Name Receipts YYYY-MM-DD So the Pile Sorts Without Opening

#TL;DR

• The job is a pile of receipts whose names do not sort: Invoice_Kagerer_1053650.pdf, Goisco_Invoice_00175816.pdf, Invoice_20260723_0001.pdf, Your new Spire bill is ready.pdf, IMG_4839.jpg, hawaii_gas_propane_receipt_….pdf.
• Put YYYY-MM-DD first so the folder sorts by the day of the receipt without opening the file.
• Two real lines, not a template zoo: YYYY-MM-DD__Entity__DocType (optional __[Amount]) and dated underscore YYYY-MM-DD_Vendor_Receipt.
• Keep the word Receipt. Do not substitute Purchase, Meal, Hotel, or another document type when the page is a receipt.
• Use the transaction date on the receipt, not the print date, not the download date. For bills and statements in the same pile, use the authored/sent/published date, never the due date.
• Never output $0.00 as a placeholder. If the amount cannot be read, omit the amount field and the underscore in front of it.
• NameQuick fills the line you already typed. Preview and undo before batch apply. It is not a DMS and not accounting.
• This page is receipts. For ISO, kebab-case, and version numbers, keep file naming conventions. Do not merge the two.

#Introduction: the pile does not sort

The convention essay is not the problem. The unsorted folder is.

Receipts, and the invoices and bills that share the folder, arrive from the scanner, the camera roll, the vendor portal, and the email. None of the names start with a date you can trust:

• Invoice_Kagerer_1053650.pdf
• Goisco_Invoice_00175816.pdf
• Invoice_20260723_0001.pdf
• Your new Spire bill is ready.pdf
• IMG_4839.jpg
• hawaii_gas_propane_receipt_….pdf

Invoice_20260723_0001.pdf has a date, but it is stuck behind Invoice_ and glued as YYYYMMDD plus a counter. hawaii_gas_propane_receipt_….pdf buries the day at the end. Subject-line PDFs have no date in the name at all. Finder then sorts by whatever the camera, the portal, or the counter decided.

People already wrote the fix as a one-liner:

Format date as YYYY-MM-DD
YYYY-MM-DD__Entity__DocType
YYYY-MM-DD__Entity__DocType__[Amount]

And, when the page is a receipt, a dated underscore:

YYYY-MM-DD_Vendor_Receipt

NameQuick fills those fields from the page. You do not need a new scheme.

This page stays on receipts. It is not the ISO / Harvard / kebab-case conventions guide. It is not the scanner/To File page, and it is not the Downloads portal dump page. Those jobs link here when the remaining question is the date line.

NameQuick is not a receipt scanner, not Expensify, and not a document management system. It is the naming and filing layer after the receipt is already a file.

#Before / after

The left column is receipt junk. The right column is the naming line people already type. NameQuick fills that line from the page. Preview the result before apply; undo if a name is wrong.

The right column is the convention, not a fake after-name. Preview shows the filled filename before anything is applied.

The goal is a folder that sorts by day. Open the file only when you need the page, not to find out when it was.

#Two real lines, not twelve templates

Do not invent a scheme if you already have a line. Use the line.

#Double-underscore ledger

YYYY-MM-DD__Entity__DocType
YYYY-MM-DD__Entity__DocType__[Amount]

Date first, then who, then what. Amount is optional. If the amount is missing, omit __[Amount]. Do not write $0.00 so the pattern looks complete.

A receipt in this dialect keeps the word Receipt in the DocType slot. Do not rename a meal receipt to Purchase because the card network said so.

#Dated underscore

YYYY-MM-DD_Vendor_Receipt
YYYY-MM-DD_Party_DocType

Same date-first idea, single underscores. Real assembled names in this shape:

2026-07-30_SPAR_Receipt_Einkauf
2026-08-21_Kagerer_Invoice_1053650

SPAR here is a filename token, not a grocery app pitch. If the page is a receipt, keep Receipt even when the vendor is a supermarket. If the page is an invoice that landed in the same pile, Invoice is the honest DocType. Do not mix the two words for the same piece of paper.

Pick one separator style for the folder (__ or _) and stay with it. Mixing both in the same receipts directory makes search worse, not better.

#The date that belongs in the name

Use the transaction date on the receipt, not the print date. Verify the year from the page. Thermal reprints and portal PDFs often carry a later print or download day.

For bills, statements, and letters that sit next to the receipts:

Use the document's authored/sent/published date, never the due date

Due date sorts the pile by when someone wanted money, not by when the document happened. Download date sorts by when you clicked. Neither is the receipt.

A monthly statement can use a period (2026-08) when the page has no single transaction day. Do not invent day 01 to satisfy YYYY-MM-DD.

#Keep the word Receipt

A real instruction already in use:

Rename every scanned receipt using this pattern
Never substitute Purchase, Meal, Hotel, or any other document type for the word Receipt
Use the transaction date, not the print date
Use the complete merchant name exactly as printed whenever practical

Meal and Hotel feel specific. They break a receipts folder that you later search for Receipt. The merchant name already says where you ate or stayed.

Do not put the last four of a card in the filename unless that is already your written rule and you accept the sensitivity. Prefer omit over guess. Same for IBANs, full account numbers, and street addresses.

Never output $0.00 as a placeholder. If an amount truly cannot be determined, omit the field and its preceding underscore. Do not substitute zero.

A fake $0.00 looks like a free item. It sorts with real zeroes. Leave the amount off.

#The receipt naming workflow

#1. Point at the folder that already holds the receipts

Downloads, To File, Scans, a camera-roll export, a shoebox scan inbox. One folder per pass is enough.

Portal-named invoices in Downloads are described on the Downloads Invoice_ page. Raw scanner counters belong on the scan page. This workflow is the naming line once those files are in front of you.

#2. Read the page

The filename is leftover. The date, merchant, and document type are on the receipt.

A clean 300 DPI scan usually reads better than a glare photo. Real folders include both. Handwriting, faded thermal paper, and cropped totals are where any reader becomes unreliable. Keep those in review.

#3. Paste the line you already believe

Format date as YYYY-MM-DD
YYYY-MM-DD__Entity__DocType
YYYY-MM-DD_Vendor_Receipt
Never substitute Purchase, Meal, Hotel, or any other document type for the word Receipt
Never output $0.00 as a placeholder

NameQuick fills those fields from the page. {date}_{vendor}_{amount} still works if you prefer tokens.

#4. Preview, then undo

Preview every proposed filename before you apply a batch.

Receipts are small files with money on them. A safe workflow shows the new name first, lets you edit a bad suggestion, and lets you undo if you catch a print date or a $0.00 later.

NameQuick records every rename. Undo is one click. Original creation and modification dates stay put.

Do not turn on unattended Watch Folder apply on the first pass. Preview until the line is boring. Then automate.

#5. File after the name is right

Rules can move named receipts into Finance/2026/Receipts/ and apply a tax tag. Filing is last. An unsorted pile does not get better by changing folders.

#Try it on the next batch

Self-Managed: 50 renames in the app, no card. $69 one-time if you keep it (your own key or a local model, Mac).

Managed is the cheap monthly: $12/month for 500 renames. Plans run $12–$99/month. Managed trial is 14 days or 250 renames, started in checkout.

Windows Managed Edition exists (x64 and ARM64). Mac is macOS 15.4+.

#Where NameQuick fits — and is not a DMS

NameQuick is not a receipt scanner, not an expense report, and not a full document archive. It is not a document management system.

It handles the step after a receipt already exists as a file: read, name, preview, undo, file.

Use NameQuick when you want to:

• fill YYYY-MM-DD plus vendor plus Receipt from the page
• keep authored/transaction dates and drop due dates and print dates
• omit amounts you cannot read, instead of writing $0.00
• preview suggested filenames before applying them
• batch rename with a filename format or written instructions
• undo a rename if the output is not right

For privacy: files are never uploaded for storage. Content Search is on-device. Naming leaves the machine only in cloud, BYOK, or Managed modes. A local model (Ollama, LM Studio, or MLX on Apple silicon) means nothing leaves. Terms on Privacy & Your Data. Local models and your own key are Mac Self-Managed. Windows Managed uses the Managed path.

If you later drop the named receipts into Shoeboxed, Expensify, QuickBooks, Paperless-ngx, or DEVONthink, that tool is still that tool. NameQuick does not become it.

#When to use this page vs another NameQuick workflow

Use this page when the question is how to write the receipt filename so the pile sorts.

This article stays receipts-only. The conventions guide covers everything else.

#Conclusion

Date first. Receipt as the word. Amount only when it is real.

The useful next step is the line you already believe, a preview you actually look at, a batch you can undo, and folders only after the name sorts.

If the pile still says Invoice_Kagerer_1053650.pdf, Goisco_Invoice_00175816.pdf, and IMG_4839.jpg, start with one folder and YYYY-MM-DD. Run a small batch. Preview. Undo print dates and $0.00. Only then watch the folder.

Try NameQuick on the pile: 50 Self-Managed renames, no card. The cheap monthly is Managed $12/mo for 500. Self-Managed is $69 one-time if you want your own key or a local model (Mac). Managed runs $12–$99/month; the Managed trial is 14 days or 250 renames. Windows Managed Edition is x64 and ARM64.

#FAQ

#What is the best filename format for receipts?

Date first as YYYY-MM-DD, then vendor, then the word Receipt, then an optional amount. The lines people already type are YYYY-MM-DD__Entity__DocType, YYYY-MM-DD__Entity__DocType__[Amount], and YYYY-MM-DD_Vendor_Receipt.

#Should I use the print date or the transaction date?

The transaction date. Print date, download date, and due date put the file in the wrong month. Verify the year from the receipt.

#Can I call a dinner receipt Meal or Purchase?

No. If the page is a receipt, keep the word Receipt. Do not substitute Purchase, Meal, Hotel, or another type. The merchant name already carries where it happened.

#What if I cannot read the amount?

Omit the amount field and the underscore in front of it. Do not write $0.00 as a placeholder.

#Is this the same as the file naming conventions guide?

No. That page is the general conventions guide (ISO, kebab-case, version numbers). This page is receipts only: YYYY-MM-DD, Receipt-not-Purchase, authored date not due date. Use both. Do not merge them.

#Is NameQuick a document management system?

No. It is a naming and filing layer for files that already live on disk. Keep the expense app or archive you already use; name the receipt first.

#Can I preview and undo?

Yes. Preview every proposed name, edit a bad one, then apply. Every NameQuick rename is recorded and reversible.

#Does this work on Windows?

Yes. Windows Managed Edition (x64 and ARM64) fills the same line. Mac is macOS 15.4+ with optional local models on Self-Managed.