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How My Smart Phone Makes Me Smart
by Rafi Spero - NeatReceipts Founder and COO

I’m a nut when it comes to cell phones. I love them. I’m always popping into cell phone stores to check out the latest and greatest features and hardware. Why? Well for starters I’m a guy and guys like gadgets. More than that, my cell phone is so integrated into my life that I don’t really think of it as a cell phone. I think of it as my personal organizational assistant, or POA, if you’re looking for an acronym.

I own a Treo 700p and I use it to coordinate my life. Most of you are probably familiar with the idea of using the calendar function on your phone to keep track of appointments and various tasks, sending and receiving your company and/or personal email and surfing the web to catch the latest headlines.

But you can do so much more. Below are some of my favorite organizational techniques that I use on a daily basis to help me stay productive and efficient.

1. Google Text – You can text Google for free to obtain local or general information. For example, if you want a 3 day forecast send this text to Google – Weather, Philadelphia. Google will reply in a minute or so with current weather conditions in Philadelphia plus a 3 day Outlook. Want to know where the closest Dunkin Donuts is…send a text to Google – Dunkin Donuts, 19103 (Relevant Zip Code). You can also look up the definition of a word – Tangential, Definition, and a ton of other stuff written in geek speak. Google’s number is 46645 (Googl). You no longer have an excuse to use 411. For more information go to http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/

2. Music - I walk to and from work on a daily basis and nothing makes my walk more enjoyable than my favorite music. But I don’t want the hassle of carrying an MP3 player in addition to my cell phone. That’s why I utilize the SD memory slot on my phone that can hold 2 gigabytes (soon 4) which is the equivalent of 400 – 450 songs. I use Ptunes (http://www.pocket-tunes.com/) which even streams radio stations straight through my phone. Ipod what?

3. Camera – So we all take grainy pictures of kids, dogs or some stupid trick that your friend performs when he’s drunk. But how do you use your camera as an organizational tool? Ever park at a large sporting event or long term parking at the airport and couldn’t find your car? It’s useful to snap a picture of the section you are parked in. You also could enter the section coordinates into your calendar function, but that wouldn’t be as fun.

4. Whiteboard – More camera fun. After an intense meeting or brainstorming session there is typically a white board with invaluable action items, dates and the next big idea. And of course on top of the white board in big red capital letters DO NOT ERASE. Try taking a picture with your cell phone and sending the picture through email or a picture message service. You’ll be amazed at the clarity and how smart your colleagues think you are. I would recommend a 1.3 mega pixel resolution or higher

5. Memo – I utilize the memo feature on my phone to keep important lists such as: movie rentals, must read books, business ideas, my favorite restaurants and the Philadelphia to New York Amtrak schedule, making me a wealth of information and a party favorite.

As some of you may recall, it was my pleasure to contribute an article to the first issue of the NeatReceipts newsletter. As I stated then, the road warrior’s worst enemy is paper and files. We gather paper like dust and files are the bane of our existence. Since that last article, and having traveled to a less than hospitable environment, the Scanalizer once again proved its worth.

EXPORTING CAPABILITY & FAXING Recently I was in North Africa, Khartoum, Sudan, and another major advantage of owning a Scanalizer came to light. To begin with, there is no need to look for an electrical outlet (critically important internationally), as the Scanalizer takes its power from the USB port. I found myself needing to email documents, such as invoices and legal documents, and with no local scanner available, the Scanalizer was invaluable.

The latest and earlier versions has document-management functionality and enables the user (in addition to saving the document automatically) to convert any document into, for example, a PDF file. This PDF file can then be saved and emailed as an attachment. As a road warrior, needing at times to fax documents rather than e-mail, the ability to scan into a PDF file and then to fax that PDF document using an eFax program has huge advantages. When you are working in such remote locations, communicating with head office is a major issue. Without such tools, as the Scanalizer, you are severely limited in your ability to work efficiently, besides, making the right decisions, you are not, for example, a lawyer!

TAKING YOUR OFFICE ON THE ROAD As a consultant, and when you travel especially internationally, you cannot carry bulky equipment. Effectively, you are limited to a laptop, Bluetooth printer, and last but not least, a Scanalizer (PDA’s and the like go without saying and in your pockets). The NeatReceipts Scanalizer, besides being a space saver, incorporates documents and receipts management capability (and many other features) which when combined with other Internet tools provides all that is necessary to effectively take your office on the road.

TAKING CHARGE AND CONTROL OF TAX DEDUCTIONS Furthermore, as a road warrior and a business owner where tax deductible receipts have significant cash flow value, the Scanalizer gives you the ability with the latest version to maintain full control of your books and accounts, while you are traveling. The latest version provides significantly greater classifications under the tax code, thereby enabling a road warrior to build up the line items on the tax return; saving copious time
and energies attempting to reconstruct line item tax deductions back in the office. This of course assumes that you have managed to keep all those numerous receipts. If you consider, that each receipt has roughly a 20 to 25% cash value or more, losing one receipt can be quite costly, potentially far greater than simply buying a Scanalizer in the first place.

AIRPORT SECURITY TIP! As a useful tip for those planning to travel abroad, do not place your Scanalizer at the bottom of your luggage. Airport security seems to consider that the shape of the Scanalizer demands further attention. Keep it near the top and then take it out and place it beside your laptop as it goes through the scanner; do not make my mistake!! My luggage was searched three-times, and in a none-too friendly manner. When you make the effort to pack very carefully, the experience of having your luggage ripped apart does not enhance your traveling mood!!

About Peter Do your clients and prospects ever have operational projects (including international) they have a hard time completing based on internal resources? Could they use some assistance in the areas of information process flow and documenting efficiency? Are they in need of an interim CFO or require some temporary help on an executive level? Are they currently working towards Sarbanes-Oxley compliance or need training (IAS/IFRS or Sox404)? If you answered yes to any of these, www.ContractualCFO.com and www.SoxInternational.com (CC FOSox) 1-800-976-2236 might be the answer!

Simplify your life: The technology of tomorrow has arrived today.

When I was 13, a birthday trip to DisneyWorld introduced me to the World of Tomorrow and the Carousel of Progress. Carousel was a popular attraction, an exploration into the evolution of electricity and other technological innovations through the eyes of a
typical family.

What really caught my imagination was a computer sitting on the kitchen island counter during the final scenes of the show. As a new teenager in 1981, I asked myself what would you possibly use a computer for in the kitchen? Recipes? You’ve got to be kidding.

Fascinating innovations have now been integrated into my daily life. My organizing clients have introduced me to simple-to-use technology solutions, like NeatReceipts . Much like the home of yesterday, our paper continues to build up today—with less time to tackle it all.

Fortunately, affordable technology is now firmly in place to help with everyday tasks. The question is; are you taking advantage of the personalization factor? I am.

I’ve been on a mission with myself, and willing clients: we’re making smart technology personal by digitizing paper around the home and small office. We started off scanning the obvious -- receipts and business cards. But now the list has now expanded. Clients are telling me they are reinventing their NeatReceipts program for household papers and everyday necessities such as:

* Love letters
* Fortune cookie fortunes
* Prescriptions
* Wedding notes
* Old birthday cards
* Children’s artwork
* Maintenance receipts
* Old college papers
* Old pay stubs, direct deposit statements
* Directions
* Take out menus

Now, you may not see a need to digitize all these items in your home, but surely, who wouldn’t benefit from a little out-of-the box scanning? How about scanning your birth certificate, social security card, driver’s license, passport, insurance cards and credit cards, in case your wallet is stolen? And you’ll always have a backup in an emergency.

So think of technology as a friend, or personal assistant. When you’re ready, reinvent your own NeatReceipts program and halt the paper chase. We now have the technology of the future at your fingertips.

And that’s the real life Carousel of Progress.

Every January 1st tantalizes us with the opportunity to get organized around our taxes. I overhear people in the subway, on the bus and in crowded coffee shops declaring their pledge to get their receipts and tax forms in order. "This year I'm going to get my refund early," they say. But they don't. The task is too daunting and they don't know where to begin. Here's where NeatReceipts can help.

1. Gather all your receipts for the past year (2006)
2. Start scanning them.
3. After each scan, assign the appropriate tax category to the receipt. For example, if you scanned a donation receipt, select "Gifts to Charity."
4. When you are done scanning all of your receipts, run a report from the Tax Manager. The manager will automatically aggregate all your data and tell you where it belongs on your federal tax form by line item.
5. Make sure you scan in your IRS Forms as well. How many times have you spent hours looking for last years IRS tax forms?

Now to really stay on top of things, start scanning receipts that you incur from January 1, 2007 and beyond on a weekly basis. This will really get you organized and provide you with a snapshot of how much you are spending in different categories. Don't become a "they." Get yourself organized and in control of your receipts.

How to Get Organized

Money Spending Plan Everyone wants to control their spending. We all realize that until we know, in detail, exactly how much is coming in and how much is going out, we don’t have control. When we don’t control our money, our money controls us; not a good feeling.

The value of a plan Because a firm understanding of our income and expenses is the first step in formulating a personal financial plan, it’s best to have as much detailed information as possible.

A Money Spending Plan is an organized approach to the flow of our money. It’s easy to determine the amount of money coming in; our paychecks.

The big payoff of our plan is tracking down our outgoing money.

Once you have established where your money is going (and why), you have a handle on the relative importance of each purchase. The new car you have been wanting to purchase is now seen in the relative terms of dining out 20 times a month. It’s all about choices, but you have to know all the facts first.

How much am I spending? OK, then. How much am I spending? When we sit down and try to add up the costs of all our purchases, we always miss a large proportion of the cash flow. Herein lies the dilemma. Missing purchases. NeatReceipts can help.

The large purchases We plan for the large purchases in our lives. The car, boat, home, vacation, college tuition. These items are big enough that we cannot buy them on impulse. And we don’t forget the cost or the date of these items for a long time either.

What are the Five largest purchases in the last year that you made? And Why?

That was easy. The items come right to mind and you are thinking, “. . . and I’d do it again!” These were well planned purchases that were timed to minimize the impact on your total spending. You probably thought about the pros and cons of the purchase, talked to friends and neighbors, and perhaps the banker.

The many small purchases But we don’t take the time to scrutinize every little purchase we make. NeatReceipts offers a solution for effortlessly tracking these smaller purchases.

What are the last fifty small purchases you made in the past year? And Why?

Can only remember a few? Since there are so many and insignificant at the time, we tend to overlook the impact they have on our budget and our lives. If only we knew what these little items were, we might be able to modify our spending.

Is There a Solution? We need a simple and effective method to capture the day-to-day spending of the small items we are constantly buying. We think that there are no consequences for these purchases, but there is power in numbers, and the numbers don’t lie.

Electronic Checking method Many of our expenditures are paid for with checks. The bank sends us a statement once a month and we get to see an overall picture of our spending. But checks don’t give us the complete picture. Credit card statements give us more information, but we know that there is still missing data.

It is estimated that more than half our spending is done in small increments. This spending is not traceable. Methods have been devised that promise to track and report these small items, but they are clumsy, time-consuming, and difficult to maintain, even with modern software support.

Cash Method One solution for capturing these incidental items is to allocate a set amount of cash each week or two. If the cash runs out before the allotted time, then we have spent more money than we thought we needed.

Envelope Method To get a more detailed picture of this spending, we can put set amounts of cash into envelopes marked for categories of spending, like groceries, dining, gasoline, entertainment, etc. As these envelopes empty, we get a clearer picture of which categories are under-funded. This is a time-consuming method for capturing spending habits and few people stay with the system for more than a few months.
Most people don’t like having large sums of cash lying around, not making interest. It’s not safe and it’s inefficient.

Software Tracking Method There is very good expense tracking software on the market. These programs can tell you much about your spending habits. But these programs must first have all the information about your spending. As we have already seen, much of this data is missing because we have no way of easily capturing it.

The NeatReceipts Method NeatReceipts captures and creates a detailed report of these items. Imagine, sitting down and looking over your personal spending report for the last week or month. All your food, car, house, and entertainment expenditures. NeatReceipts even designs different reports to support your varying lifestyles. For example, personal, business, entertainment, or charity.

All the insignificant charges from the newspaper to the cup of coffee will now be under your control. Visualize knowing where every single penny went last month! Just knowing is a giant part of being financially organized.

Capture Cash Flow with NeatReceipts

Flying under the RADAR How much spending gets under the radar; that goes unnoticed until we realize that several hundred dollars have gotten away? That is the question we need to understand.

What “key” has NeatReceipts found that will empower you with all the information you need to realize complete control over your money?

It’s your money. Let NeatReceipts help you control it.

The Secret Key

For just about every purchase you make, you will receive a small, insignificant piece of paper – your receipt. We never know what to do with this “worthless” piece of paper, so we throw it away. Most stores place large trash cans just outside their doors for your convenience. So you have a place to throw the receipts.

NeatReceipts has designed a system that scans the receipt and stores the information on your computer. The dates, prices, and store names are all captured, processed, and presented in creative reports for you to review.

Save each receipt because these little pieces of paper are going to turn into GOLD when you scan them into your NeatReceipt application. Each small purchase scanned into the NeatReceipts is logged into the database. Once captured, this information is used to create unique expense reports that will give you new insights into your spending patterns and tendencies.
What information is recognized?

The date of purchase and the amount is saved automatically, as well as the store and the taxes. This is enough to present a detailed report, but you may further label these purchases with notes of your own.

You may add personal notes to the information already saved – like, was the purchase Food, Home, Business, Vacation – whatever category you want to place the item. Then NeatReceipts will provide you a report of all your Food expenditures in an expense report format.

And all you have to do is stuff the receipt in your pocket. Most people save a few days or weeks worth of receipts in a small box and then scan them at the same time. They keep a small box where they place the receipts until they are ready to scan. Then they throw the receipts away (but keep the box for the next batch of receipts)!

Discard Receipts
You won’t have to save the receipts after you scan them into the program because NeatReceipts not only reads and understands the amounts and dates on the receipt, it also captures an image of the actual receipt so you will always have a copy on your computer.

The IRS
The IRS accepts these electronic receipt images so you may be saving the receipts for someone other than yourself!

Planning for Tax Season
NeatReceipts lets you easily scan and label each item you buy, whether large or small. Making notes at the time of the purchase helps when tax time comes and you wonder what this item was. NeatReceipts can provide a detailed report of your spending, per the categories and labels you put on the items. This not only helps you get all the deductions you deserve, it also provides copies of all receipts if you want to see them.

As noted earlier, the IRS accepts the electronic images of the receipts as proof of purchase, just as it would a paper receipt (if you still had the paper receipt).

Note: NeatReceipts offers further support for your spending records through a special Backup Program. NeatReceipts will provide offline storage of your scanned receipts so you will always have access to your records.

This not only provides backup in case you loose the records, say, in a move or a fire, it gives you the added comfort of knowing that each and every receipt that you have scanned and labeled will always be available for you. This is miles ahead of a paper receipt, which is not even designed to survive water damage.

Business Expenses
Many business today require a detailed expense report before they will refund money spent on a business trip. We all know the agony of filling out an expense report after a month long trip. NeatReceipts supports traveling business people by interfacing the scanner with your laptop computer and scanning in receipts right there on the road, as you travel. The Scanner gets it’s power from the laptop, so there is no tangle of wires to contend with.

Moving from hotel to hotel is a real easy way to misplace a few receipts. Once they are scanned in, they can’t be lost, even if the airline looses your luggage and laptop computer. NeatReceipts has all you records securely backed up in their data bank, downloaded through your Internet connection.

Your Own Business
If you run a home business, you already appreciate the need to keep personal and business expenses separated. Let NeatReceipts support you in your business. When scanning in receipts, it’s easy to put business items in the ‘Business’ category. Also make notes to yourself for later when you are compiling your
tax data. Making notes at the time of the purchase is much better than trying to remember why a purchase was made and how it was used. Review NeatReceipt’s Tax Tips Section for more details.

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