• Speed-Link Medusa 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones Review
• LG Electronics Flatron L1980Q LCD Review
• LITEON LVC-9006 DVD and VHS Recorder Review

NeatReceipts Scanalizer

At this time every year, I am reminded of the drastic need for a more formalized method of organizing the office clutter that builds up in my office. Receipts are stored everywhere and if you’re anything like me, you hang on to them just in the off chance that the IRS draws your number and you find yourself being audited. I found a solution to this problem in a cool product called the NeatReceipts Scanalizer. This device makes it super simple to organize your tax records, regular receipts, and business cards.

Company:

NeatReceipts, www.neatreceipts.com

Price:

$189.99 US at Amazon.com

Ratings

Price:
Install/Setup:
Usability:
Support:
Average Rating:

Getting Started

I was a bit curious how difficult setting up this scanner would be. I’ve set up scanning and configured OCR software in the past and it wasn’t too easy. NeatReceipts did a superb job of making the setup of this portable scanner as easy as possible. After opening the box, you’ll find that everything you need to get going is there for you. There is a quick startup guide that can get you through the entire process of getting set up to scanning in business cards, receipts, or documents. In addition to the quick startup guide, the package includes: the scanner, carrying case, vertical docking station, wall mount docking station, useful demo CD and software for managing your documents. With the instructions, I was up and running in about 30 minuets. I had the collection of business cards sitting on my desk scanned in within an additional 10 minutes. The device is great and very simple to use. The software that comes with the scanner is very straight forward to use. At the end of the installation, there is a flash demonstration that launches and takes you through the software’s user interface.

Click on picture to enlarge image

Usability

The OCR software that comes with the scanner was given a lot of attention in its design. I found it to be very simple to use. The flash demo that walks you through the different features of the software gives you a jump start and makes you familiar with the interface in only minuets. I found the scanning to be very accurate. When scanning business cards there were minor problems in moving some of the information to the right fields. Anything that the software did not identify correctly was put into an additional info field. This makes it easy to copy and paste and move around on your own.

Scanning in receipts was extremely accurate. I found that the software correctly identified all the appropriate fields that are necessary to record in most financial software packages. In testing, I used a variety of different receipts in all kinds of different layouts. The scanner and software worked as expected. The only exception was with bank deposit slips. But even then, it correctly identified all the amount, date, and account fields as I would have expected it too. With as complicated as OCR recognition can be, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the NeatReceipts Scanalizer did.

The software installs MSDE on the desktop which is a scaled down version of SQL server that works on most Microsoft desktops. It’s a great back end and performs very well when doing searches against it. The software is rich in features. It has the ability to export paper documents digitally. It supports exporting to Excel, Quicken, QuickBooks, MS Money, CSV, HTML and many other popular formats. When importing business cards, you can synchronize with Microsoft Outlook.

The scanner is extremely portable. The device itself fits in the palm of your hand, and is wide enough to scan any document up to 8.5 inches wide. It requires no batteries as it’s powered through USB.

The ease of use caters to users of all experience levels. Getting organized has never been easier!

Features and Specifications

• Portable Color / Grayscale / BW CIS (Contact Image Sensor) Scanner
• Maximum Resolution 600 DPI
• Speed: approximately 3-4 receipts per minute
• Interface: USB 1.1 & 2.0 compatible
• Scan Area: 1"x1" to 8.5"x11" (up to 30" long)
• Scanner Dimensions (WxDxH): 10.8"x1.6"x1.3"
• Scanner Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Pentium III 800MHz or later
• Windows 2000 or XP
• US Operating System
• 256MB RAM
• 300MB hard disk space to install (database can scale up to 20GB of images or approximately 800,000 receipts)
• CD-ROM drive
• Available USB port
• Designed for Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP
• Uses Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine technology
• Developed in C# for the Microsoft .NET Framework

Pros:

• Quick setup
• Provided training is good and very helpful
• OCR software is accurate and reliable
• Affordable

Cons:

• Only works on PC

Adding It All Up

Now that I’ve used the NeatReceipts Scanalizer, I can’t imagine being organized without it. Its quick setup and easy to use software makes organizing my home office an easy task. I am impressed with its innovative design. Without reservation we give the NeatReceipts Scanalizer the UpradeAdvisor.Com Upgrade Seal of Approval.

Need to search for a different product or additional info?

	Web www.upgradeadvisor.com