NeatReceipts Professional Mobile Receipt and Document Scanner and Software Combination Version 3.0 by NeatReceipts
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Digital camera reviews of NeatReceipts Professional Mobile Receipt and Document Scanner and Software Combination Version 3.0
Digital camera Review: "Made in China" Says It All
Summary: 1 Stars
Well, I certainly wish I could write a nice review for the Neat Receipts scanner, but I can't.
WHAT IT IS:
At barely around 12 inches long and only a few inches wide, the Neat Receipts scanner seems wonderful for those who wish to have a carry-anywhere portable scanner that they can use to scan documents, receipts, and other small texted based items into their computer. The theory is that you can scan these items via the scanner into the scanning software, organize the scans into folders, and have a nice databased of your purchases and expenses on file so that when you lose your receipts (which we all do), you'll have records to fall back on.
SETTING UP SLOW:
Setup was not the swiftest. You must disable all programs (including antivirus) and with the install CD in the drive, reboot your computer. Upon rebooting, the install continues. On my dual core system with 2 gigs of RAM this was a slow process, and during the install it checked for newer versions of the software and said there were none available. Ok, fine.
After completion, it goes through a series of further installs, and then asks you to plug in the scanner via the USB port. Once Window's recognized it, you continue by placing a "calibration card" into the scanner. The scanner pulls it through, and supposedly it's ready to go. Upon starting up the software, it then tells me that now there IS an update to fix "bugs" in the older version of the software, so I download and install that update and reboot.
Having all done, I start up the software, which is very slow to load up and get running. Once ready, your screen is divided into a main area where you can create folders, a detail area below, and on the left an area that is supposed to show you the actual scan once it's done - like a photo. You can then slip the front of a receipt (or document) into the front of the scanner, and press the "scan" or "PDF"(to create a PDF document) button on-screen, or on the scanner itself.
DEFECT DANCE:
The scanner pulls the document through, and at this point you are supposed to see a photo of it on the left. No such luck. All I get are gray lines. All was done correctly and placed in the correct way, but nope - no visual in place. Tech support is not available on weekends, so I took the unit back to the place of purchase and swapped it for another unit.
Same problem. This time I get gray lines where a scan of the receipt should be. Ok, so long story short, for those who buy a Neat Receipts that actually WORKS, then it seems like it's a handy device to organize receipts and documents. However, the girl at the store I took my first (and now will the second) unti back to did inform me that a number of them had come back as "dead on arrival" units. Whether this is simply a bad batch of them that went to a particular area, or whether the "Made in China" badge indicates low quality and a high number of defects, I don't know. I do know that two Neat Receipts produced two defective units in my case, so, I cannot recommend this product.
CONCLUSION:
If you already own a flatbed scanner then you can with slightly more effort simply do receipt scans with that, or for the $199 average price of the Neat Receipts buy a very nice flatbed (or save money and get a basic one) to do the same job. I vote "No" on the Neat Receipts due to reliability issues.
Digital camera Review: $250 Junk. Mfr Will NOT Stand Behind Product
Summary: 1 Stars
Tech support was helpful but suggested that my problem was not fixable, offering product to be returned. I was directed to customer service who told me that I did not purchase the product. Truly ridiculous -- I provided serial number and proof of purchase including copy of receipt and then, rep said no return for any reason, even if defective, if over 30 days. First, insisted I lied about purchasing it, then refused to fix their own error -- I have never had worse customer service from a product company. Do not buy from them!Digital camera Review: -Warning- If you have 64-Bit Vista DO NOT BUY THIS!
Summary: 1 Stars
-Warning- If you have 64-Bit Vista DO NOT BUY THIS! Stupid Neat Receipts was to stupid to include a 64-bit version of their software within the package. So in order to get your $100 dollar piece of equipment you purchased from them working... They ask that you purchase the $30 dollar 64-bit VISTA software!
Yes, just to USE THE DANG THING YOU BOUGHT!!! You have to pay an additional $30 dollars on their website...
Just buy the 4.0 scanner if you really want it, otherwise you get ripped off.
Digital camera Review: 2 Year Update
Summary: 5 Stars
In March of 2006 I wrote this...
"I can hardly believe it. Just install it and it works! And boy, does it. A few years back all the rage in big corporations was "Optical Storage". (I know cause I was there) There wasn't anything "Optical" about the service but it did store a copy of the paper document and a system user could access one or thousands of documents by various standard fields; vendor, author, addressee, etc. and print one or all and get reports.
This gadget does the same thing. It's wonderful, even if you are only operating a small business. The only problem is I am having trouble remembering that I don't have to file and cross file every piece of paper after it is scaned. "
Since then the product has only improved. Reading the subsequent negative comments here I can only conclude that the users did not grasp the intent of the product (complaints about what the scanner would not do) or own a computer with a bad Windows install or too little memory.
Like any OCR program, it will not read every receipt with complete accuracy. One must review the information scanned from the receipt for accuracy. I too would estimate that the program is about 90% accurate.
I admit that since I use this in business, the "problem" of not importing electronic (PDF and such) receipts has never come up. I receive so few that I just print them when received and scan them later with all the other paper receipts each week.
I can say that in 2 and 1/2 years I have never had a "lock up" or lost any data. After a complete Windows failure last month I used the Windows "Repair" function three times and got Windows going again. Several programs that use OCR (Twain) no longer worked, including this one. One call to Neat and they e-mailed an automated fix... which fixed all the other programs as well. I cannot explain why others find their support sub par.
Since first using Neat, updates have improved speed and accuracy and I am looking forward the version 4, which promises the be even better.
Digital camera Review: 3.0 is really, really good
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had a NeatReceipts machine for awhile, and it has become an office tool I wonder how I lived without for so many years. It's great for tax records, expense reports, all that stuff, but the biggest difference it's made in my life is just GETTING RID OF THE PAPER! I had piles all over my desk for years. Cab receipts, travel receipts, charitable donation receipts, etc. Not just sitting on top of the desk, but in files and folders all over the place. When it came time to do the taxes, or do the accounting, sometimes I could find what I was looking for, sometimes I couldn't. The NeatReceipts changed all that. Now I just scan the piece of paper in, put it in the right file on my computer (or even in a Misc file, because it's easy to search and find later). I back up my computer regularly, so I never worry about losing the important data to back up my financial paperwork. And I've moved from a desk with big file drawers to basically a computer drawer and a couple of shelves.
I upgraded to the new 3.0 NeatReceipts because I figured they've known what they're doing so far, so I tried the new one. My favorite thing about it is the ability to produce pdfs easily. And I can scan in a pdf and edit the text. I was only able to do that previously by taking it to my brother in law and having him scan it and use some utility he bought for his machine. I haven't tried all the new stuff yet because I haven't gone through tax season yet, which is when my NeatReceipts really gets a workout. But the new version is much more searchable - like when I was looking for an Embassy Suites receipt the other day and could search on "Embassy Suites" and find it.
I highly recommend the NeatReceipts, and even more, I recommend enjoying throwing away all that paper.