Organize your paper. Simplify your life. I was asked to review the NeatReceipts Neat Business Cards scanner by a friend Chandler Peterson, with Realty Technology Review. I've included a short video for you to see, be sure to check it out.
I'm thinking Chandler must have known something about my "put off 'til tomorrow' filing system to ask me to review this scanner. This little gadget had my name all over it. I have been collecting business cards for years now, more so since I began my Real Estate career in 2003. I had always had good intent to index them and put them in my database, however it's always been a matter of time and kept putting it off!
For those of you that know me a bit better know that I love gadgets and own a few, OK -- maybe a bit more than a few!This little beauty is a nifty little gadget and yet a powerful little guy too. It's so small and mobile that you can take it on the road with you tucked in the tiniest pocket of your briefcase or suitcase. The whole scanner weighs less than 4 ounces! That's about a half a sandwich!
It's the smallest color card scanner on the market. It scans directly into Outlook and ACT, and it's small enough to not clutter up your desktop and yet small enough to bring along on your business trips. You can stay organized as you go instead of having to face a stack of business cards or in my case a pile of 1000's of them when you finally get the time.
Right out of the box, the Neat Business Cards scanner was pretty accurate with a range of business card styles, both scanning the text fields and then assigning them to the corresponding database fields. It even correctly distinguished telephone, fax, and other phone numbers printed in different styles (parens, dashes, periods), and identified with wildly different marks. I had a few fields it seemed confused with, but over the text was recognized and populated the fields pretty well.
Of course, the scanning is not perfect, and you should verify each card for mis-assigned fields (like phone extensions) and incorrect or missing letters or digits (i.e., at the end of a long number).
The software did struggle with some company information and business titles that were not clearly structured on the page -- it still scanned the text as additional text, which then needed to be manually moved to the proper field. And there were some odd features that I could work around.
You also can export records from the Neat Business Cards database to RTF (Word), CSV (Excel), PDF, and other formats to print or share.
I give this little 'under $100' gadget a thumbs up and just know it will come in handy to help you scan and organize your contacts and help you simplify your life.
Key Features
- Scan directly in Outlook
- Scan directly in ACT!
- Scan into Neat Business Cards database
- Use vCard, csv or Plaxo to export contact information to smartphones and other email applications
- Highly accurate card reader for US Cards
- Color scanning at 300 dpi
- Free travel case
What's in the box
Neat Business Cards portable card scanner, software CD, USB cable, scanner travel case, user guide, one piece of calibration paper, one piece of cleaning paper
Candace,
I to have seen this porduct before actually in an Airport while I was traveling and it looked interesting. I think it sounds like it can really help with organization of all by business cards as well.
I never thought of doing that... cool tip.
Looks like something that I would like - thanks!
I have seen this gadget as well, Candace. It would be a big help in keeping things organized. thanks for the reminder.
Thanks to Saundra == she emailed me this info below:
Candace,
I love reading your blog. I have been reading it since we met at the Technology event in Scottsdale.
I wanted to let you know the Neat Business Card scanner is on sale right now at Costco. I didn't want to post it just in case you were advertising for someone.
Costco has the Business Card Scanner for a great deal..
Saundra Lockwood
Century 21 Premier
I haven't seen this gadget before but it does seem to do what we need to do quickly and efficiently. I'll have to look into this further.
Maybe I have a few gadgets too - ok maybe a lot of gadgets too.... Sure wish we had a Cosco in College Station... may be off to Sam's tomorrow to see what they have.
Thanks!
Hi Susan,
They have them at Office Depot in College Station.
Tyrone - I am quite impressed. The stack of biz cards I have is overwhelming and it does do a great job!
Amanda - it was so easy!
Norma - it's a great price right now at Costco.com online you save $40.00!!
Shirley - Thanks for the comment! I think it was so easy to use and organized the contacts beautifully.
Jon - I think you would be impressed..afterall, what do we do with all those cards? I like the idea of scanning them. Thanks for the comment.
Susan - I'm guessing we are a lot a like if you like gadgets! I love the electronic stores! Costco.com online, I can help you with that account number!
Brenda - thanks for the help!! Office Depot another great store!
I have seen the reciept scanner from this same company. I thought that was a great tool. Just when you hting that you dont need a reciept and throw it away. .... you figure out you need it again.
Dena - I know what you mean. This little powerhouse is pretty clever and can save a ton of time. This review was done on the business card scanner, however I have the larger one that scans receipts and organize it for you. Great for taxes!! Thanks for your comment!
Candace - thanks for the review. I'm a recovering gadget guy. I have seen these for years and have always passed. Maybe it's time I jump in so that I can clean up that desk drawer full of cards.
Todd - That is it... a Gadget Addict... I love gadgets and to be a recovering addict would help my pocket book I'm sure! This is a pretty sweet gadget, I will start tomorrow on my recovery! Thanks for the comment.
I love gadgets and have many. That little one looks very interesting. Will check out COSCO.
have you tried cardscan executive. It does a great job. I have over 15,000 business cards in it and it takes out duplicates as well
Looks like a great tool. Thanks for sharing.