Whether you're running a business in London or Milan, expense management comes with its own set of rules. Here's what you need to know.
Record keeping requirements
In the UK, HMRC requires businesses to keep records of all business expenses for at least 6 years. This includes receipts, invoices, and bank statements. Digital copies are accepted — you don't need to keep the paper originals as long as your digital records are clear and legible.
In Italy, the requirements are stricter. Tax records must be kept for a minimum of 10 years under the Italian Civil Code (Article 2220). The Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency) requires that all expense documentation, including receipts (scontrini) and invoices (fatture), be preserved in a format that guarantees their authenticity and integrity.
VAT considerations
VAT (or IVA in Italy) recovery is a significant consideration for any business. In both the UK and Italy, you can reclaim VAT on legitimate business expenses — but only if you have proper documentation.
In the UK, the standard VAT rate is 20%. You'll need a valid VAT receipt showing the supplier's VAT registration number. For expenses under £250, a simplified receipt is sufficient.
In Italy, the standard IVA rate is 22%, with reduced rates of 10%, 5%, and 4% for certain goods and services. Proper documentation means having a receipt or invoice that clearly shows the IVA amount.
This is exactly why automatic VAT extraction matters. When AI can read the IVA line from an Italian scontrino, it saves your accountant time and reduces errors.
Digital tools and compliance
Both HMRC and the Agenzia delle Entrate accept digital records. This means photographing receipts and storing them digitally is a perfectly valid approach — as long as the images are clear and the data is accurately recorded.
ricevuta.ai is designed with these requirements in mind. Every expense includes the original receipt image, the extracted data (amount, date, vendor, VAT), and a timestamp of when it was submitted and approved. This creates a complete audit trail that satisfies both UK and Italian regulatory requirements.
Monthly expense reports
Most small businesses reconcile expenses monthly. The typical process involves: collecting all receipts, categorising expenses, calculating totals by category, and preparing a summary for the accountant.
With ricevuta.ai, this entire process is replaced by a single click. The Export feature generates a formatted Excel file with every approved expense for the selected period, including a summary sheet with totals by category and by employee.
Getting started
The simplest approach: create a free ricevuta.ai account, invite your team, and start capturing receipts immediately. At month-end, export everything and send it to your accountant. Done.