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: Great Idea; Great Product, Needs Software Overhaul/improvements: V3 -SP1
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this product roughly 1 month ago; had a need to scan documents, receipts, business cards. Since I travel on business, the portability came in quite handy. (Great idea for a product for the typical road warrior) Here's some overall Good points & suggestions for improvements.
The Good:
Hardware:
Very portable, light weight, easy to hook up, uses a very common interface, comes with a easy travel pack, doesn't take up too much space on the desk, comes with a nice little stand & a wall mounting option; and a hidden little compartment to hide the soft carrying case.
Software:
Intuitive interface, easy to install, clear instructions, works well for a small scanner, scans in color!!, has OCR, scans multiple forms of documents (does what it advertises)
Suggested Improvements: (ranked from highest need to lowest)
Hardware:
1) USB cable doesn't fit in the soft travel bag. Can you make it bigger or with a couple of velcro straps to carry the USB cable. As anyone who travels knows, if it isn't packed together, it'll get lost, or tangled in the , left in the hotel room.
2) Consider changing from USB B type to Mini USB. The hardware states it runs on 5V, 500mA; so it doesn't seem to me that it needed the USB type B connection. Does it really use that much power to run a scanner? These days with many cell phones, PDAs, Blackberries, and digital cameras all using the mini-USB cable; the USB type B cable is less commonly used. (Personal opinion) From looking at the use of it, it seems the USB is mostly used as a data transmission line.
3) Cable too stiff, too long; and get rid of that toroidal ferrite thing hanging on the end of the USB type B cable. It's too big & bulky. Stiff cables makes it harder to sit the scanner flat on the table. Maybe the engineers who designed this decided the set length USB is cheaper; but in use, I would think a shorter USB cable doesn't get in the way and would work better.
4) Other minor misc issues: change the USB cable color to black, it will look better as the cable jacket wears, scuffed and discolored. Consider making a marking on the stand more intuitive because the scanner only sits in the stand one way.
5) That hardshell hardware case is quite nice, I just wish you would have put a little marketing flyer inside the original box to let me know the hardshell hardware case was available.
Software:
1) This software takes forever to open. You click on the icon and it takes about 15-30 seconds before the opening screen even pops up on the screen. Next to Adobe Acrobat; this is the longest loading software program. ...and functionally it shouldn't be that slow should it?
2) Memory Usage is too big. Because it took so long to open, I started opening the Windows Task Manager just to see if the program is running or not. I have noticed it takes quite surprizingly a large amount of memory. Why is this software such a memory hog? (Again: I'm using Version 3, SP1)
3) Can you incorporate a drag and drop feature into the various cells of the business card & receipts section of the software program? I understand OCR is difficult to implement correctly; I would not mind correcting it if I didn't have to retype all the correctly scanned words and just putting it in the correct data cell. This would make things much more intuitive and easier to work with. This same drag & drop feature would work nicely if you could allow scanned files to move from one section to another. [receipts section/Documents section/Business cards section] I frequently don't remember to click on the right category before it's scanned.
4) Can you put in the opening screen a load % progress bar so it's more intuitive how long before the program is up and running?
5) Maybe there's a preset I've not clicked on, but does it always start with the receipts section? ...can you make it use the last setting I left with when I closed the program last time or make it a preference setting option?
6) Perhaps this might have something to do with memory usage; but can you make the default image file format JPG instead of BMP? Bitmap images are generally really big for the resolution you get.
7) If possible, can you change the blinking LED setting on the scanner blink until the image is completely transferred to the PC? Being a portable device, similar to a digital camera, it would be nice if there was something telling me not to unplug the thing before the image finished transfered.
8) I've noticed there's a greater frequency of software crashing when the USB cable is hooked into the USB hub instead of the USB port on the PC/Laptop. Is this a software stability issue?
9) simple image editing. This is a low priority software improvement suggestion, but it would be nice if there was a way to allow me to do some simple image cropping or rotating so the image size is smaller. I noticed frequently I'm scanning in other things on the paper I'm not interested in. It would be nice if I could crop it out so it doesn't take up extra memory space.
Overall, please don't let my comments reflect negatively on the product. It's a great product idea...I think the software could improve greatly. This should not prevent me from buying the product since software can easily be upgraded via the internet. Restating this another way: Product Idea: 5 stars. Software implementation: 1 or 2 stars.
thanks,
Will
Digital camera Review: Great Product
Summary: 5 Stars
Product works great - sometimes it has trouble determining who the receipt is for, but it is easy to add that info after the receipt is scanned. Program would not open after installed. Called tech support but held for 10 minutes. Contacted on line support and got excellent service. Working with online chat, we checked several things on my PC and resolved the issue.Digital camera Review: Great Product - Works well - PDF import workaround
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great product. All other reviewers sum up the positives well.
One critical reviewer mentioned that it cannot import PDFs. This is true. However, I quickly found a method of getting PDF files into the software.
1. Print the PDF file using the Microsoft Document Imaging printer driver within Windows (if you don't have it, download from Microsoft).
2. Save the file to your favorite location.
3. When the microsoft document imaging editor comes up, click file|save as
4. Save the file in "TIF" format.
5. Close the mdi file (important, or next step will fail)
6. In NeatReceipts, choose file|import from|digital image|Import As New receipt.
7. Choose the TIF image you previously saved.
If you get an "unexpected error" be sure you followed step 5 above.
Again, great product. Worth the cost, especially at Amazon.
Digital camera Review: Great for tax season
Summary: 4 Stars
I like this product, it keeps track of sales tax for tax season. I also have two businesses and it keeps all that paper from building up and also keeps them separate.
The program is a little slow to load, that is the only flaw that I can see.
Kim
Digital camera Review: Great for travel receipts
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had Neat Receipts since version 2.0. The scanner is a dream to carry online with its small size and USB power. I've sat in the airport and scanned receipts so that a report is available as soon as I return home.
There is a small learning curve with the software, but it works great. You can separate a single receipt into several categories, clients, and even folders. Under the "Documents" you can assign tax categories so that everything is tallied for your accountant (or you if you're brave enough).
I've had wonderful tech support both online and in person (kiosks in the airport). And yes, you can use another scanner than the one supplied with the program.
I do not leave the house with my computer without packing the NeatReceipts scanner. It's just too easy to make sure that my receipts are entered so I receive ALL allowed reimbursements.