How to Automatically Forward Invoices to Spendifique Using Gmail or Outlook

How to Automatically Forward Invoices to Spendifique Using Gmail or Outlook

One of the easiest ways to reduce admin work is to stop relying on people to remember to forward invoices.

With automatic email forwarding, invoices get sent to Spendifique the moment they land in an inbox. No downloads, no reminders, no missed documents.

This guide walks through how to set it up step by step in Gmail and Outlook.

Before You Start

Before creating any email rules, make sure these two things are done.

1. You have the client’s Spendifique invoice email

Each Spendifique account has a unique email address used for invoice capture.

This is the email invoices will be forwarded to.

2. The forwarding email is authorized in Spendifique

Spendifique only processes invoices from approved sender email addresses to prevent spam.

Make sure the email that will be forwarding invoices is added to the authorized email list in Spendifique. This is usually:

• the business owner
  
  
• an accounts payable employee
  
  
• an office manager
  
  

If the email is not authorized, forwarded invoices will not be processed.

A Recommended Setup That Works Well

Start simple.

Set up automatic forwarding for:

• recurring vendors
  
  
• utilities
  
  
• SaaS subscriptions
  
  
• any vendor that reliably emails invoices as PDFs
  
  

Once you confirm everything is working, you can expand to more vendors later.

This avoids accidentally forwarding emails that are not invoices.

How to Set Up Automatic Forwarding in Gmail

These steps work for both Google Workspace and personal Gmail accounts.

Step 1: Add the Spendifique email as a forwarding address

1. Open Gmail
   
   
2. Click the gear icon and select See all settings
   
   
3. Go to Forwarding and POP/IMAP
   
   
4. Under Forwarding, click Add a forwarding address
   
   
5. Enter the Spendifique invoice email
   
   
6. Click Next, then confirm
   
   

Gmail will send a confirmation email to that Spendifique address.
Your bookkeeper will need to retrieve the confirmation code from Spendifique and complete the verification in Gmail.

This step is required. Forwarding will not work without it.

Step 2: Create a filter to forward invoice emails

1. In Gmail, click the search bar dropdown icon
   
   
2. In the From field, enter the vendor’s email address
   
   
3. Optional but recommended: in Subject, add keywords like:
   
   
   • invoice
     
     
   • bill
     
     
   • receipt
     
     
4. Click Create filter
   
   
5. Check Forward it to and select the Spendifique invoice email
   
   
6. Optional: check Also apply filter to matching conversations
   
   
7. Click Create filter
   
   

Repeat this process for each vendor you want to automate.

Step 3: Test the setup

Have the client resend a recent invoice or wait for the next one to arrive.
Confirm the invoice appears in Spendifique.

How to Set Up Automatic Forwarding in Outlook

Outlook rules work very similarly to Gmail filters. Below are the two most common setups.

Outlook on the Web

1. Open Outlook in your browser
   
   
2. Click the gear icon and select View all Outlook settings
   
   
3. Go to Mail, then Rules
   
   
4. Click Add new rule
   
   
5. Name the rule something like “Forward invoices to Spendifique”
   
   
6. Under conditions, choose From and enter the vendor email
   
   
7. Optional: add another condition like Subject includes invoice
   
   
8. Under actions, choose Forward to
   
   
9. Enter the Spendifique invoice email
   
   
10. Click Save
    
    

Outlook Desktop App

1. Open Outlook on your computer
   
   
2. Click File, then Manage Rules and Alerts
   
   
3. Click New Rule
   
   
4. Select Apply rule on messages I receive
   
   
5. Click Next
   
   
6. Choose a condition such as:
   
   
   
   • from people or public group
     
     
7. Click Next
   
   
8. Select the action:
   
   
   
   • forward it to people or public group
     
     
9. Enter the Spendifique invoice email
   
   
10. Click Finish, then Apply
    
    

Tips to Avoid Forwarding the Wrong Emails

A few simple best practices make this work smoothly.

• Start with specific vendors, not all emails with attachments
  
  
• Use subject keywords like “invoice” when possible
  
  
• Make sure any employee forwarding invoices is added to the authorized email list in Spendifique
  
  

These small steps prevent clutter and mistakes.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Invoices are not showing up in Spendifique

Check the following:

• the forwarding email address is authorized in Spendifique
  
  
• Gmail forwarding was confirmed with the verification code
  
  
• the rule conditions are not too narrow
  
  
• the vendor is using the email address you expected
  
  

Some invoices arrive and others do not

This usually means:

• vendors use multiple sending addresses
  
  
• invoices come from payment processors instead of the vendor domain
  
  

Adding additional sender emails typically fixes this.

A Simple Rollout Plan for Bookkeepers

If you are setting this up across multiple clients:

1. Start with 3 to 5 recurring vendors
   
   
2. Set up forwarding rules
   
   
3. Confirm invoices appear in Spendifique
   
   
4. Add more vendors over time
   
   

This creates a reliable, low effort intake process for clients and a cleaner workflow for you.

Final Takeaway

Automatic email forwarding turns invoice collection into a background process.

Once set up, invoices flow into Spendifique, get extracted, and land ready for review and export without manual effort.

If invoice chasing is still eating up time, this is one of the fastest workflow improvements you can make.

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