Email Receipt Scanning

Purpose

Provides Gmail search queries, Danish sender patterns, email content type detection, and deduplication rules for scanning a user's inbox for receipts and invoices. Used by the /smartspender:receipt email command.

Prerequisites

This skill requires the Gmail MCP server to be configured in the user's environment. The following MCP tools are needed:

• gmail_search or equivalent — search emails by query
• gmail_get_message or equivalent — read email content and metadata
• gmail_get_attachment or equivalent — download PDF attachments

If Gmail MCP is not available, commands using this skill should fail gracefully with a clear message.

Gmail Search Queries

Primary Search Query

Search for receipt and invoice emails using this combined query:

subject:(faktura OR kvittering OR receipt OR invoice OR ordre OR order OR betaling) has:attachment after:{YYYY/MM/DD}

Where {YYYY/MM/DD} is either:

• The last_email_scan timestamp from settings.csv (incremental scan)
• A calculated date based on the days argument (e.g., 30 days back)
• Default: 90 days back if no previous scan and no argument

Supplementary Queries

If the primary query returns few results, also try:

from:(*faktura* OR *invoice* OR *noreply* OR *no-reply*) has:attachment after:{YYYY/MM/DD}

subject:(ordrebekraeftelse OR orderbekraeftelse OR betalingsbekraeftelse) after:{YYYY/MM/DD}

Query Notes

• has:attachment ensures only emails with files are returned (most invoices are PDF attachments)
• Danish keywords (faktura, kvittering, betaling) catch Danish vendor emails
• English keywords (receipt, invoice, order) catch international vendors
• Date filter prevents re-scanning old emails

Danish Sender Patterns

Map known email sender domains to vendor IDs for faster vendor detection:

For senders not in this table: extract the domain name as a starting point for vendor detection, then fall through to the invoice-parsing skill's vendor detection workflow.

Email Content Types

Receipt emails come in three forms. Detect and handle each:

PDF Attachment Priority

When an email has both a PDF attachment and inline content, always process the PDF. The inline content is typically a summary or notification, while the PDF is the full invoice.

Inline HTML Extraction

For emails without PDF attachments (e.g., Wolt order confirmations, Nemlig receipts):

1. Parse the email HTML body
2. Look for structured tables with item names, quantities, prices
3. Extract total from summary section
4. Set file_reference to email:{message_id} (no file to archive)

Deduplication

Timestamp-Based Scan Window

• Read last_email_scan from settings.csv
• Only search emails received after this timestamp
• After successful scan, update last_email_scan to current datetime

Cross-Check with receipts.csv

Before processing each email:

1. Detect vendor and date from email metadata
2. Extract total (from subject line or quick body scan)
3. Check receipts.csv for existing receipt with same date + merchant + total_amount
4. If match found: skip and note in scan summary as "allerede registreret"

Deduplication Fields

Date Range Calculation

If the user provides a days argument, it overrides last_email_scan. This allows rescanning a specific period.

Email Filtering Heuristics

Not every email matching the search query is a receipt. Apply these filters:

Include

• Emails with PDF attachments from known vendor domains
• Emails with "faktura" or "kvittering" in subject
• Order confirmation emails with itemized totals

Exclude

• Marketing emails (subject contains "tilbud", "kampagne", "nyhedsbrev" without "faktura"/"kvittering")
• Password reset or account notification emails
• Shipping notifications without invoice content
• Emails already processed (deduplication check)

Examples

Example 1: Incremental Scan

Context: last_email_scan = 2026-01-15 in settings.csv

Search query: subject:(faktura OR kvittering OR receipt OR invoice OR ordre OR order OR betaling) has:attachment after:2026/01/15

Results: 4 emails found

1. TDC faktura (2026-01-20) — PDF attachment — known vendor
2. Oersted aarsopgoerelse (2026-01-25) — PDF attachment — known vendor
3. Wolt ordrebekraeftelse (2026-01-28) — inline HTML — no parser
4. Spam email about "tilbud" — filtered out

After processing: Update last_email_scan to 2026-02-01

Example 2: First-Time Scan with Days Argument

Context: No last_email_scan in settings.csv. User runs /smartspender:receipt email 30

Search query: subject:(faktura OR kvittering OR receipt OR invoice OR ordre OR order OR betaling) has:attachment after:2026/01/02

Results: Emails from the last 30 days

Related Skills

• See skills/document-parsing/SKILL.md for vendor detection, parser lookup workflow, and general extraction rules
• See skills/data-schemas/SKILL.md for the CSV file structure (email receipts use source: email)