Anyone with opinions on the costly scanner called Neat Desk. It is available so you can scan in receipts, letters etc. into files. The object being to get the clutter off the desk. I am constantly buried in paper. My desk is not large enough (no desk would be) There are some other scanners that might work. I don't want to spend the money on something until I can get some opinions I can trust. I save a lot of receipts and have noticed that with time, they fade away.
there are some good comments in the link below. Sounds like paying a little more for a "plug and play" to scan and keep track of stuff. For my situation, I lack the knowlegde or brain power to make one myself, it would be an option for me. http://slickdeals.net/f/8059020-neatdesk-tm-desktop-scanner-digital-filing-system-for-pc-mac-manufacturer-refurbished-189-99-fgs-ebay?&src=SiteSearchTest - Control - Control - Control - Control
What is wrong with a simple printer with scanner? Extremely easy to use and you can crop the picture to the size you need. You can also copy in color, black & white or grayscale. Not sure but I think our printer cost around $125 a couple years ago.
Yes, the printer/scanners you get now can scan in PDF as well as JPEG. The only reason I bought a dedicated scanner (flat bed) was to scan slides, negative strips and photos. Using a printer/scanner would work just as well for what you want. We have a document scanner at work that only scans full sheets. For anything smaller, you have to use a holder which is plastic and gets streaked. I use Quicken Cash Manager (software) to enter all my receipts and then file them in folders as per credit card, bank or business. I reconcile my statements with Quicken and then staple all my receipts for that statement to it. I have box invoice files that I put each year into and save them for ten years. I quite often have to go back a few years for receipts and find that they don't fade if stored out of light. Although my desk isn't neat, I usually can find any receipt I am looking for by searching in Quicken to find the year and month and then physically look for the receipt in the corresponding box invoice file. I hope this helps?
I am sooo in the dark ages. I use a green hanging file folder per year, with manila folders inside them. One manilla per auto, appliances, home improvement, etc.
Thanks. Too much money for me right now. I'll have to be more organized. my major problem now is much less space and a lazy attitude about putting things away right from the beginning. Any flat surface becomes a chronological storage space. I'm just looking for a way to handle much of it. The concept of the neat desk is good, but it looks like there is more to it. Those small wand scanners that sit on a table seem to offer the similar features but I'll need to dig deeper into it. I own way to many useless gimmicks now.
You know what you are doing. that makes it work for you. I would have to find someone like you to show me, or maybe take a few classes at adult ed. Then, I just might feel better about this stuff. thanks
Quicken Cash Manager is like using an electronic cheque book to record all your transactions. Even without the software, just stapling your receipts to each of your statements - bank or credit card and filing them by month and year will help organize them. My current year is in file folders in a filing box. I have folders for banking, credit cards, electric bills and telephone although the last two are kept electronically this year. I keep a separate folder for pet medical info, vehicle maintenance and any income info. At the end of the year, I take the folders out and store them in clipboard boxes which I don't think you can buy anymore as I inherited them from my Mom's bookkeeping business. But you could stack them flat in smaller size box and label it for the year. Although I only keep daily receipts and statements for 10 years, I am guilty of saving all our income tax submissions since we were married. Fortunately, they don't take up a lot of room.
I tried a trial on a computer years ago, XP or before that..... I liked it, but finances were much simpler back then so I let my trial expire. Is this a pay service, or is there a free download?
Originally it was a program included with Windows on the computer - before XP I think. Now you would have to purchase it either in a store like Staples or download it. I use it mainly for keeping track of my transactions. I don't pay bills directly from it, download the reconcile directly from my bank or use it for investments. http://quicken.intuit.ca/personal-finance-software/cash-manager.jsp
ScanSnap scanners! You will not regret it. The best there is. Since Neat Dest saves the file in their proprietary format it isn't future proof. Meaning if The company goes belly up and no longer support your product you may in time no longer be able to move your files to a different program. PDF is considered to be the most future proof. It will always be readable by future software/hardware. http://www.fujitsu.com/us/products/computing/peripheral/scanners/scansnap/
Fujitsu not only makes the best scanner hardware but also the best software to go with it. No I'm not a company spokesman nor a shareholder.
