Expense Management Tip: Track Your Purchases with Neat Receipts

Receipts are pretty much a necessary evil - not only in the office or in the sales force, but even at home. Receipts can be a pain to manage, but think about where we would be without them! We wouldn't have any proof for purchases or accountability for how our money is spent. So, what makes receipts so difficult to manage?

• Thin paper is used for receipts, making them susceptible to wrinkling and tearing.
• Poor ink quality is used on receipts, causing dates and amounts to become difficult to read.
• Their small size makes receipts easy to lose.
• Differing sizes make receipts hard to organize.

No matter how carefully you place receipts in a box, an envelope or a paperclip, after any period of receipt-tracking, you'll likely still have a mess on your hands when you try to go through them. Heaven forbid you need to fax an actual receipt to someone as proof of your spending!

A Necessary Evil

But, who can avoid life with receipts? So many situations demand accurate receipt-tracking, including:

• Petty-cash boxes
• Travel
• Office-supply purchases
• Rebate offers
• Tax processing
• Even your child returning from a candy-store purchase needs to show you a receipt!

Track Your Purchases

How can these little slips of golden data be better managed? Neat Receipts might be the answer.

Neat is the genius behind this little scanning system that can help clean up your receipt act. Neat Receipts come complete with a lightweight (10.6 oz) scanner and scanning-and-tracking software for Macs or PCs. Also, if you buy directly from Neat, it even includes a free travel case for your scanner, which is ideal for traveling offices.

Neat Receipts is capable of scanning receipts up to 8.5 inches wide and will automatically rotate, crop and adjust the scanned image for maximum legibility. The scanner can be set to darken print that is too light and even smooth and interpret wrinkled receipts. Also, receipts can be printed or exported in many different formats including PDF. Receipt information can be exported to other programs such as Microsoft Excel, MS Money, Turbo Tax and Quicken.

As receipts are scanned, you can mark them as deductible or reimbursable. Neat Receipts will pull information off the receipt, such as transaction date, amount and tax, which allows you to further categorize the transaction for your records. Neat Receipts can also scan your documents and business cards, giving you the possibility of living in a fully paperless environment. Having seen firsthand the traveling offices of some salespeople, a tracking device that is portable and reliable can be an amazing organizational tool.

Tax time will be a breeze and, since the Tax Organizer is included in the software, you'll know you're covered. You can categorize your receipts in 116 different possibilities and later print reports or export data to TurboTax® or Excel.

Document-organizing is also a handy way to use this device. Why maintain mountains of paperwork filed (or not filed) in heavy, disorganized cabinets when you can scan documents and file them in your Neat Receipts software? Whenever you need a hard copy, you can always print one; but, until then, let your records take up less space and become more accessible.

Product Utility

What type of documents might you scan? Contracts, insurance policies, living wills, report cards, and even recipes. Also, business cards that are scanned and saved in Neat Receipts can also be exported to and synchronized with Microsoft Outlook. Wouldn't it be nice to turn that pile of business cards into something you can search by name on your handheld device, such as a BlackBerry?

Afraid of losing handwritten notes on the back of your business cards? You won't - since these are scanned images, notes will be included, too. Transfer of data is simple with the USB cord included with your purchase. Simply connect one end to the scanner and the other end to your computer, and your data is automatically uploaded to the included software.

If you need help at any time, there is ample customer service available online, through the software or on the information contained with your purchase. This includes a quick-start guide and IRS tax information, screen shots, and other tutorials. This helpful tool can be purchased online at Neat for about $200. Check it out!