I had my first shop rejected and it was because the ink on the receipt was too faint. I darkened it as much as possible but it was of such bad quality that it is still faint in spots.

What could I have done differently?

What do you do in this instance? I noticed before I left the shop that the receipt was faint, but I could not think of anything I could have done.

I would appreciate any feedback and/or advice for the future. I hate working for free!

Thanks!

It is a chronic problem, unfortunately. Different photo editing software has different capabilities. I scan my receipts and save as a jpg. With my photo editing software I maximize the 'contrast' and keep my fingers crossed. I may take a receipt through two full cycles of maximizing the 'contrast'. If I still don't have an acceptable product I will try taking a photo of the receipt and play with it with the photo editing software in hopes that my camera was more sensitive than the scanner. When worse comes to worst, I print a copy of my very best image and to the side (NOT ON THE RECEIPT ITSELF) transcribe what is printed on the receipt. Then I scan that and submit it with a note that explains what I have done and that the original can be mailed to them if needed. They have never asked me to mail the receipt.

There is one company that suggests you trace over the characters on the receipt, but I would never ever do that! With my luck I would accidentally forget which company I am dealing with and trace over one for a company that would automatically reject the receipt as 'tampered with'. That is why I go for the side-by-side with the best possible receipt and the handwritten transcription to the side.

The ones that drive me nuts are the heat sensitive paper ones where the print disappears if the receipt gets wet. I have had restaurant shops where the server dropped one of those on the table into a puddle. There I have asked for a fresh receipt that 'accounting can read when I submit my expense report'.

Most cases you really can't ask for a reprint, but if it is really really faint I would certainly try. And as a real customer I would insist on a legible receipt, so why not as a shopper? A glance at the receipt before you leave the register should let you know if it is within your ability to recover the information to submit.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2011 09:57PM by Flash.

Thank you for the great advice and information!

When that happens, they usually accept a fax and my UPS store can darken it, copy it and then fax...my companies have always accepted this as the problem isn't our fault, better than having to re-do shop or losing it....my scheduler will upload for me.

Another great idea, thanks Irene. Yeah, I don't really want to work for free.

Sometimes the ink is nearly invisible. Guidelines may state that if this is the case, I make up a plausible excuse and request from the cashier or customer service, that they print a legible copy. Otherwise, if the receipt cannot be read, no software can make it appear. If this is the case, when submitting my report, I email the scheduler. I offer to mail the original receipt, or email a copy of my bank statement showing the debit.

A pain in the you know what.