
- Ramp Help: Ramp MCP
- Ramp Help: Managing accounting rules
- Ramp Help: Multi-entity support
- Ramp pricing
Industries: AI automation for Law Firms
Results as reported by the source; not independently verified. Community-sourced from public sites and attributed to the source platform. Original author? Ask us to correct or remove it. Read the disclaimer.