Clutter Busting: “Neat Receipts”

I’ll admit it. I am not totally sold on the digital era. I have fought tooth and nail to keep my paper ways of doing things. It was a struggle going from my notebook style planner to my PDA and took months until I stopped using both paper and digital! With this same reluctant spirit I opened the box of “Neat Receipts”: a product that was supposed to revolutionize the way I handle paperwork.

My initial observation was that the devise itself was sleek and quite small. Once placed into its holder, it barely took up any space on my small desk. The installation was pretty straight forward and much similar to installing any other hardware component (such as scanner, printer).

Still very tentative about how useful this item would be, I grabbed my first business expense receipt. I was very happy to see my receipt show up on the screen in mere seconds and the “Neat Receipts” program read it and started my expense report. I had to make a few corrections as the program does a great job at reading, but sometimes reads things in error (especially if the receipt is faded). Once I scanned one receipt from a vendor the program recognized the same vendor during the next receipt scanned. It categorizes the receipts in seconds by the vendor, category, receipt date, payment type, sales tax, amount, and tax category. In addition there was a box to check if the receipt was reimbursable.

After I went through all my business’s 2008 receipts, credit card statements, utility bills, and more, I had a complete bottom line of what my expenses were for my business. I was hooked! Next, I set up another folder and started my medical flex plan receipts. The uses of “Neat Receipts” far surpass simply scanning receipts. I could do my home expenses, business expenses, charitable donations, miscellaneous reports, and scan items in PDF format quickly and easily.

You may want to also check out the “Neat Business Cards.” The really great aspect is how well this system works with your existing programs. For instance, grab all those loose business cards that are scattered about and scan them into “Neat Receipts.” The program turns the image into usable data so you can import the information to your existing contact information system (Outlook, Plaxo, Excel, etc) or you can just use the “Neat Receipts” program itself.

Warning: these “Neat” products are slightly addictive!

My old system worked for me and I saw no need to change. I had an expense spreadsheet and I kept my receipts to back up each transaction. Now I have the same type of spreadsheet (only better) and with a click of the mouse on each transaction I can actually see the image of the corresponding receipt. No more digging, filing, or organizing.

I told my husband to come and look at the computer screen and he said, “Wow… that is really neat.” Neat…indeed! “Neat Receipts” is simple, quick, and uncluttered. I would definitely recommend it for anyone whether they need to keep receipts for business, home, medical expenses, and so much more. I have only had my unit for about 1 week so I have only cracked the surface of the usefulness of “Neat Receipts.” From a gal who is not terribly tech savvy and reluctant to give up her old way of doing things…I have been completely sold on this product! Check out Neat Receipts for yourself at www.neatreceipts.com

Clever Parents Seal of Approval: AWARDED!

As always, please refer to the product’s instructions and warnings. The above are just the opinions of Betsy Kramer and may differ from your own experience with this product. There are no endorsements of this product, guarantees or warranties of any kind offered by Clever Parents or Betsy Kramer and Cash in Clutter.