Use case
How to Justify a SumUp Card Receipt for Your Books?
The SumUp receipt a merchant hands you proves you paid, but rarely what you bought. Here's what's missing from that slip, when it's enough, and how to make a clean reconciliation between your bank statement and your supporting documents.
What a SumUp receipt actually proves
A SumUp receipt is a payment terminal slip. It confirms that a card was charged a given amount, at a given date and time, at a merchant identified by their trading name. It's proof of payment, nothing more.
A bookkeeping entry needs two things: proof that money left, and proof of what was bought. The card receipt covers the first; it says nothing about the second. That's exactly why an auditor dismisses a line backed only by a card receipt, however legible it is.
The missing details that block VAT
Compare a SumUp receipt to a standard till receipt: it almost always lacks the item detail, the breakdown by VAT rate, the net amount and the seller's intra-EU VAT number. Without these, VAT isn't deductible, even if the expense is genuinely business-related.
- Detail of the goods or services purchased.
- Net amount and rate applied.
- VAT amount per rate.
- Full identification of the seller (company name, VAT number).
Simple rule: the card receipt proves the payment left your account, the invoice or itemised receipt proves the expense and its VAT. You need both, or one document that covers everything.
Reconciling in practice
The goal is for one bank statement line to match one document, and only one. Three situations keep coming up for the self-employed.
You have both documents
Record the invoice or itemised receipt as proof of the expense, and keep the SumUp receipt as a secondary attachment. Don't record two expenses: that would be a duplicate, with VAT counted twice.
You only have the card receipt
Contact the merchant while the transaction is still recent: most can find the sale in their history and reissue an invoice. If that's impossible, record the expense based on the receipt with a dated explanatory note, without deducting VAT.
The statement amount doesn't match the receipt
Look at a tip added on the terminal, a pre-authorisation adjusted afterwards, or a split payment. Note the difference and its cause in the expense's comment: that's what makes the reconciliation defensible months later.
The habit that solves the problem upfront
The card receipt and the itemised receipt come out at the same moment, at the counter. That's the only time you have both in hand. Photograph them immediately, one after the other, before putting your wallet away: at that point the check takes five seconds, whereas it becomes an investigation three weeks later.
With ScanCompta, the photo of the itemised receipt feeds the expense (supplier, date, amounts, VAT) and the card receipt can be added to the same entry. Comparing the amounts flags any discrepancy immediately, and the duplicate alert stops you recording the same purchase twice because you scanned both slips.
On the receiving end: justifying your SumUp income
If you take payments with SumUp, the logic reverses but the principle stays the same. Your income is justified by the transaction export, and transfers received in your account are net of fees. Record the gross turnover and the commission as an expense, otherwise your declared turnover will fall short of reality.
Keep the monthly transaction export alongside your bank statements: it's the document that explains why a €482.30 transfer corresponds to €495 of sales.
In short
A SumUp receipt proves a payment, not an expense. Always pair it with the itemised receipt or invoice, ask for that document on the spot rather than afterwards, don't deduct VAT on a bare card receipt, and scan both documents at the counter so the reconciliation is already done by the time you close the books.
Questions & comments
A question about this guide? Ask below — I answer personally within one business day.
- J
Julien
August 12, 2026
If I lose a €9 toll receipt, can I still claim it with just a bank statement?
ScanComptaAuthorYes — for a small amount, a bank statement plus a signed statement is usually accepted. You cannot reclaim VAT without the original receipt though.
- S
Sonia
August 3, 2026
Do I need to keep the paper receipts after scanning them with your app?
ScanComptaAuthorNo. If the scan is a faithful and durable copy, the digital version is enough. We store everything for 10 years for you.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a SumUp receipt enough as proof of an expense?
Not generally. The card receipt proves payment, not the nature of the purchase or its VAT. It must be accompanied by the merchant's till receipt or invoice, which carries the item detail and the VAT breakdown.
Can I deduct VAT with just a card receipt?
No. Deducting VAT requires a document showing the net amount, the rate, the VAT amount and the seller's identity. A payment terminal receipt doesn't include these.
What if the merchant only issues a SumUp receipt?
Ask for an invoice: every business must issue one on request from a professional customer. Failing that, keep the receipt, add a dated note explaining the expense, and don't deduct VAT on that line.
I'm the one taking SumUp payments: how do I justify my income?
On the income side, it's your SumUp statements (transaction and transfer exports) that count as proof, backed up by your own invoices or sales notes. Reconcile the total of transactions against the net transfer received, the difference being SumUp's fees.
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