ReceiptNest
Guess the charge
Bank statements speak in code. Read the line and guess what was really bought before the highlighter runs out.
Snap or forward every receipt and you’ll never stare at a charge wondering what it was. ReceiptNest keeps them sorted by month, ready to export.
Keep every receipt, free How to identify any chargeWhat is this charge on my bank statement?
Your statement isn’t hiding anything. It’s just short on space.
A charge on your statement is built from a few pieces: the company that processed the card payment, a shortened version of the business name, and sometimes a store number, a city, or words your bank adds. That’s why a coffee shop can show up as SQ *BLUE DOOR COFFE.
- Payment company prefixes. Many small businesses take cards through a payment company, and its code comes first:
SQ *for Square,TST*for Toast. - A character limit. The name on a statement is usually limited to about 22 characters, so long names get cut off or lose their vowels:
GRNLINE PLMB SUP. - Numbers and places. Chains add store numbers (
#6512), and in-person charges often end with a city and state. - Bank wording. Some banks add their own words, like
POS DEBITfor a card used at a register, orPURCHASE AUTHORIZED ONfollowed by the day you paid.
Common codes and what they mean
| On your statement | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| SQ *Business Name | A business that takes cards through Square, like a café, food truck or market stall |
| TST* Restaurant Name | A restaurant or bar that uses Toast for payments |
| SP Store Name | A purchase from an online store built on Shopify |
| SHOPIFY* 123456789 | Shopify billing a store owner for their plan (a nine-digit bill number), not a purchase from a store |
| AMZN Mktp US*… | An Amazon Marketplace order. Other Amazon formats include AMZN.COM/BILL, Amazon Digital Svcs (digital purchases) and Prime wording for memberships |
| APPLE.COM/BILL | An App Store purchase or Apple subscription |
| PAYPAL *Name | A payment made through PayPal to the named seller or person |
| POS DEBIT | A debit card used in person at a register (point of sale) |
How to identify a charge you don’t recognize
- Match the amount and date against your receipts and email receipts. This solves most mystery charges in seconds, if you kept them.
- Read the prefix to learn which payment company processed it, then look at what follows for the business name.
- Use the company’s lookup. Square offers a way to look up a payment if you don’t have the receipt, Shopify has a page for unknown charges, and Amazon lists how its charges appear.
- Still a mystery? Call your bank. It can tell you more about the merchant, and you can dispute a charge you didn’t make.
This is general information. If you think a charge is fraud, contact your bank right away.
Why a receipt answers what a statement can’t
A statement tells you where you paid and how much. It almost never says what you bought. SQ *PRINTWORKS COPY $28.00 could be business cards or a birthday poster, and only the receipt knows. That matters most at tax time, when the question is always “what was this for?” We dug into it in Can bank statements replace receipts for taxes?
How to play Guess the Charge
- What was it? A statement line appears. Pick what was really bought before the highlighter runs out. The prefix, the shortened words, the amount and the time are your clues.
- Crack the code. Pick what a code like
TST*usually means. - Match the receipt. A receipt appears. Find the statement line it belongs to. Watch for swapped digits and look-alike names.
- Today’s 10 is the same for everyone each day. Endless gives you three misses and gets faster as you go.
The payment codes are real. Every small business, address and amount is invented. Large companies appear only in their real statement formats.
Questions
Are the codes in the game real?
Yes. The prefixes and formats come from the payment companies’ own help pages, listed below. The businesses behind them are made up.
Is today’s 10 the same for everyone?
Yes. Everyone who plays today gets the same ten charges, so you can compare scores. Endless mode is random.
Does ReceiptNest connect to my bank?
No. ReceiptNest never asks for a bank login. You snap or forward the receipts you choose, and it keeps them sorted by month with a PDF or CSV export. See how the receipt organizer works.
Are there other games?
Yes. Try Before It Fades and Shoebox Sort.
Snap the receipt when you pay, or forward the email. ReceiptNest keeps every one sorted by month for whoever does your taxes. No bank login, no bookkeeping.
Sources
- Square Seller Community, How do I identify a Square charge on my bank statement?
- Toast, What is this charge on my bank account?
- Shopify, What is this charge for?
- Amazon, Identify an Amazon charge
- Stripe, Statement descriptors (the 22-character limit)
- Apple Community, What is the apple.com/bill charge?