What’s the best way to manage receipts and invoices?

Short Answer

The best way for a health and wellness clinic (physio, chiro, osteo, massage etc) to manage receipts and invoices is to go fully digital: use cloud tools like Dext or Hubdoc to capture bills and receipts, link them to Xero or QBO, and store everything in an organized, searchable system that meets CRA’s record-keeping rules and retention requirements.

The Rule / General Rule

• CRA requires you to keep proper books and records. You must keep all documents that support your income, expenses, and HST claims, including invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements, and electronic records.
• Electronic copies are acceptable. CRA explicitly allows electronic records as long as they are reliable, readable, and accessible in Canada for the required retention period (usually six years from the end of the last tax year).
• Records must support tax filings. Your stored documents must clearly tie to what you report for income tax, GST/HST, payroll, and information returns.
• You must keep daily income and expense records. That includes patient receipts (from Jane or your POS) and supplier invoices for rent, laundry, linens, equipment, etc.
• You’re responsible, even if you use software. Using Dext, Hubdoc, or cloud accounting doesn’t transfer legal responsibility; it just makes compliance and audits easier.

Why It Matters

• Audit protection. If CRA reviews your clinic, they’ll want to see supporting documents for revenue, expenses, and HST claims. A clean digital system means less stress and fewer surprises.
• Time savings. Chasing paper receipts, digging through email, and manually entering invoices is a massive time sink. A digital workflow lets your team snap, forward, and move on.
• Better profitability insight. When every invoice and receipt hits the books correctly and on time, your P&L actually reflects reality—by service line, clinician, or location.
• Fewer lost deductions. Lost receipts = lost tax deductions and ITCs. A structured capture process protects your clinic from accidentally overpaying tax.
• Cleaner year-end. Your accountant can focus on strategy and tax planning instead of begging for missing invoices.

Best Practices

• One inbox for all documents. Route all bills to a single email (e.g., bills@yourclinic.ca) and connect it to Dext or Hubdoc so nothing gets missed. Create a shared inbox in Microsoft 365 or a Google Group. This will make adding your bookkeeper and internal users easy. Then set up that account to auto-forward emails to Dext or Hubdoc.
• Scan paper at the door. Put a simple rule in place: if a paper receipt crosses the front-desk, it gets scanned or snapped into Dext/Hubdoc the same day.
• Connect suppliers directly. Where possible, have major vendors send invoices straight to Dext/Hubdoc or your bills inbox rather than to personal email accounts.
• Use consistent naming and tagging. Tag documents by location, practitioner, or cost type so your bookkeeper can code them quickly and accurately.
• Lock in monthly cut-offs. Set a hard date (e.g., the 5th of the following month) for all prior month receipts to be uploaded so bookkeepers can close the books.
• Train your team. Show practitioners and admins exactly how to upload expenses and what information is required (e.g., purpose of expense, client-facing vs internal).

Examples

Massage therapist expense reimbursement:

A massage therapist buys massage oil for the clinic and snaps the receipt into Dext with a note “Massage oil – clinic supplies.” The clinic reimburses via payroll or Plooto, and the receipt is attached to the expense entry in Xero.

Equipment financing invoice:

The clinic signs a lease for a new shockwave machine. Monthly lease invoices are emailed directly to the bills inbox and flow into Hubdoc. Each invoice is coded to “Equipment lease – physio” with HST captured, then paid through Plooto.

Linens and laundry:

A weekly laundry service sends invoices by email. The admin simply checks that each invoice appears in Dext, then the bookkeeper approves and schedules payment, with all documents stored in the cloud in case CRA ever asks.

Tools

• Dext / Hubdoc – core tools for capturing receipts and invoices and pushing them into Xero/QBO with images attached.
• Xero / QuickBooks Online – your general ledger where those documents land as coded bills and expenses.
• Jane – key source of patient receipts and daily close reports; export or store PDFs as part of your audit trail.
• Plooto – for paying suppliers and reimbursing practitioners with a clear link back to their invoices.
• Cloud storage (e.g., OneDrive, Google Drive) – optional secondary backup for key contracts and high-value documents.

Sources

• CRA – Keeping records
• CRA – Business records
• CRA – Checklist for small businesses

Bookkeepers’ Tip

If you’re switching from paper to digital, don’t try to fix the last five years in one shot. Draw a line in the sand: “From this month forward, everything goes into Dext/Hubdoc.” Once that’s running smoothly, you can slowly backfill older high-risk periods (like any years the CRA could still audit). Future-proof first, then worry about archaeology.

Need Help

If your clinic’s receipts live in a shoebox, your email, and a random drawer in the treatment room, you’re not alone—but it’s fixable. We design receipt and invoice workflows for Canadian health and therapy clinics that match how your team actually works, then connect Dext/Hubdoc and Xero/QBO so everything lands in the right place. Book a quick call and we’ll map out a cleaner system.