NeatReceipts Scanalizer Professional 2.5 Mobile Scanner and Software

I purchased Neat Receipts after reading mostly positive reviews here and elsewhere but have been disappointed. At least 75% of receipts scanned are not read completely or improperly, and I end up manually typing everything into the program. Many businesses now use the carbonless receipts and the customer copy is a light yellow with faint imprinting. Neat Receipts will not recognize these types of receipts - I realize they are difficult but are also a large percentage of what I have to work with. Right now it is gathering dust on the shelf as receipts go into a shoe box, just like before. Can you say EBay?

My disappointment with this product is two-fold: (1) The number of scanning and classification errors it had in my testing were too high. (2) It does not add anything to somebody using Money or Quicken. Ill address the second point first: My main interest in this product was to have my receipt automatically categorized and then have that information transferred into my Money file. However, I found that that the categories it supports are very limited. Secondly the import into Money was very cumbersome: you had to first select the records you wanted to import, save it to a file, then open that file in Money and import the records. Note that these have to be done one account at a time since Money expects that the records you are importing all belong to the same account. The biggest blow was that the importing process did not retain the category selected in NeatReceipts, so the whole exercise was just an elaborate way to get an entry into Money. If your institution supports downloading, that is a much more easier and accurate way to get the records into your Money or Quicken file. You can then categorize them manually (of course both Money and Quicken do a good job auto-categorizing expenses with regular payees). As to the first point (scanning errors), I found that it was unable to pick out the account number in some cases, the date in another case and even the amount in a couple of cases. One of my receipts was for a refund with the - symbol clearly present in front of the amount. It not only categorized that as an debit instead of a credit, it even got the amount totally wrong. On the positive side, it should be useful to somebody who does not use a product such as Money or Quicken - having a digitized, searchable copy of your receipts can be very useful. You will have to correct some errors in the scanning/optical recognition, but using this product will be better than not doing it at all.

Great product for reducing the sheer mountain of paper a person collects each day/week/month while being able to maintain needed records for personal/tax purposes. The scanner is a nice compact size and handles most receipts easily on the first try, even the ones that have been folded, scrunched, twisted and then straightened out. The only thing I would like it to do, and I havent figured out how to do it if it can, is maintain the addresses with the vendor names so I dont have to retype in that info each time. The software help menu is okay, but could be a little better.

I would have liked it a lot except that the product I recieved does not scan properly. Half of the scanner does not scan color images and when using black and white documents half the document is darker than the other half. This is right down the middle of the page from top to bottom. I will not be ordering anything from that seller again.

If you hate clutter, and want to take the time to digitize your receipts, this is a dream come true. I just got the NeatReceipts and like what Ive seen so far. The speed is pretty good if you are multi-tasking, which is usually part of my bill paying process. If youre looking for quick throughput, its not the system youre looking for. One word of caution, make sure you save as you go! My system crashed (due to a printer problem, not NeatReceipts) and I lost several of my scans. I also havent had a chance to work on the business card scan, so Ill update my review after I have had a chance to try it. I still havent worked through how Im going to incorporate this process into Quicken, but the category system included with NeatReceipts software appears to allow this to work pretty efficiently. I would give this five stars if 2 things were added, drag and drop of receipts into other programs and more analysis of individual items on receipts. But for now, it makes some sense out of the envelopes of receipts that I have stuffed in my drawer. So, in conclusion, if you had issues while you were potty training, this is a must have system for you. It will help you keep everything AS IT SHOULD BE (right Dr. Freud)!

I have a serious problem with receipts. First of all, I cant throw them out. What if I have to return something?? So, my handbag is full of receipts, old and new. Then, when I need to return something, I cant find the one Im looking for. Never fails. This cool little scanner solves all of my problems. Now, after shopping, I come home, empty my purse, scan my receipts and throw them all out...except for the ones that have a high probability of a return. Those I save until Im sure Im happy with the product. Still, if I ever need to return it or take a look at my receipt, all I have to do is pull it up on Neat Receipts. The scanner works amazingly well on receipts that are faded or wrinkled. A lot of the times the image recognition software doesnt read the information correctly - it doesnt recognize debit payments and always puts them in as cash. Its very easy to correct errors, so its no big deal. I have different folders set up for different stores that I go to a lot. Then I have general folders for food stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, etc. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!! The other day a friend asked me how much an item cost that I bought at Sams Club. I brought up the program, went to my Sams club folder, and quickly found the receipt. It has a place to check off if its a tax deduction and even asks you the form number. Now all of my receipts are organized and Ill never be fishing through my handbag looking for that one stupid receipt that I cant find. BUY IT!!

The scanner works great but the process is slow. We just got a scanner at work and its easier to scan documents in it and just store the images in folders like a file cabinet. The file system is not easy to navigate and there is no drop and drag ability. For small receitps like from the gas station its easier to scan but then the items are stored in the scanners own format and its not that easy to get them out or export them. If had it to do again would not purchase.

As other reviews have said it is slow to load, and as with all OCR programs it is slow to process, but the quality of the final product is worth the wait. Nice little scanner, even if you don use the software, but wish it was a little easier to export selective information and that there were keyboard shortcuts for most of the actions. Really does a nice job of scanning receipts after some experince and quality improves if they are scanned sideways whenever possible. I am sure Ill get more adept and as nice as the tech support people are, I am sure they will continue to improve on the product. (Only 4 stars because nothing is perfect, and there is always a little room for improvement)

Great device for cutting down on paper clutter. Main uses for me are receipts (I create a PDF of all receipts from a single trip and zip it with the expense report), for business cards which I sync with Outlook and for general notes -- I never have to worry about having the right paper folder along on a trip. Outlook sync for business cards is great but could map more fields or allow user to adjust the maping. For example, would like to map attachments and back of card (particularly Chinese cards) into Outlook.

It is compact, I can take it with me <fits in my laptop case> Very simple to use. The installation was quick. I also save recipes, now I can scan it and the picture, without having to type so much. It will scan and store 2 sides in color or black & white. For a small business that has alot of receipts to keep or someone who wants to store business cards <not have to keep in a folder & try to remember where it is>. I always have my laptop so my info is immediately stored. Great product. BB