Customer Reviews

NeatReceipts SCANALIZER Professional with NeatWorks 4.0 Upgrade CD

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've been looking for a way to clean up and organize the hundreds of receipts I've accumulated therough the course of a house rehab project I'm wrapping up. NeatReceipts fit the bill perfectly, and it's even fun to use.
What I like is how an image of the scan is saved with the record (indicated by a paperclip icon on the item's record), but be careful that the feature is activated over multiple sessions. I assumed that it was (I wasn't keeping track of the icons) and after I'd gotten through a couple hundred receipts, I found out that some images weren't there. It looks like I have to redo them. I don't mind too much, though, because the thing is fun and the more I use it, the more I learn about its power.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the OCR software can deal well with faded and crinkled receipts. I kept calling my wife over to the kitchen table and say, "Look, this thing even figured out THIS one!" She'd come over, say uh-huh, and go about her business. Well, I was impressed.

The Neat works scanner system is just that; "Neat" .....Overall ... I like the way the system categorizes and place your receipts or you have the opportunity to direct them to a specific file folder. It takes a little getting used to but for the most part ...I think it is user friendly. I would advise users however to be careful of possible. Software conflicts with the new Office 20007 suite (MS Word) ... while I can't prove it for sure, I suspect that that a major conflict erupted when attempting to upload "documents" for printing?

The product functions OK initially. Their business model is to sell you a product and then "upgrade" it every 2 years. Your version then becomes obsolete and they will sell you an upgrade, currently for $30. Find a different product.

I bought the scanner from Amazon Oct. 2009, not realizing it came from after market sale store with the old 3.1 driver (be advised to verify latest software version comes with your electronics). Today I bought the 4.6.1 upgrade (2 years after it was released) and tried to run the scanner. Found out during the operation I had to calibrate it first. The paper feed stopped during calibration. Went to online support and read this:

"How to Calibrate a Mobile Scanner
Published 02/18/2010 04:58 PM | Updated 08/03/2010 03:53 PM
How can I use the Scanner Maintenance Utility to calibrate a mobile scanner?After updating to NeatWorks 4.6.5 or NeatWorks 4.8.5, many owners of Neat Company mobile scanners will need to recalibrate their scanners to obtain a suitable image while scanning."

Don't even try to download this file from their site. It got jammed downloading repeadedly just like the paper. It's still running in the background after 3 hours. Two years after it's release it's still got enormous installation bugs. Really? I'm dissatisfied I had to pay for a driver upgrade for Windows 7. If it's sooo "improved" why won't it work right out the box? Why do us users pay money for product and have to spend hours troubleshooting it, only to end up frustrated. They should have provided a link to the "SMU" (Scanner Maintenance Utility) file on the purchase page for upgraders -OR- better yet, include the fix/file in the download if it's required as part of the upgrade. Their support seems less than enthused to help. I would not purchase this product again. Too bad because the previous reviews rated it so highly. The company reliability must have gone way down. Read latest CNET user reviews. Low marks there too.

I had the prior version, Neat Receipts, and HAD to upgrade when I installed Windows 7. The format has changed so much that now I'm thinking of going back to my old system of entering everything in Excel spreadsheets and filing the hard copies. The s from customer support were no help either. This version has too many steps and it's more time consuming than before.

This scanner is definitely easy to carry on business trips. The scanner and cords fit nicely in the case, which is small and compact. The scanner at times will feed the paper at an angle, resulting in a somewhat messy scan, usually having to be rescanned. It has nice software, but as most business travelers have to report business travel on their company's expense report application, the software is a bit overkill. It is good for other documents as well, and does a nice job of OCR and filing. I have used it for a couple of months now and am completely satisfied. It allows me to scan my receipts daily, saving that Friday night scramble to scan receipts and get my expense reports done.

The upgrades for the software are full of pitfalls, they have very poor suport. Why would you trust all your documents and receipts to this soft ware when there suport is poor, the software is not upgradeable without a long drawn out afair.
Pass this one up, or you will surely have trouble.
Michael

Too soon to really write a review, but so far, I have found this gadget pretty neat. Most of the time it picks up the name of the retailer, date, cost, etc, but at other times omits something. I thought at first it was because I was scanning older receipts, but have come to notice that it occurs on my new receipts, too. Have not had the chance to do any reports, i.e. info for tax purposes and monthly costs. I am hoping that it does meet my expectations as I do need to reduce all the paper clutter receipts accumulate. I am willing to wait and see, keeping my fingers crossed.

This seems like a great product. I need a little more self education on its use. The only problem I am having is trying to move an item from on file to another. I think with more practice I will learn how to do this. So far, I have great expectations for its use.

Have only used this product for a few days but I can tell this is going to be great.