There are several great cloud options out there that make it easy to digitize your paperwork without the need for a desktop scanner. I do use a desktop computer and store files on my computer and my NAS but nothing is worse than having a bunch of different sized receipts to keep organized and ready for tax preperation (Your CPA will thank you later). According to the Internal Revenue Service, receipts should be kept for 3-6 years depending on certain factors. Get the details According to #6, if you file a fradulant tax returns you must keep your records indefinitely! So...don't file fradulant tax returns, duh. On a serious note, the IRS also says, "You should keep them in an orderly fashion and in a safe place. For instance, organize them by year and type of income or expense." What kinds of records should I keep
Knowing that we are already so busy and have already purchased several, serveral apps; we don't need to purchase another app to help digitize and organized our receipts. You probably already have an account with one of these and you may already even be using it in some fashion.
There are 2 apps that I use frequently that have an easy to use interface and was easy enough to set up and connect to my home computer (where I ultimately store my receipts for tax time). Microsoft's One Drive and Dropbox are both great options. Let's quickly dive into each of these.
So, you just spent a few hundred dollars at Office Depot on expenses for your office...Okay, Office Depot is a bad example since upon checkout they offer to email the receipt...this is your opportunity to digitze it, save on paper and say, YES to an emailed receipt. But let's continue on with the example.
If you have't set up either of these on your computer or your phone, you can get detailed instructions here or you can just 'google' it :)
At the time of writing this article, Microsoft offers a OneDrive Free Plan.
Once your Microsoft account is synced on both your computer and your phone, you are ready to start digitizing and organizing your receipts
So, open the OneDrive app and Click the Blue Camera button on the bottom.
Actually, before you click on that Blue Camera Icon, you can start the organizing process and choose a folder to place your digital receipt in. Since I only use OneDrive for the digitizing process and don't actually store my documents on my OneDrive, I created a folder "~ToBePlaced on JZDesktop" the ~ 'Tilda' keeps that folder on the top of the list and the name of the folder reminds me that it is a temp folder that I plan on keeping empty. If there are files in there then they need to be placed on my computer and removed from OneDrive.
So, choose the correct folder and then tap the Blue Camera Icon.
This will activate your camera and you have a couple different options on the bottom; "Whiteboard", "Document", "Business Card", "Photo". For all the options (minus Photo) OneDrive tries to identify the object with a blue box. That is the boundries for the image and OneDrive will also 'straighten out' the image (super cool!). The "Photo" option will be saved as a JPEG, all others will be saved as a PDF file.
Choose a file name; here is another place that you can set the location, click on the blue check in the upper right hand corner of your screen and you are all set! Your receipt is now digitized and on any device that you have linked your Microsoft OneDrive account too.
*An important suggestion regarding the file name; here is your opportunity to 'organize' a little bit more. I am a fan of making the file name a little descriptive which will be helpful in the long run. I put the name of the company and the date of the transaction. So if I went to Office Depot and bought a printer on January 6, 2024, I would name the digitized receipt "Office 01062024". I usually don't put the full name of the business in the file name...it's usually just too much to type on my phone and I am lazy and am usually moving pretty quickly. So, where it says "Scan 2020-02-05 12_58_51", tap there and just start typing a file name that works for you.
At the time of writing this article, Dropbox offers a Free Indivdual Plan of 2GB
Once your Dropbox account is synced on both your computer and your phone you are ready to start digitizing your receipts!
Open the app on your phone.
Your files and folders will be listed here. If you don't see what you are looking for, tap the 'pancake' (three horizontal lines) in the upper left hand corner of your screen and select 'Files'. Otherwise, you can tap the Blue Plus Icon on the bottom right
Dropbox makes it easy to; Scan a receipt or upload one you already digital. Click on "Scan Document" to digitize your receipt.
Scan preview allows you to make a few more adjustments and even allows you to "Add page" if this document has a couple of pages. This will group all the pages into one pdf file.
Similar to the OneDrive option, here would be a good time & place to start the organizing process. I usually choose a file name that means something and that will be helpful (if I am being really lazy or in a rush, I will just tap the blue check in the upper right hand corner of the screen to save the scan and move on.) I usually use the business name and date of transaction for the filename. For example, "office05062023" for a receipt of a purchase at Office Depot on May 6, 2023.
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