Resolve duplicates
The Paper Keep automatically flags receipts that look identical. Review flagged pairs and decide which one to keep, or confirm they are both legitimate.
How duplicates are detected
When a receipt is added — via upload or email forwarding — The Paper Keep compares it against your existing receipts. A pair is flagged as a possible duplicate when:
- The vendor names match — exactly, or one contains the other (so "ThumbGuard" pairs with "ThumbGuard Australia"), and
- The total amount matches, and
- The receipt date matches.
All three must match — same shop on a different day, or same amount from a different shop, will not be flagged.
The most common causes of duplicate flags are forwarding a receipt email that was already imported automatically, scanning a paper receipt you also received as an email, or receiving two documents for one purchase — such as a PayPal payment receipt alongside the merchant's own order confirmation.
Where to see duplicates
On the receipt detail page
If a receipt has possible duplicates, a yellow warning banner appears at the top of its detail page, listing the matching receipts with links. Click any link to open the other receipt and compare them.
On the Duplicates page
Go to Duplicates in the left sidebar to see all flagged pairs in one place. Each pair is shown as a card with both receipts side by side, including vendor, amount, date, and source (email or upload).
By default the page shows only unresolved pairs. Toggle to Show all to include pairs you have already resolved.
Resolving a pair
Open the Duplicates page and find the pair to resolve. For each pair:
- Compare the two receipts. Use quick preview on either card, or Open receipt to see the full detail page. Check the vendor name, date, amount, source, and any notes.
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Decide what to do:
- Trash the true duplicate — click Trash #1 or Trash #2 under the copy you don't need. It moves to Trash and the pair is resolved.
- Keep both — if they are genuinely different transactions (same amount on the same day from the same shop is possible), click These are different receipts — keep both.
- Link as the same purchase — if the two receipts document one purchase (a PayPal payment receipt plus the merchant's own receipt, for example), click Same purchase — count #1 (or #2) to pick the one that should count. Both receipts are kept, stored, and searchable, but only the chosen one contributes to totals, summaries, and exports. The other is kept as proof of payment.
The same options appear in the yellow warning banner on the receipt's own detail page.
Once resolved, the pair moves out of the unresolved view. You can see it again by switching to Show all.
Linked "same purchase" receipts
After linking, both receipts show a Linked row in the Details list on their detail pages — the counted receipt lists its supporting copies, and the supporting copy notes that it is kept as proof of payment and isn't counted in totals.
To swap which one counts or to separate them again, use the Unlink button on that row — both receipts then count normally. And if the counted receipt is ever moved to Trash, the supporting copy automatically counts again, so nothing silently disappears from your totals.
Preventing duplicates
- Don't upload a receipt you've already forwarded — if you forwarded a receipt email and it was ingested successfully, you don't need to also upload the PDF. Check your receipts list first.
- Avoid forwarding the same email twice — some email clients create duplicates when you forward from a thread rather than the original message. Forward from the original.