Expensify: SmartScan failed to extract merchant"

TL;DR

SmartScan parsed the receipt but could not identify the merchant, usually because the logo or header is stylized, cropped, or in a non-standard position. Type the merchant name in manually, save it as the merchant for that vendor, and Expensify will recognize it next time.

Error

Expensify: SmartScan failed to extract merchant

Steps

1. Open the expense and check what SmartScan did extract (date, total). Expected: the receipt parsed but the merchant field is blank or wrong.
2. Look at the receipt image: find the merchant name in the header or footer. Expected: you can read the merchant even though the scan missed it.
3. Type the correct merchant name into the merchant field and save. Expected: the expense shows the right merchant.
4. If this vendor recurs, confirm the merchant mapping is saved for future scans. Expected: the next receipt from the same vendor auto-fills.
5. If the header is cropped out of the photo, retake it with the full header visible. Expected: future scans extract the merchant automatically.

When to use

• SmartScan completes but the merchant field is blank or incorrect.
• The receipt is readable but uses a logo or stylized header.

When not to use

• The whole scan failed (see the unable-to-read-receipt skill).
• The merchant is correct but the category is wrong (fix the category mapping).

Tool compatibility

• Expensify web, iOS, and Android; SmartScan merchant database.

Variant phrasings

Merchant not recognized on scanned receipt

Same miss, alternate wording.

SmartScan could not identify the vendor

The vendor-side phrasing of the same gap.

Why it happens

Merchant extraction matches the receipt header against a known-merchant database. Stylized logos, DBA names that differ from the legal name, and cropped headers all miss the match, so the field stays blank.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstuL4nVK3OyUzNrNM7xmJdQ