ExpenseBot

submit_receipt

Submit a photo or PDF of a receipt for processing. Covers requests phrased as 'log this', 'log this receipt', 'save this receipt', 'expense this', or 'add this to my expenses', including when the user simply shares a photo of a receipt or invoice. The receipt image is validated, uploaded to cloud storage, and processed by AI to extract vendor, amount, date, tax, and category. The expense appears in the user's spreadsheet in about 1-3 minutes, and longer for PDFs or large batches. Handles images and PDFs, mixed together in one batch.

TO SEND FILES (preferred, and required for PDFs): call this tool with filesToUpload listing every file the user gave you. It returns one signed upload URL per file. Upload them ONE AT A TIME with an HTTP PUT, telling the user which file you just finished and how many remain, then call this tool ONCE with uploadRefs for all of them — that processes the whole set as a single batch, like the ExpenseBot web app. Do not call this tool once per file.

Use the photo parameter for one image or PDF attached in ChatGPT. MCP clients that cannot supply file references may use photoBase64 for one small image; use the upload flow for large files or batches.

Optional note and tag values use the same receipt metadata path as ExpenseBot's camera, file uploader, and forwarded-email intake. The note is stored in the Notes column (L); the tag is stored in the Tag column (K). Batch defaults apply to every file, and each uploadRefs item may override either value for that file.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`tag`	No	Batch-level project or client tag applied to every expense row. Individual files may override it. Stored in the Tag column (K) through the same path as the web receipt uploader.
`note`	No	Batch-level context note applied to every file in the upload. Individual files may override this with their own note. Stored through the existing receipt-note pipeline in the Notes column (L).
`photo`	No	Single attached receipt image or PDF supplied by ChatGPT. For multiple files or large files, use filesToUpload and uploadRefs instead.
`filename`	No	Optional filename (e.g., 'lunch_receipt.jpg')
`mimeType`	No	MIME type of the file (default: image/jpeg)
`uploadRef`	No	Single-file shorthand for uploadRefs. Use uploadRefs when there is more than one file.
`uploadRefs`	No	Submit previously uploaded files as ONE batch. Include every uploadRef from the filesToUpload step. If any file fails validation the whole batch is rejected and nothing is processed.
`photoBase64`	No	Legacy fallback for MCP clients that send one small image as complete base64 data. ChatGPT should use photo or uploadRefs instead.
`filesToUpload`	No	Request upload URLs for one or more files. Include EVERY file the user provided in a single call. Returns one signedUrl + uploadRef per file; upload each, then call this tool again with uploadRefs.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`data`	No
`files`	No
`status`	No
`message`	No
`success`	Yes
`fileCount`	No
`statusCode`	No
`submissionId`	No
`spreadsheetUrl`	No
`reviewExpensesUrl`	No

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed1 schema field changedSep 9, 2026

changedOutput schema / (root)

Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": true,
+  "allOf": [
+    {
+      "if": {
+        "properties": {
+          "status": {
+            "const": "upload_required"
+          }
+        },
+        "required": [
+          "status"
+        ]
+      },
+      "then": {
+        "required": [
+          "data"
+        ]
+      }
+    }
+  ],
+  "properties": {
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": true,
+      "properties": {
+        "expiresInSeconds": {
+          "minimum": 1,
+          "type": "integer"
+        },
+        "files": {
+          "items": {
+            "additionalProperties": true,
+            "properties": {
+              "filename": {
+                "type": "string"
+              },
+              "id": {
+                "type": "string"
+              },
+              "mimeType": {
+                "type": "string"
+              },
+              "requiredHeaders": {
+                "additionalProperties": {
+                  "type": "string"
+                },
+                "type": "object"
+              },
+              "signedUrl": {
+                "type": "string"
+              },
+              "uploadRef": {
+                "type": "string"
+              }
+            },
+            "type": "object"
+          },
+          "type": "array"
+        },
+        "requiredHeaders": {
+          "additionalProperties": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "reviewExpensesUrl": {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "signedUrl": {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "spreadsheetUrl": {
+          "type": [
+            "string",
+            "null"
+          ]
+        },
+        "submissionId": {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "uploadRef": {
+          "type": "string"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "fileCount": {
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "files": {
+      "items": {
+        "additionalProperties": true,
+        "type": "object"
+      },
+      "type": "array"
+    },
+    "message": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "reviewExpensesUrl": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "spreadsheetUrl": {
+      "type": [
+        "string",
+        "null"
+      ]
+    },
+    "status": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "statusCode": {
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "submissionId": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "success": {
+      "type": "boolean"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "success"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

Changed1 schema field changedAug 25, 2026

changedOutput schema / (root)

Previous value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": true,
-  "description": "Standard ExpenseBot tool result envelope. `message` is the human-readable summary the AI cites; `data` is the structured payload (totals, breakdowns, ids, etc.). On failure, `success` is false and `error` carries a code/message/hint triple.",
-  "properties": {
-    "data": {
-      "additionalProperties": true,
-      "description": "Structured payload. Shape varies per tool — common keys: total, breakdown, comparison, sampleMeta, ids, expenseId, reportId, signupUrl, results.",
-      "type": "object"
-    },
-    "error": {
-      "additionalProperties": true,
-      "description": "Present only when success === false.",
-      "properties": {
-        "code": {
-          "type": "string"
-        },
-        "hint": {
-          "type": "string"
-        },
-        "message": {
-          "type": "string"
-        }
-      },
-      "type": "object"
-    },
-    "message": {
-      "description": "Human-readable result text. Always present on success; prefer rendering this verbatim before any further reasoning.",
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "sampleMeta": {
-      "additionalProperties": true,
-      "description": "Set when the underlying dataset was truncated. isTruncated=true means the agent saw a sample of `sampleCount` of `totalCount` rows; aggregate totals are still accurate.",
-      "properties": {
-        "isTruncated": {
-          "type": "boolean"
-        },
-        "sampleCount": {
-          "type": "integer"
-        },
-        "totalCount": {
-          "type": "integer"
-        }
-      },
-      "type": "object"
-    },
-    "success": {
-      "description": "False on tool errors; check before reading `data`.",
-      "type": "boolean"
-    }
-  },
-  "type": "object"
-}New value: +null

Changed5 schema fields changedAug 22, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / photo / description

Previous value: -"Base64-encoded image or PDF data (JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, or PDF). Max 15MB. Only for small images — large payloads get truncated or dropped in transit; use uploadRef instead."New value: +"Single attached receipt image or PDF supplied by ChatGPT. For multiple files or large files, use filesToUpload and uploadRefs instead."

addedInput schema / properties / photo / properties

Added value: +{
+  "download_url": {
+    "description": "Temporary HTTPS URL supplied by ChatGPT for downloading the attachment.",
+    "format": "uri",
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "file_id": {
+    "description": "Attachment identifier supplied by ChatGPT.",
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "file_name": {
+    "description": "Original attachment filename supplied by ChatGPT.",
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "mime_type": {
+    "description": "Attachment MIME type supplied by ChatGPT.",
+    "type": "string"
+  }
+}

addedInput schema / properties / photo / required

Added value: +[
+  "download_url",
+  "file_id"
+]

changedInput schema / properties / photo / type

Previous value: -"string"New value: +"object"

addedInput schema / properties / photoBase64

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Legacy fallback for MCP clients that send one small image as complete base64 data. ChatGPT should use photo or uploadRefs instead.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

First observedAug 10, 2026

TDQS

A4.8/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Goes well beyond the annotations (readOnlyHint=false, openWorldHint=true): it discloses validation, cloud upload, AI processing, the 1-3 minute latency (longer for PDFs/batches), the one-file-at-a-time PUT requirement with progress reporting, and the all-or-nothing batch rejection behavior. This is rich operational context an agent needs before invoking.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loaded with purpose and the routing rules, then a clearly delineated 'TO SEND FILES' section. It is long, but the complexity (9 params, multi-step upload) justifies most of it; there is mild redundancy where note/tag storage paths are restated relative to the schema.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a multi-modal, multi-call ingestion tool, the description covers the full workflow, error semantics, latency expectations, and input-mode selection. Since an output schema exists, it correctly avoids explaining return values and instead spends its budget on the invocation contract.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3, but the description adds real meaning the schema alone lacks: the two-call contract between filesToUpload and uploadRefs, the batch-default-with-per-file-override semantics for note/tag, and the destination columns (K for Tag, L for Notes). It stops short of 5 only because the schema already carries much of the field-level detail.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb+resource ('submit a photo or PDF of a receipt for processing') and enumerates the natural-language phrasings that map to it ('log this', 'expense this'). It also clarifies downstream behavior (AI extraction of vendor, amount, date, tax, category), so an agent knows exactly what this tool accomplishes versus siblings like parse_expense or process_gmail_receipts.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explicitly routes between the available input modes: filesToUpload+uploadRefs as the preferred path and required for PDFs, photo for a single ChatGPT attachment, photoBase64 only as a legacy fallback, and the upload flow for batches. It even states the sequencing rule ('call this tool ONCE with uploadRefs... do not call once per file'), leaving nothing to inference.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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