What Docket Pocket does with your photo library

A closer look at each feature — how it works, when it helps, and what it doesn't do.

GPS-based trip detection

Point Docket Pocket at a Photos album or a date range. For every photo, it reads the GPS coordinates embedded in the file (the same coordinates Photos.app uses to plot your library on the map) and the date. It then compares each location to the home address you configure — and any other regular locations you add, like an office, a workshop, or a client site.

The comparison uses a straight-line distance multiplied by a circuity factor, which approximates how much longer real road travel is than a crow-flight measurement. Both the exclusion radius and the circuity factor are configurable per location. Photos that are far enough away from every home/regular location are treated as travel.

On-device receipt OCR

Enable Scan photos for receipt data at the setup screen and each photo also goes through Apple's on-device Vision text recognition. Docket Pocket looks for dollar amounts, merchant names, and GST lines in the extracted text.

Australian GST is calculated the way the ATO expects it: if the receipt shows a GST amount, that value is used; if it doesn't, the 1/11 fallback is applied to the total. No text, no images, and no OCR results are sent anywhere — Vision runs entirely on your Mac. If you are not registered for GST, the GST column and field can be ignored — the total is the figure that matters to you.

OCR is never 100% accurate. Always check extracted values against the original receipt before treating them as final — see the Terms of Service for the full accuracy disclaimer.

iCloud Photos handling

Docket Pocket reads photos through Apple's Photos framework, so whatever Photos.app can see, Docket Pocket can see — iCloud Photos and local libraries both work. If a photo lives in the cloud rather than on your Mac, Docket Pocket asks Photos to download it. You'll see a one-time prompt asking whether it's OK to pull photos from iCloud during processing. Photos that don't need downloading are processed instantly.

Camera filter — ignore photos that aren't yours

If you share an iCloud Photo Library with a partner or family member, their photos are in your library too. The Camera filter option in Preferences narrows processing to photos taken with a device you own, comparing the camera model metadata embedded in each photo. You add your devices once (iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15, etc.) and Docket Pocket only processes shots taken with one of those cameras. No more phantom trips generated by someone else's holiday photos.

Duplicate detection

Bursts, live-photo previews, and re-shots of the same receipt are grouped together so a single receipt only counts once. Docket Pocket picks the highest-quality shot from each group and marks the rest as duplicates — you can see the count in the summary line at the top of the results.

Trip grouping and naming

Consecutive travel days are grouped into trips you can name and manage. Docket Pocket suggests a name based on the primary location for each trip ("Blackheath, NSW", "Melbourne trip"), and you can rename any trip in the review view. Trip names persist across re-processing runs, so you don't have to redo the naming if you re-scan the same album later.

Review and correct

Every receipt in the results table is editable. Merchant, amount, GST, category, location, and notes can all be updated inline. Your edits are saved automatically to ~/Library/Application Support/DocketPocket/ and restored the next time you re-process the same album — so re-running OCR on a photo library never loses the corrections you've already made.

Exports for your accountant

Once you've reviewed the results, seven export formats are available:

• Spreadsheet (CSV) — date, location, category, amount, GST, notes, GPS, personal/travel flags. Opens straight into Numbers, Excel, or your accountant's tools.
• Travel Journal (HTML) — a self-contained web page grouped by trip, with embedded receipt thumbnails, a map of the trips, and per-receipt data. Nothing links to the internet; you can email or save the file and it renders offline.
• Map (PNG) — a static image of all trip locations with numbered pins. Useful for printing or attaching to a return.
• Interactive Map (HTML) — a Leaflet-based web page with clickable markers. Same self-contained file; opens in any browser.
• Visits Journal (HTML) — a per-visit relocation log, grouped by named location, showing arrival and departure dates.
• Visits (CSV) — the visit log as a spreadsheet, one row per stay at a named location.
• Photo Audit (CSV) — per-photo diagnostic metadata (source, filename, GPS, matched location) for tracking down unexpected results.

Runs entirely on your Mac

Docket Pocket has no account, no login, no analytics, no third-party servers. Photos, receipts, and export files never leave your machine. The only network traffic the app makes goes to Apple's reverse-geocoding service (to turn coordinates like "-33.86, 151.20" into "Sydney, NSW") and to Apple's iCloud Photos service to download photos you've asked it to process. Full details in the privacy policy.

What Docket Pocket helps you substantiate

Docket Pocket produces the kind of records an accountant or the ATO expects to see when you claim work-related travel expenses. Which specific deduction method applies to your situation, and what the current thresholds and rates are, is on the ATO website — or ask a registered tax agent (find one via the Tax Practitioners Board register).

• Work-related travel expenses — accommodation, meals, incidentals, and other travel receipts. Docket Pocket's per-receipt records with dates, merchants, amounts, GST, and GPS locations are exactly what these claims need to be substantiated.
• Simplified car expense claims (the cents-per-kilometre method). This method does not require a formal logbook, but you do need to be able to show how you worked out the kilometres you're claiming. Docket Pocket's GPS trip data is a reasonable evidentiary basis for that estimate. Check the ATO website for the current cents-per-km rate and any annual kilometre cap.
• General trip evidence. The photo-illustrated Travel Journal is useful supporting evidence for any expense claim where you need to demonstrate that you were somewhere on a given date.

What Docket Pocket doesn't do

• It doesn't lodge tax returns or calculate your tax liability.
• It doesn't communicate with the ATO or any other tax authority.
• It doesn't replace a bookkeeper or accountant — see Terms of Service for the full framing.
• It is not an ATO-compliant vehicle logbook. The logbook method for car expenses requires per-trip records that Docket Pocket does not capture — including odometer readings and the purpose of each trip. GPS-derived trip data alone is not a substitute for a proper logbook. For the current requirements, see the ATO website. If you're using the logbook method, keep a compliant logbook (paper, spreadsheet, or a dedicated logbook app). Docket Pocket may complement a logbook as photographic evidence, but does not replace one.
• It doesn't handle non-Australian tax rules. VAT / HST / sales tax outside Australia are on the roadmap for a future release.

Ready to try it? Download Docket Pocket for Mac.