OCR accuracy: receipts read correctly, the first time
OCR (optical character recognition) is the technology that turns a photo of a receipt into data: merchant, date, total, items. If that reading is wrong, everything else falls apart. A misread amount or date is proof of purchase you can no longer trust.
ReFound is powered by Google Vision, top-ranked in independent OCR benchmarks (98% text accuracy), plus Google's most advanced Gemini model for hard-to-read receipts. The result: reliable data, even when the paper no longer is.
Why OCR accuracy is criterion number one
A reading error is a silent error: you do not notice it when you scan, but it resurfaces at the worst moment — at the return counter, or during a warranty claim. A receipt app is only as good as its reading.
That is why OCR accuracy is the first of the 3 key criteria for choosing a receipt app, before any visible feature.
Independent benchmarks, not promises
Rather than building a home-grown OCR, ReFound relies on the reading technologies best rated by independent third parties:
- The independent AIMultiple benchmark measures 98% text accuracy for Google Cloud Vision, on a test set that includes receipts and invoices.
- The Nanonets OCR API benchmark, run on SROIE, a scanned-receipt dataset, ranks Google Cloud Vision as the best overall performer balancing accuracy and speed.
- Google positions Gemini 3 Pro as a leader in document understanding: messy documents, handwriting and complex layouts.
Faded, crumpled or extra-long receipts
Real-life receipts are not perfect documents: faded thermal paper, a receipt folded at the bottom of a pocket, a 60-line grocery bill. When a receipt is hard to read, ReFound calls on Google's most advanced Gemini model, built to understand messy documents and complex layouts.
If your receipt has already started to fade, see what to do with a faded receipt — and scan the next ones at purchase.
Everything is extracted automatically
No manual entry: ReFound automatically extracts the key information from every receipt.
- The merchant
- The purchase date
- The total
- The taxes
- The payment card used
- The items, line by line
Beyond OCR: enriched items
Reading the text is the baseline. ReFound goes further: cryptic store codes (the famous SKUs like "054-3178-6") are turned into real product names with images, when the information is available. You know what is on each receipt at a glance, and search by real product name becomes possible.
That is what separates a smart receipt app from a basic scanner. A concrete example: on a Canadian Tire receipt from our demo account, the line "HLT NEO WK 4LB" is identified as a WA:KE Athletic Neoprene Hexagonal Dumbbell, Single, Assorted Weights — perfect OCR would still have left that string unreadable.
OCR accuracy FAQ
Which receipt app has the best OCR?
ReFound is powered by Google Vision, measured at 98% text accuracy by the independent AIMultiple benchmark and ranked best overall performer by the Nanonets benchmark on the SROIE scanned-receipt dataset. For hard-to-read receipts, ReFound also uses Google's most advanced Gemini model.
What exactly is OCR?
OCR (optical character recognition) is the technology that reads text from an image. For a receipt, it turns the photo into usable data: merchant, date, total, taxes, payment card and items.
Can ReFound read a faded or crumpled receipt?
When a receipt is hard to read, ReFound calls on Google's most advanced Gemini model, built for messy documents and complex layouts. The safest option is still to scan the receipt early, before the thermal paper fades too much.
What information is extracted from my receipts?
ReFound automatically extracts the merchant, date, total, taxes, payment card and items line by line. When the information is available, items are also enriched with real product names and images.
Do I need to correct the data after scanning?
Reading is highly reliable thanks to Google Vision and Gemini, but you always stay in control: you can review and adjust a receipt's information if needed.
Read next
Receipts read correctly, from the first scan
ReFound reads your receipts with Google Vision and Gemini, then enriches them with real product names. Scan a receipt and see the difference.
Free to download. Available on iPhone.