The Basics
- Find good lighting. Natural light near a window is ideal. Bright interior lighting works too. If you’re squinting to see the invoice yourself, the photo won’t be much better.
- Use a flat surface. Lay the invoice flat on a table or counter. Creases, folds, and curled edges make it harder for the camera to capture everything clearly.
- Get all four edges in the frame. Make sure the entire invoice is visible — including the total at the bottom. Leave a small border of space around each side so nothing gets cut off.
- Make sure the total is visible. This one trips people up. If the invoice total is at the very bottom of the page, double-check it’s in the photo. Garde needs it.
- Tap the center of the screen to focus. This forces your camera to sharpen on the invoice itself. Especially helpful in dimmer lighting.
- One page per photo. Don’t try to fit two invoice pages into a single shot. It leads to blurry, hard-to-read images every time.
- Clear the area. Move other papers, receipts, pens — anything that overlaps the invoice. Pets and small children too, if applicable.
- Add as many photos as you need. Multi-page invoice? Take a separate photo of each page. Garde will stitch them together.
- Submit one complete invoice before starting the next. Finish uploading all pages for one invoice, then move on.
What Happens If a Photo Is Blurry?
Garde will let you know. You might see a warning like this: And if you choose “Use This Photo” anyway, we might nudge you one more time: You can always push through these warnings if the photo actually looks fine to you. We’d rather be cautious than miss something.Still having trouble? Some phone cases or screen protectors can interfere with camera clarity. If your photos keep coming out blurry, try removing the case and shooting again. And as always, reach out to contact@garde.app if you need help.