AI-powered expense tracker built for freelancers, consultants, and small business owners
Hey Indie Hackers! 👋
I built CentSense because every tax season I was digging through a shoebox of receipts, trying to remember which client that dinner was for and whether I could deduct that drive.
Every tool I tried was either overkill (built for 50-person teams) or overpriced (charging $30/month for things I'd never use).
So I built what I actually needed:
- Scan receipts with AI — zero manual entry
- Track mileage for client trips
- Organize everything by project so billing clients is easy
- Export a clean report when tax time hits
Built specifically for: freelancers, consultants, small business owners, and the accountants who love them.
Would love feedback from anyone who's lived the shoebox receipt nightmare. What would make this indispensable for your workflow?
What part of your approval process takes the most time? Trying to understand if this is a universal pain.
The “shoebox of receipts” pain is very real, you’re building from the right place.
If this becomes the thing freelancers rely on every tax season without thinking twice, you’ve nailed it.
Congrats on the launch Centsense!
I’m a freelancer myself, so I really felt this one. I used to dread tax season because of the messy receipt chaos, so I appreciate you building something this practical and focused instead of another bloated enterprise tool.
While checking out the site, I loved the clear value proposition, but I found myself wishing I could see the AI receipt scanning and report generation in action more directly, a quick demo or visual example would make it even more compelling.
You’ve built something that feels genuinely useful for freelancers. I’m curious, how are you planning to show new users how smooth the AI scanning feels before they sign up?
Thanks so much! Really appreciate the kind words — and yeah, the receipt chaos is real 😅
You're absolutely right about needing better visuals. I've been so heads-down building that I haven't shown enough of the actual product in action. A demo video/GIF is at the top of my list for next week.
In the meantime, the free tier gives you 10 AI scans to try it out risk-free, so you can see the scanning magic firsthand. But I hear you — people should be able to see it working before they even sign up.
Quick question: when you picture a demo, what would be most valuable to you? A quick 15-second GIF of snap → AI extract → done? Or a longer walkthrough showing the full workflow (scan → categorize → export)?
Really helpful feedback — thank you! 🙏
That makes sense, and it’s great you’re already thinking about improving that.
I’d lean more toward a full walkthrough. If users aren’t completely sure how the product works, seeing the entire flow helps them understand the value end-to-end, from scanning to organizing to exporting.
It’s not just about showing features, it’s about building confidence in how everything fits together. Once users see that clearly, they’re more likely to trust the product and come back to it repeatedly.
You could still have a shorter version for quick attention, but the walkthrough is what really communicates the depth of value.
This is a really interesting part of the experience, happy to take a closer look and share more detailed thoughts if that’s helpful.