Short answer
A receipt app for contractors should file each receipt against a job, so materials, plant hire and subcontractor costs add up to a real job cost. NexaLink Scanner does that with one project per job on Pro, keeps receipts on your phone, reads them offline, and exports a free CSV for your accountant or bookkeeping software.
Key takeaways
- One project per job turns a pile of receipts into a job cost you can compare with the quote.
- UK CIS: deductions are taken from the labour part of a payment, not from materials you paid for — so materials receipts directly reduce what is withheld.
- US independent contractors report income from Form 1099-NEC on Schedule C and claim costs on the expense lines.
- NexaLink does not track mileage or match bank transactions; use your bookkeeping tool for those.
Job costing starts with the receipt
A contractor quotes a price, buys what the job needs and hopes the difference is profit. Without receipts filed against the job, you only find out at year end — when it is too late to change how you quote. The fix is simple: one project per job, chosen at the moment you capture the receipt.
- Job costing
- Job costing means recording the direct costs of each contract — materials, equipment hire, subcontracted labour, permits — against that contract, so you can compare actual cost with the quoted price job by job.
| Receipt | Project | Category | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timber and fixings from the merchant | 14 Elm Rd kitchen | Materials | Long receipt, captured in one piece |
| Tile cutter hire, 3 days | 14 Elm Rd kitchen | Plant & equipment hire | Hire agreement photographed too |
| Skip hire | 14 Elm Rd kitchen | Waste disposal | Permit receipt tagged "permit" |
| Electrician's invoice | 14 Elm Rd kitchen | Subcontractors | Kept with their payment record |
| Replacement drill battery | General | Tools | Used on every job — not a job cost |
At the end of the job, set the project filter and read the total by category. That is your job cost. Over a few jobs it tells you whether your materials markup or day rate needs to change.
UK contractors and subcontractors: CIS and materials
Under the Construction Industry Scheme, contractors deduct money from subcontractors' payments and pass it to HMRC as an advance on the subcontractor's tax and National Insurance. Registered subcontractors normally have 20% deducted; unregistered ones 30%; those with gross payment status have nothing deducted in advance[1].
In plain terms: if you are a CIS subcontractor and buy the materials yourself, a clear receipt per job is what lets the contractor take materials out before working out the deduction. Tag those receipts with the contractor's name so you can hand over the evidence for each payment. Keep the monthly payment and deduction statements the contractor sends too — they show what was deducted and go on your return.
If you are the contractor engaging subcontractors, the CIS return itself happens in HMRC's service or your payroll/bookkeeping software. NexaLink only holds the receipts.
US independent contractors: 1099-NEC and Schedule C
If clients pay you as a non-employee, the income they report on Form 1099-NEC is part of the gross receipts you report on Schedule C, and the IRS asks you to explain any difference between your 1099 totals and line 1[3]. Your job costs go on the expense lines — supplies (line 22), rent or lease of equipment (line 20a), repairs and maintenance (line 21), contract labor (line 11) and so on[3].
If you hire other contractors yourself, you may need to issue them a 1099-NEC — keep their invoices filed against the job. The IRS default record-keeping period is three years from filing, longer in some cases[4]. See US self-employed receipts for the full picture.
Capturing receipts between sites
- In the van, between drops: the app reads the receipt on the phone, so it works without signal.
- Merchant counter receipts that run to a metre: long-receipt mode keeps them as one record instead of three photos.
- End of a busy week: batch mode for the stack on the dashboard, then file each to its job.
- Search later by the merchant, the amount or any word on the receipt — "plasterboard", "hire", a postcode on a delivery note.
Tradespeople doing smaller jobs for homeowners will find more on dirty paper and van fuel in the receipt app for tradespeople.
What this app will not do for a contractor
Be clear about the boundaries. NexaLink Scanner has no mileage or GPS tracking, no bank feed or bank matching, no invoicing, no CIS returns and no multi-user crew accounts. If you run several crews who all buy materials on company cards and need approval, a team spend tool such as Expensify or Zoho Expense fits better. If you work alone or with one office person, a phone-based receipt organiser plus your accounting software is usually all you need.
Exports today: CSV, free on every plan; a PDF expense report per job on Pro. Image export and Xero/QuickBooks-shaped import files are coming. See accounting integrations for the connector roadmap.
Key facts about NexaLink Scanner
- What it is: NexaLink Scanner is a private receipt and expense organiser for iOS and Android, built for freelancers, sole traders, contractors and small businesses. It is not accounting software and does not file tax returns.
- How it reads receipts: text is read on the phone (on-device OCR) and capture works offline. Merchant, date, total and tax are filled in; any value it is unsure of is flagged, and a low-confidence total cannot be saved until you confirm it.
- Where data lives: receipts are stored on your phone and do not sync to the web. Data leaves only when you export it.
- Free plan: 50 receipts, on-device reading, search, 5 default categories and CSV export. CSV export is free on every plan, always.
- Pro: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year — unlimited receipts, custom categories, projects and tags, a PDF expense report in the app, tax and multi-currency reports. Image ZIP export and Xero / QuickBooks import files are coming soon.
- Accounting connections (none live yet): Xero — First · V1.1 · QuickBooks Online — Next · V1.2 · FreeAgent — Planned · Sage Accounting — Planned · Zoho Books — Planned · TallyPrime — Import file first. CSV export works with any accounting tool today. Status as of 2026-11-10; see accounting integrations.
Frequently asked questions
How do contractors track receipts per job?
Create a project for each job and choose it when you capture the receipt. In NexaLink Scanner, projects are on Pro. At the end of the job, filter by the project to see materials, hire and subcontractor totals for that contract.
Do I need receipts for materials under CIS?
If you are a CIS subcontractor and pay for materials yourself, the contractor deducts CIS only from the non-materials part of the payment. They can ask you for evidence of the materials cost and will estimate it if you have none, so keeping receipts per job protects your payment.
What CIS deduction rates apply?
According to GOV.UK, contractors deduct 20% from registered subcontractors and 30% from unregistered ones. Subcontractors with gross payment status have no deduction taken in advance. Check GOV.UK for the current position before relying on these figures. Whatever the rate, keep every payment and deduction statement your contractors send.
Can I use NexaLink as a 1099 contractor in the US?
Yes. Use categories that follow the Schedule C expense lines and one project per client or job. Export a CSV at year end for your tax preparer. NexaLink does not file returns or issue 1099s. Keep the 1099-NEC forms clients send you alongside your own income records, so your gross receipts can be checked against them.
Does the app track mileage between sites?
No. NexaLink Scanner does not have mileage or GPS tracking. Fuel receipts can be captured and filed against a job, but if you claim using mileage rates you need a separate mileage log. Some contractors keep a simple notebook or a dedicated mileage app in the van and use NexaLink only for receipts. That split works fine.
Can my office manager see the receipts I capture on site?
Not directly — receipts are stored on your phone and there are no multi-user team accounts. You can export a CSV or a PDF report (Pro) and send it. Accountant sharing is part of Premium as it launches. A weekly export by email is usually enough for a small firm.
What happens to my receipts if I stop paying?
They stay on your phone, searchable and exportable as CSV. You lose Pro features such as adding new receipts beyond the free limit and creating projects, but you do not lose the records. Because receipts are stored on the device rather than a server, there is no account to close and nothing deleted on cancellation. Export a CSV before you change phones.
Sources
- GOV.UK — What you must do as a Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) subcontractor — checked on 2026-11-10
- GOV.UK — Construction Industry Scheme: a guide for contractors and subcontractors (CIS 340) — checked on 2026-11-10
- IRS — Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040) — checked on 2026-11-10
- IRS — How long should I keep records — checked on 2026-11-10