User Tips

Downloading data from laptop to desktop PC

stumpy414 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:32:10 GMT

How do I download data that I have entered into my laptop on a business trip onto my desktop PC Neat Receipts program?

Add Data Columns in NeatWorks for Mac

Phil Tritschler — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:15:01 GMT

I struggled to figure out how to order my receipts by date. Found it!

Select "Item View"; Select "Table" (next to search field). This brings up the data table for the selected Collection. Use the "Up/Down" arrow at right side of of the table to select the document type and the specific data fields you want to add to the table. (I selected "Receipt Fields" and checked "Date") You can click and hold on the column header and drag it to the location you like.

When I click on the Date column header I can order (or reverse order) the collection by date. This also orders the Icon and Image Flow views.

Suddenly, NeatWorks has become more than merely an electronic shoebox!

Neat Tips

Jenn — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:26:57 GMT

Tip #1
Sync data with Microsoft Outlook.
Scan business cards and NeatWorks will automatically extract key contact information, such as company, name, email address, phone & fax number(s) and populate fields accordingly. You can then sync this data with MS Outlook and eliminate the need to manually enter data. To sync with MS Outlook:

1.       Launch NeatWorks and click on the Business Cards tab.
2.       Click Sync > Configure Sync > Choose & Configure Outlook Sync.
3.       Select your sync settings and click Save and Close.
4.       Click the Sync button whenever you wish to exchange data between NeatWorks and Outlook.

Tip #2
Auto-populate payment type
When payment type is unknown, you can select a default payment type, such as Cash or Visa. To change or update your auto-populate rules:

1.       Launch NeatWorks and click on Tools > Personalize.
2.       Click on the Rules tab.
3.       Select your auto-populate settings and click Apply.

Expense Reports

LRN — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:26:31 GMT

When I create a report the cover page does NOT add total receipts.

When I manually add the receipts in the Notes section of the cover page of the report - the text typed into the Notes section does not save when creating PDF.

How do I create an expense report which adds the receipts and creates a total for the expenses??????

Please help me.

expense reports

matt79 — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:08:05 GMT

can anyone help me organize my reciepts into expense reports?

Possible Solution -- Difficulty in scanning small receipts

traffic_doc — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:22:02 GMT

I had a lot of problems scanning small receipts (gas, etc). They would have difficulty getting picked up by the rollers to start the scan and then would slip in the scanner causing the image to be smeared. Also, many times they are crumbled from my pocket or wallet -- so they don't scan well.

So, I picked up some laminating plastic sleeves for 3"x5" photos (the heat laminating type so that both sides are clear). I found a .4 mil thickness to minimize the thickness of the scanned material.

You put the leading edge of the receipt against the folded edge of the plastic and place it into the scanner -- it works GREAT! No slipping or smearing and the receipt comes out very clear.

Give it a try if you are having similiar problems.

Can anyone help with organizing folders and documents?

Bru — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:45:02 GMT

Does anybody have any organizing tips for filing with Neatworks?

The suggestion in the manual:

Folder type = file drawer
Folder Label = Hanging folder
Folder Name = manila folder

Is not working for me. It seems so unmanageable without folder nesting or nested sorting. I have 16 receipt folders right now and it is an eye sore trying to find the right folder.

Also, I can only sort by one column at a time. So if I sort by Folder label, all the other columns are unsorted. Can you imagine going into a file drawer (Folder Type) and every hanging folder (Folder label) is in random order every time you open the drawer?

At the moment, the only solution I can see is limiting the number of folders to under 10 and somehow sorting things out within the receipt/document folders.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks,
Bruce

Neatworks install fails is SQLServer is already installed and in a non-standard location

ajf — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:42:27 GMT

For my job I need to have various RDBMS platforms installed, which includes SQLServer. When I installed MSSQL, I did not install it in the default Program Files/Microsoft SQL Server directory. I will describe the error and then explain what I did to work around it.

The installation sets what looks like an environment variable called something like (the log files are not there anymore) SQLSERVER_TOOLS_DIRECTORY= C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn and then invokes sqlcmd.exe with the fully qualified path C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn\sqlcmd.exe.

The installer obviously detected that sqlserver was already installed since the NR2007 instance was created. However, the NeatWorks mdf/log files are somehow imported/attached to the second instance with the use of sqlcmd.exe. A popup appeared saying that the command did not exist and to search for it and try again. Looked like a pretty standard file not found popup.

Click OK and the installer continues as if nothing happened. Unfortunately,when I tried to start NeatWorks I get an error stating that the database is not up. When the error log is brought up, it shows a dbconnection failure when trying to connect to the nrprofessional database using the sa user. Connect to the NR2700 instance with SQL Studio and you will find that none of the databases were created.

To fix it I had to start the installer and wait for the popup error. The installer does not continue until you hit OK. When stopped the following steps installed the database.

1 Locate the database files extracted from the setup in in C:\Documents and Settings\<current_user>\Local Settings\Temp\NeatReceipts Professional\setup\db\data,

2. Copy them to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.2\MSSQL\Data (although you could probably put them anywhere. Just dont leave them in temp)

3. Open up sqlserver studio express and connect to the NR2700 sqlserver instance

4. Right click on the Databases folder and choose attach.

5. Click add and browse to the folder where you copied the mdf files and add them all. Click OK and they will be attached to the NR2700 instance.

6. Go back to the desktop and click OK to acknowlege the file not found pop-up. The installer will continue and NeatWorks will start.

A suggestion would be to see if sqlcmd.exe already exists in the PATH and use that, or verify sqlcmd.exe exists where it usually does and, if not, see if it is in the path somewhere.

Tax-time Tips

Jenn — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:23:37 GMT

Tip 1:
Donations by cash or check to religious, charitable, educational, scientific, literary, or philanthropic organizations may be deducted. CAUTION: A cancelled check is not sufficient proof for donations over $250. You must get a written receipt from the charity.

Tip 2:
Fees for lawyers, accountants, and licenses are deductible. CONDITION: These are fees which are directly related to the business. NOTE: Legal fees paid to acquire business assets are added to the basis of the property and recovered using depreciation or amortization.

Click HERE to view additional IRS tax tips for 2009.

Using Auto-Detect to Classify Items

Jenn — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:20:22 GMT

NeatWorks can auto-detect the type of paper you’ve scanned in (receipt, business card or document). However, if you’re scanning in a single paper type, for example, only receipts, you change the setting from ‘Auto Detect’ to ‘Receipt’ in the Quick Scan Center.

Note: If an item is misclassified in the Inbox, simply drag and drop it to the correct category.

Quick Scan Center Basics

Jenn — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:18:45 GMT

The Neat Quick Scan Center, available in NeatWorks Version 4, enables you to quickly and easily scan receipts, business cards, documents, and even create PDF files without first launching the NeatWorks application. Items can be scanned one after the other, they’ll process in the background and the images and data will appear in the Inbox the next time you open NeatWorks.

To launch the Quick Scan Center, go to Start > Programs > NeatWorks > Neat Quick Scan Center. A NeatWorks icon will appear in the system tray on the bottom right side of your screen and you can initiate a scan by pressing the Scan button on your scanner or by double clicking on the system tray icon.

Quality Receipt Imaging With NeatDesk and NeatWorks 4.0

Six40K is Not Enough — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:36:30 GMT

Hopefully this will be of help to others.

This tip will provide good, crisp receipt images including receipts which are faint and hard to read

I purchased my NeatDesk Scanner primarily for archiving receipts and other documents. Now using the NeatDesk scanner, I was very dissatisfied with the image quality using the Default interface. So I tried a few other things and I did find a better way to use the NeatDesk Scanner.

First thing I did was to make sure I had an empty directory to use for the scanner images.

Next I would open a graphics editing program, (Adobe PhotShop is what I prefer)

Next, File > Import > Neat ADF Scanner 2008

Now here is the settings I use on the first (Main) tab (my personal preferences)

Scan Type ADF (Rear Side) <---This way the receipts can face toward you when you scan them

Page Size Automatic Size

Scan Mode 24-bit Color <--- You can change to Grayscale if you are doing all Black & White receipts

Resolution 300

When Scanning, I always extend the bottom tray and the paper holder at the top of the scanner.

One thing I never do is to use the scan buttons on the scanner itself

Using the NeatDesk Scanner, you need to be very careful when scanning cause anything you insert has a tendancy to tip to one side or the other, causing the resulting scan to be tilted. With long receipts, you want as little side tilt as possible. Another problem is if the leading edge of the receipt going into the scanner is turned down or bent, then chances are, it'll catch in the scanner and either cause the image to tip drastically while scrunching up the receipt or worse, the receipt will get caught in the roller, in which case you'll see that it's not coming out the bottom of the scanner and you'll need to immediatelly need to cancel the scan and open the scanner to retrieve your receit.

One thing I find that makes a big difference to help keep receipts straight is to make sure the top of the receipt is Cut Straight at a 90 degree angle. Even the slightest crooked cut can cause the receipt tip, making for a not so optimal scan.

Now for problem receipts that get caught in the scanner or that I feel will get caught, I have a couple of pieces of card stock which I've cut to 4" by 3 + 7/16" . With these, I'll take a small piece of tape (about an inch) and attach the leading edge of the receipt to the edge of the card. This will now allow you to feed the receipt through the scanner.

Generally when scanning receipts, I will feed them into the scanner facing toward me so I can see the print side and the top of the receipt will be inserted first. I'll make sure that the leading edge of the receipt is flat (not curled down or bent) before I attempt the scan. Also because of the tendancy for receipts to tip, I scan one receipt at a time, doing one right after the other until I've gone through all that needs to be scanned.

Insert the receipt into the slot making sure it's fully in, enough for the sensor to detect it's presence. A trick to use while keeping the receipt level is to have it just to one side of the white line by the edge of the mouth of the feeder, then carefully holding the receipt in place using light pressure from your fingers, watch the white line being sure the receipt stays straight. You get a feel for this after a few scans. With longer receipts, I tend to keep my index finger about where the word Documents is on the feeder and my pinky finger on the flat part of the paper holder which should be extended. This helps to keep long receipts from tipping when being scanned, especially supermarket receipts.

Now after I have scanned a batch of receipts, I'll select File > Close All

After this the Save File dialog will come up for each scanned image, so for each image don't worry about the file name, just change the file type to .tif then click OK, then on the next dialog box, click Ok. For each image you'll have to repeat this and just remember to select the correct file type. If you make a mistake and leave it as the program default, you can always go back after you finish saving the rest of the images and open the image file and use Save As so you can save it as a .tif file.

All your scans should be nice and crisp, meaning they will be readable and you will even have a chance to make out those faint receipts which the NeatWorks default scanner interface will refuse to scan.

Now all you need to do is open your NeatWorks program go to your receipts folder and import your receipts directly into the receipts folder carefully keeping an eye on the data to make sure the correct information is entered into the corresponding fields.

For scanned receipts that were faint, just zoom in on the receipt so you can make out the faint traces of ink as this will generally allow you to tell what was on the receipt.

After you have imported all the receipts into NeatDesk, you can delete the scanned images unless you feel the need to save the original scans.