Why is the iPad expensify environment so confusing?

mukilr
mukilr Expensify Customer Posts: 1
edited July 2021 in Day to Day

First of all Greetings from India. It's 1.00 AM here. Why am I out writing a community discussion page at this ungodly hour? Let me explain.

Some time ago, my wife got me an iPad Air(2020 if you're interested). And in the months that followed, it has been sitting around in a cupboard under the stairs a la a pre-Hogwarts Harry Potter. I've always been an Android man and after so many years, using an Apple device leaves me dazed and confused. But I took it out today, confident that I might be able to unravel some of its mysteries by using it (and only it) to submit an expense report.

Enter Expensify - after struggling somewhat with the app store(half of which was related to finding out where the App Store icon was), I was able to download the app and upload two images without a hitch. In my newfound confidence, I tried to go ahead with the second part of my task - uploading Amazon Invoices download from the app. It didn't take me long to realise the app doesn't support adding anything other than images for an expense report. I even tried clicking on the attachment button in the comment section but to no avail. (I later found that the attachment section in Android works basically the same way, but undergoes a wavy transition to indicate that it had been pressed and then does nothing).

Undeterred, I went ahead and opened the PDF and took a screenshot of the same. Mind you, taking a screenshot in my iPad is an arduous affair partly since the fear of breaking the iPad lead me to buy the strongest case there is, and clicking the volume button on it requires exerting every ounce of my pitiful upper body strength. Needless to say, after 3 PDF screenshots and several broken fingers, I came down to the final and arguably the most difficult task of them all - attaching the confirmation email from HR as a (dun dun dun) PDF.

Now, you might ask - Why not take a screenshot of the email as well? Well, the mail is 3 pages long and I had ran out of unbroken fingers so that wasnt an option. So, I tried to take a detour.

I remembered that the web application works just fine to upload all types of pdf documentation using the attach functionality, so, I tried to open Expensify in Chrome - it asked me to open the app. So, at this point I was wondering - "How did they know I had the app?" So, I went incongnito - and the page asked me to download the app. Tried to open in Dekstop mode after browsing the Expensify community and the result was the same.

Defeated, I opened my phone and uploaded the pdf in a minute, came back and clicked submit from the iPad. And now I'm here.

Now, I don't know if this is an ipad only issue or a general iOS issue(abject poverty prevents me from buying multiple apple devices).

If there are any developers listening, hear my plea. On behalf of my poor fingers, please please let us upload PDF.

Yours Sincerely,

An Expensify user.

Comments

  • Nicole Mendonca
    Nicole Mendonca Expensify Customer, Expensify Team Posts: 131 Expensify Team

    @mukilr Thanks for getting involved in our Community and sharing this experience!

    Any emailed receipt should be forwarded to receipts@expensify.com from the email address associated with your Expensify account -- no need to screenshot those receipts and manually upload them. Forwarding them to receipts@expensify.com will SmartScan them and create them as expenses in your account.

    Is there a use case where you would have a PDF that couldn't be easily forwarded to receipts@expensify.com? If so, happy to help you solve that use case! Feel free to reply here, or live chat with Concierge directly from your Expensify account.