How to track expenses by typing, talking or scanning a receipt
Written by the Clove Ai team. Published: . Updated: . Last verified:
Clove Ai, the expense tracker app for Android, lets you log spending three ways: type it in plain words, say it out loud with the microphone, or photograph a receipt. Each way becomes a normal expense with an amount and a category that you can review, edit or undo.
The best tracking habit is the one that costs the least effort at the moment you spend. That is why Clove Ai has three equally fast ways in, and you can mix them in the same day. This post shows each one, what to check afterwards and where each one is weaker.
Before you start: turn the AI on
Typing in plain words, talking and receipt scanning use the AI, and AI features are off until you switch them on. Nothing is sent to an AI provider before you do. If you prefer to keep them off, the manual form, budgets, charts and reports all keep working; you only lose the chat, plain-words entry and receipt scanning.
Way 1: type it the way you would say it
Open the chat and write what happened, for example "two coffees 8k and a ride home 25k". Clove Ai splits that into separate expenses, each with its own amount and category. Short forms such as 8k work, and so do Indonesian phrases such as "rb" and "kemarin" for yesterday.
- Write one or several expenses in a single message.
- Read the cards that come back: amount, description, category, date.
- Save the ones that are right and fix the ones that are not.
A note can go on an expense by writing "note:" followed by the text. If a message looks like something you already logged, Clove Ai warns you about a possible duplicate and lets you save it anyway or skip it.
Way 2: say it with the microphone
The chat has a microphone button. Speak the same sentence you would have typed and the words appear in the box, then go through the same cards as above. Speaking is useful when your hands are full. It is less reliable in a loud place, so glance at the amount before you save.
Way 3: scan a receipt
Photograph the receipt from the chat. Clove Ai reads the shop and the lines, and you review each line and the receipt total before anything is saved. Scanning is quickest for a long grocery receipt and slowest for a coffee, where typing three words beats opening the camera.
| Way | Good for | Weaker when |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Quick lines, several items at once | You are walking and cannot type |
| Talk | Hands full, one short sentence | The place is loud |
| Scan | Long receipts with many lines | The receipt is faded or crumpled |
Check and undo
Anything the chat adds, edits or deletes for you is a normal row in your records, shown on a card with an Undo button that works for 24 hours. You can also add an expense yourself with the manual form whenever you prefer.
What it costs and where it fits
Clove Ai is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, with everything unlimited, and the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial. You buy it in the Android app through Google Play. It does not connect to your bank, so every entry comes from you, which is the trade-off for never handing over a bank login. If you want fully automatic bank-fed tracking, a bank-linked app is a better fit; see the guide on choosing an expense tracker.
Once entries are flowing, the Home screen turns them into a single number for how your month is going. What a Cashflow Score is and how to improve it explains it.
Ready to try it? Get Clove Ai on Google Play, or read the Clove Ai home page first.
Questions and answers
Can I add an expense without the AI?
Yes. The manual form is always available, and the AI is optional. Turning it off removes the chat, plain-words entry and receipt scanning, and nothing else.
Does Clove Ai read my bank account?
No. It never asks for bank logins or card numbers. You add spending by typing, talking or scanning, or by importing a CSV your bank exported.
Can I undo something the chat added?
Yes. Each change the chat makes shows an Undo button that works for 24 hours.
How much does Clove Ai cost?
$2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, with everything unlimited. The yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial, and you buy it in the Android app through Google Play.