NeatReceipts Mobile Scanner and Digital Filing System for Mac

I had very high hopes for NeatReceipts for Mac, maybe too high. Im gong to keep it because it does a decent job of its basic task: scanning and analyzing cash register receipts. However, I found the database software to be counter-intuitive, inflexible, and poorly supported. I suppose if you were just starting out organizing your paper records and using software like Quicken to manage your finances, you might be able to do things in a way that would better integrate with Neatworks. The lack of flexibility in Neatworks seriously detracts from the programs usefulness for those of us who have been working on going paperless for a while. To do efficient data entry and export to Quicken, I need to be able to add add and remove fields from forms to match my accounts and categories in Quicken and to be able to clearly see what data is being exported. As it is now, using Neatworks to get data into Quicken is more work than just entering the data from the receipt directly into Quicken. In theory, you can add and remove fields, but this feature, as near as I can tell, does not work at all. As a result, the entry forms are cluttered with fields I will never, ever use but I am unable to add fields for items like shipping & handling that I use all the time. If youre just looking for easy-to-use hardware and fairly-easy-to-use software that will allow you to archive and dump your paper receipts, NeatReceipts for Mac does the job. If youre looking for something that will also streamline your bookkeeping, NeatReceipts for Mac is not there yet. With a little more work on the database side, however, it may get there someday soon.

This device is very easy to install, and works great right out of the box. Setup on my MacBook (late 2008 Aluminum) was easy and trouble-free. I like how compact the scanner is; and that it does not require any external power source. It fits nicely in my computer bag. I had no trouble scanning documents and receipts even the first time. Scan quality is very good. The included software is pretty easy to use... it does an OK job extracting information -- but you have to make sure you pick the right document type (there are only two) or it misses completely. I did NOT need to contact customer support, so i cannot comment on the quality of their service. Good news is, it worked fine right out of the box.

This scanner is a life saver. As a head of the house, I get tons of receipts and it gets absolutely maddening trying to keep them all organized. This makes it very easy to not only organize my receipts but my run of the mill documents as well. I pretty much scan everything now. The OCR recognition works well. If I type in a word or two for what I am looking for, the search results list the docs quickly. You need to spend a little bit of time getting the system to be smart at first -- the first few batches of receipts you do you need to sometimes link the info from the receipt to the correct field, which is a simple drag and drop. After I do this I find that if I scan a receipt from the same store again the system has the data entered automatically. Thankfully then finally developed a hierarchical folder system so I could organize my receipts in much the same way I can create folders inside of folders on a computer OS. Still, there are some basic features missing that I would like to see developed. For one, if you want to zoom in on a receipt, you have to click EDIT to bring it up into a separate window, then you can zoom. This extra step may not seem like a big deal, but when you have 50 receipts, its a pain. I really dont understand why they dont just make it so I can zoom in on a receipt in the main screen. Also, the scanner needs to do a better job with pages that have been folder. Many times the paper will stop feeding through the scanning device, and it ends up looking blurred on the screen. I thin have to do it all over again. Finally, while I am glad they increased the length of receipt one could scan, I still find it frustrating when scanning long grocery receipts, because the scanner will sometimes just stop scanning even though it has not fed the whole receipt through.

Great product, works as advertised. Wish they had a desktop version like they have for windows. One refinement would be on its OCR, I find myself writing in some info that the OCR misses. Also the drag and drop is a little buggy at times. I did not expect this product to be bug free from a company that is use to writing windows programs. I am positive that future updates will remedy any bugs. Even with the bugs I am very please with the product and would suggest it to everyone.

I bought this small scanner to be able to travel with me to many locations throughout the day. I like the portability of it but I was disappointed when I could not find any tech support when my documents were only scanning blank pages. After some frustration, I tried to calibrate the scanner and that seemed to work, but I was a bit confused why I had to calibrate an item right out of the box. The other issue Im having is I dont know how to scan several pages into 1 pdf or email? I usually have at least 1-5 pages to scan back to the office and its time consuming and non productive to send 5 different emails to get the job done. Since there is no tech support, Im assuming I wont get the answer? It would have been helpful if it came with a booklet to walk you thru several issues. If anyone knows the answer to my question please share it with me

I bought this product, and instead of a new scanner, what I received was a PREVIOUSLY USED and DEFECTIVE scanner that was placed in new packaging, and shrink-wrapped to appear as a new product. This scanner even had somebody elses receipts entered into the software that accompanies the product, including all of the personal information from the prior owner of this device. The scanner never worked from the first time I tried to use it. My big mistake was not opening and trying the product immediately when it arrived, because the thirty-day window in which you can return a purchase had just expired before I realized what I was up against. I am still holding out some hope that this company will provide a replacement scanner, after hours and hours with their so-called technical support. Under anyones definition, this company has engaged in fraudulent behavior, as well as violation of privacy laws. Buyer Beware!

This is not the top of the line, high end, high performance piece. It is a lightweight, compact unit that efficiently scans up to an 8.5x11 sheet. If you need something more, than perhaps review your needs, before you buy. I had one of these for a few years, it had been knocked around as we moved cross country and back and it finally quit. I bought another one! Like I said, for the money ya cant beat it. The Neat software is user friendly. It is not very fast, so if you have many documents to scan on a consistent basis, you may want to look into another product. It will take maybe 5 min to scan in 10 pages. For my application that is ok, you may need something faster. It would take quite a bit of time to scan in many pages with this unit. I use this little scanner to get documents into my computer and then email the docs or file them. No need to keep a fax or internet fax, i scan and use email. This one does the job just fine. I have had flatbed scanners, all in one print-scan-fax, and this one does just a good as the expensive models, although slower. One drawback is that that is does not handle legal size documents. Only up to 11 inch long. So that may be an issue if you have the need to scan legal size. Otherwise, if your need is to scan into your computer a document 8.5 x11in or less, are not in a tremendous hurry, and file the doc or email, message, print, or whatever, you should be very happy with it.

NeatCo, perhaps intentionally, has come up with what amounts to the most customer-unfriendly, onerous and mindlessly long technical support every devised. I think their tech support purposefully hates to hear from their customers, so they went ahead and put the following system together. First of all, you cannot contact them on the phone. You call their number and get a telephonic message (in a loop) which repeatedly tells you to return to their website for service. You go to their website, and you MUST specify from their pulldown list a set of pre-determined items. If your problem doesnt fit, youre screwed. You have to put in something completely foreign to what you want just in order for your request to go through. They then send you, via email, an auto-response telling you to click on a URL to get your trouble-ticket. Then and only then can you communicate with Tech Support. Only via the web; no personal contact. This is what NeatCo calls customer support. I must say that I did get their Neat Receipts scanner working, but had a minor issue with the search feature. It SHOULD have been easy to get a quick answer from tech support, but not with NeatCo. If you need help with their unit, dont even think about purchasing from them. As I said, the worst customer support ever devised.

NeatReceipts is a good idea nicely packaged, but the product simply doesnt live up to the sales pitch. The software is limited and buggy, and when something doesnt work, support is -- as others here have complained -- just not there. Early in my experience with the product I found that data I had entered was regularly disappearing. Id close the program, and on re-opening later, it would be evident that scans and hand-entered data had never saved properly or had otherwise been lost in the programs processes. I made an inquiry with Neats tech support and received a reply inviting me to explain what Id experienced in more detail. I did that, and then I waited. After more than a week I sent a message asking if any assistance was forthcoming, and then waited again. After about three repeat inquiries over a period of weeks, I gave up. I have never received any further reply. The scanner itself is cheap but not useless. But I find that 8.5 x 11 docs have to be re-scanned about 25% of the time, either because the scan came out crooked (no correction of edges can be made once the paper is scanned) or because the program simply doesnt capture the scan. I would like to be able to give a more positive review. Im continuing to use the product in a limited way, with hopes that the company will eventually make it more reliable and complete. But I cannot recommend buying it.

So a good friend of mine who is a producer/ DJ told me that I needed to be up on this Neat scanner & Id always wanted one so I decided to take him up on it. Im actually happy I did. The quality of the scanner is fantastic... I actually dropped it a few times now on a hard wood floor & it hasnt broken yet which is a big deal for me. The quality of the scans are good also & installation for my compy (MacMini) was simple & super easy. I ddint have a CD drive though so I had to go to Neat.com to download the software. Scanning receipts is also extremely easy as is the organization set up in the Neat program. The ONLY issue I had with this is the number recognition which Ill get into below... Most of the time this scanner seems to get all of the numbers just blatantly wrong. A 6 will be an 8, a 1 will be a 7, or a 5 will be a 4. It seems to really depend on the FONT the receipt is written in. Long receipts like Best Buy for instance it will always get wrong. Completely abandon the idea that this thing will read your chickenscratch you call handwriting. All restaurant receipts will have to be entered by hand. Which, to Neats credit, is amazingly simple & not very time consuming at all. After a while because not many receipts are read the right way, you get used to it. Whats upsetting is that when this thing does it right, the whole process from feeding the paper into the machine to moving on to the next item, is less than 30 seconds. Most of the time though, if youre thorough & adding the business name & taxes paid ect... that turns into 1:00 of time easily. Im an actor & a DJ. I can write off QUITE a bit so even if this thing doesnt get it right all the time, it still saves me TONS of time because of the sheer amount things I can write off. The sheer fact that this thing will allow me to throw away all that paper is a blessing. The only place where Neat can improve this scanner is the resolution to be able to scan numbers more clearly. Besides that, not a bad effort at all.