Updated 2026-10-20

A free app that turns your grocery receipt into a pantry list

How receipt scanning works for groceries, why short receipt names like "Moehren DEA" are hard, and how to get every item, price and best-before date into your phone without typing.

A grocery receipt already lists everything you bought, what it cost and where. Scanning it is the fastest way to fill a pantry app: one photo instead of twenty items typed by hand. Here is how it works, and what to look for in a receipt scanner.

Why grocery receipts are hard to read

Reading the text is the easy part; iPhones do that well. The hard part is understanding it. Supermarket receipts use short, cut-off names that only make sense to the till:

• "Moehren DEA" is a bag of carrots.
• "GL H-Milch 3,5% 1 L" is a litre of long-life whole milk.
• "Mann.Schnittensort.ab300g" is a box of Manner wafers.

No set of rules can cover every product in every shop, so a good receipt scanner needs an AI that has learned what these lines mean and which shelf they belong on. It should also skip what isn't food: deposits ("Pfand"), bags and coupons.

How it works in Halo

1. Scan the receipt with the camera, choose a photo, or share the PDF from your supermarket app.
2. Halo's AI reads every line on your iPhone and works out the food, the price and whether it goes in the cupboard, fridge or freezer, with a best-before estimate.
3. Check it, then save. Halo checks that the items add up to the receipt's total. Fix anything with one tap and Halo remembers it.
4. Optional: scan each pack as you put it away. Each barcode finds its line on the receipt and adds the exact pack size and nutrition.

What to look for in a receipt scanner app

• Where the receipt is read: on your phone or on a server. A receipt shows where and when you shopped.
• Your language and your shops: many apps are built for US receipts and struggle with German or other European ones.
• A check step before anything is saved, and a quick way to fix mistakes.
• What it does next: a list alone is not much use. Halo uses the same receipt for expiry reminders, your food spending and, with the barcode, calories.