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APSense documentation

Getting started guide

APSense is a modern expense management solution designed to automate the tedious parts of business travel and accounting. By combining proprietary Cortexa AI for receipt scanning with smart GPS mileage tracking, we help you turn a pile of receipts into professional reports in seconds.

This guide walks you through the initial setup and your first successful submission.

Create your account

Establish your secure identity to sync your data across mobile, web, and desktop platforms.

  1. Open the APSense app or navigate to the web dashboard.
  2. Select your preferred sign-in method: Email, Google, or Apple.
  3. Follow the prompts to verify your identity.
  4. If prompted, set up SMS-based Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security to your financial data.

Result: You are logged into the APSense dashboard and ready to initialize your data.

Initialize your first workspace

Workspaces act as organizational containers. They keep your business expenses, client billables, and personal spending completely separate.

  1. Navigate to the Workspaces section in the sidebar or settings menu.
  2. Click Create Workspace.
  3. Enter a name (e.g., “Consulting” or “Personal”).
  4. Choose a custom color and avatar to make it easily recognizable in your navigation menu.

Result: Your new workspace appears in the navigation menu, allowing you to switch contexts instantly.

Configure your expense settings

Align the application with your local currency, measurement units, and specific accounting needs.

  1. Go to Settings and select Preferences.
  2. Set your Currency Code (e.g., USD, EUR) to ensure all totals display correctly.
  3. Choose your Distance Unit (Miles or Kilometers) for mileage tracking.
  4. Review the Categories section. You can add custom categories that match your company’s chart of accounts.
  5. Verify the Mileage Rate. APSense includes the standard IRS 2025 rates by default, but you can set a custom rate if your company provides a different reimbursement level.

Result: Your profile reflects your local standards, and your categories are ready for sorting.

Capture your first receipt

Use Cortexa AI to automatically extract data from a physical or digital receipt.

  1. Tap the Scan or Camera icon.
  2. Position your receipt in the frame and take a photo.
  3. Notice that Cortexa AI instantly identifies the Vendor, Amount, and Date.
  4. Review the extraction. If the vendor is a popular brand, APSense automatically displays their official logo.
  5. Tap Save.

Tip: For digital receipts (like those from Amazon or Uber), you can forward them directly to expenses@apsense.app from your registered email address.

Result: A new expense entry appears in your list with all details pre-filled.

Set a default report

Streamline your workflow by automatically assigning new expenses to an active report as you capture them.

  1. Navigate to the Reports module.
  2. Select an active report or create a new one (e.g., “January Travel”).
  3. Tap the Star icon or select Set as Default in the report options.
  4. Now, every time you scan a receipt or forward an email, it lands in this report automatically.

Result: New expenses are bundled into your designated report without manual intervention.

Submit your first report

Generate a professional export for reimbursement or accounting review.

  1. Open your completed report.
  2. Review the itemized table and the category breakdown charts.
  3. Tap Submit.
  4. Enter the recipient’s email address (e.g., your manager or accounting department).
  5. Choose your format: PDF (includes embedded receipt images) or CSV (for spreadsheets).

Result: A professional report is generated and sent. Your manager can review and approve it directly from their email without needing to log into the app.

The APSense philosophy

We believe expense tracking should be invisible. APSense uses a local-first architecture, which means the app reads from a local cache on your device. This ensures sub-500ms load times and full functionality even when you’re in airplane mode or have a poor connection. Your data syncs silently to the cloud in the background once you’re back online.

Furthermore, Cortexa AI is designed to learn. If you manually correct a vendor name or category, APSense remembers that preference. The next time you scan a receipt from that same vendor, it applies your correction automatically.

Managing your personal inbox

To make email forwarding even more powerful, you can use Personal Inbox Tokens and tags:

  • Secure Forwarding: Generate a unique token in Settings > Personal Inbox to ensure forwarded receipts are always matched to your account.
  • Smart Routing: Use #workspace_name in your email subject to route a receipt to a specific workspace.
  • Auto-Categorizing: Use @category_name in the subject to tell the AI exactly how to file the expense before it even hits your list.

Support and contact

If you encounter any issues during setup, our team is ready to help: