Who this is for
Anyone tracking spending or reimbursable expenses who never remembers to do it until the receipt is long gone.
The moment this saves you
I tell myself I’ll log it later, the receipt vanishes, and at month-end I’m staring at a statement trying to reverse-engineer what “$43, TST*” even was.
See it work
Messy spoken thought in. A clean, structured artifact out.
Okay just spent, let me think, lunch was like 18 dollars at the Thai place, that's a work lunch with the new hire so that's reimbursable. Then I grabbed coffee after, 6 bucks, that's just personal. And earlier I paid 89 for the year of that domain renewal, the portfolio site, so that's a business expense. The Thai place was on the company card actually, the others were personal.
Expenses, June 5, 2026
- $18.00, Lunch, Thai place, Meals, Business (reimbursable, with new hire), Company card
- $6.00, Coffee, Food & Drink, Personal, Personal card
- $89.00, Domain renewal (portfolio site, 1 yr), Software/Web, Business, Personal card
Total: $113.00 · Reimbursable: $18.00
The workflow
Record a voice note
Hit the hotkey and talk, no formatting, no typing.
Tag it with this context
Contextli shapes your words into the structured output above.
Find it later
Everything's searchable and organised by context.
Pull it into Claude or ChatGPT
Bring your contexts straight into your AI tools with the Contextli MCP.
Your raw recording and transcription stay on your device, so you can always go back to the original.
The prompt behind this context
I'm going to say what I spent money on. Turn it into a dated expense log: a bold "Expenses, [today's date]" heading, then one line per expense in the form: amount, what it was (with vendor/place if I said), *category* (infer a sensible category like Meals, Travel, Software), Business or Personal (only if I indicate it), payment method (only if I mention it). End with an italic Total line, and a Reimbursable subtotal only if I flagged anything reimbursable. Use my exact amounts; do not invent prices, tax, or items. Output only the log.
Make it your own. This is a starting point. Once it's in Contextli, tweak the instructions so the output comes out exactly how you like it.
Use this context
One click copies it and shows you exactly how to drop it into Contextli.
Next, open Contextli, go to the Contexts page, click Import, choose From JSON, paste, then Import Context. It is ready to use.
Make it your own. This is a starting point. Once it's in Contextli, tweak the instructions so the output comes out exactly how you like it.
Your raw recording and transcription stay on your device, so you can always go back to the original.
Related contexts
Purchase Decision Log
You've gone back and forth on this for a week. Talk through both sides out loud, the case for, the case against, where you land, so a month from now you remember exactly why, instead of re-litigating the whole thing.
Food Log
Logging a meal shouldn't mean scrolling past forty wrong 'chicken bowl' entries until you give up. Just say what you ate, like you'd tell a friend, and get a clean, dated log grouped by meal. No database, no macros to type.
Travel Log
You took four hundred photos and wrote zero words, so a year on the trip is just a blur. At the end of the day, narrate it out loud, the wrong turn that became the best part, the tiny restaurant, and keep a journal you'll treasure.
Questions people ask
Questions personal finance ask about Expense Log
What is the best way to track expenses on the go?
The most reliable method is to log each item the moment it happens, before you forget it. The Expense Log context lets you speak the details in plain language and produces an expense entry with amount, category, and date. You capture it in under 20 seconds, without a receipt app or a spreadsheet.
How do I keep track of expenses without a complicated app?
Open Contextli, select the Expense Log context, and speak it as it happens: what it was for, how much, and the category. The context formats it into an expense entry. At the end of the month you have a log of every entry in a consistent format, ready to hand to your accountant.
Can I log expenses by voice instead of typing?
Yes. The Expense Log context is built for exactly this workflow. Speak the details in natural language and the context structures them into an expense entry with the relevant fields. The recording stays on your device.
What should each entry include for tax purposes?
For tax purposes, each entry should include the date, the amount, the business purpose, the vendor or payee, and the category. The Expense Log context captures all of these from your spoken description. Consult your accountant or tax advisor to confirm what records your jurisdiction requires.
How do I add this context to Contextli?
Copy the context on this page, then open Contextli and go to the Contexts page. Click Import, choose From JSON, paste it into the Import from Clipboard window, and click Import Context. It is ready to use in under 30 seconds. If you do not have Contextli yet, you can download it for free first.
Is my voice recording private? Does Contextli send it anywhere?
Your voice recording and the transcription are stored on your device only. Contextli processes your audio locally and does not send your recordings or transcription text to any server. The structured output it produces is text you control, and you decide where it goes.
Can I change what the output looks like?
Yes. Every context in Contextli is a starting point you can edit. Open the context in the app, change the instructions to adjust the structure, tone, or fields, and save. The next time you use it, the output reflects your changes. You are not locked into the default format.
Do I need to install an app to use this context?
Yes. Contextli is a free app. Download it, then copy this context and paste it into the Import from Clipboard window on the Contexts page. The whole process takes about 30 seconds.