Guide
How to book the bills your team sends on WhatsApp
To book the bills your team sends on WhatsApp without retyping them, add a tool like BookMyBills to the groups: staff keep sending photos, PDFs or voice notes, the tool reads each bill and prepares the accounting entry, and your accountant approves it before it posts to your books. In Saudi Arabia, where most branch teams already share bills on WhatsApp, this removes the copying between the group and the accounting software.
Why do Saudi companies already run on WhatsApp bills?
Drivers, storekeepers, site engineers and branch managers buy things every day. The fastest way for them to report it is a photo in the branch WhatsApp group. The accountant then scrolls the groups, downloads each photo and types it into Zoho Books, ERPNext or Excel. Bills get missed, sent twice or typed wrong, and month end turns into a hunt.
How does it work?
- Your team sends the bill. A photo, PDF or voice note in the WhatsApp group they already use. No app to install.
- BookMyBills reads it. Supplier, VAT number, date, lines, 15% VAT and the right account, ready for review.
- You approve, it posts. One click and the entry is in your books, with the original photo attached.
What should it catch?
- Duplicates: the same bill sent by two people, or the same photo sent twice
- Unclear bills: a question in the group, not a guess
- VAT problems: VAT claimed on bills from suppliers with no VAT number
- Returns: credit notes booked as supplier credits, not as new bills
- Voice-note expenses: "paid 85 for diesel" turned into an entry and a request for the receipt
Is it safe to book bills from WhatsApp?
It is safe when a person approves every entry and the original photo stays attached. The software should never pay or move money, never message anyone outside your groups and never mix one company's data with another's. That is how BookMyBills is built.
How do I start?
Pick one branch group, connect your accounting software and let bills flow for a week. Compare what was booked with what you would have typed by hand. With BookMyBills you can ask for a free demo on WhatsApp and see it on your own bills first.
Common questions
What is BookMyBills?
BookMyBills is bookkeeping software for companies in Saudi Arabia. Your staff send bills in the WhatsApp groups they already use; BookMyBills reads each bill, prepares the accounting entry with VAT, and posts it to Zoho Books, ERPNext, Odoo, Ethicfin, Fujishka Cloud or Polosys Cloud after your accountant approves. It is made by OpenArabia, an accounting firm in Riyadh.
What can it read?
Tax invoices, simplified invoices, cash bills, receipts, delivery notes, credit and return notes, transfer slips, PDFs and voice notes, in Arabic and English. A voice note like "paid 85 for diesel" becomes an entry, and BookMyBills asks for the receipt.
Can it read Arabic bills?
Yes. It reads Arabic and English bills, including bilingual Saudi tax invoices, and voice notes in any language. Replies in the group are in English.
What happens when it isn't sure?
It asks in the WhatsApp group, as a reply to that bill. The entry waits under Needs answer until someone replies. It never guesses and posts.
How does it stop duplicate bills?
When the same bill arrives twice, for example from the driver and then the branch manager, it is booked once and the second copy is flagged. The same photo sent again is caught too.