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Top 13 Best Scanners For Tax Preparation Features, Reviews, and FAQs

Peter Fonda
  Mar 29, 2024 1:38 PM

Is a document scanner essential while filing taxes? It goes without saying that that's not the case. But having one makes it much easier to keep track of and retrieve crucial paperwork.

Most Americans associate the coming of tax season with the painful task of organizing their records. And for the time being, this custom still requires a substantial amount of....paper.

Scanners have been an integral part of my modest professional firm over the years. I've benefited greatly from keeping my files online (and especially in the cloud). I'll teach you where to look to locate the finest scanners for tax work:


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Buying Guide

Size matters

At tax time, you may require documents that aren't printed on standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper. You should get a document scanner that can accommodate a wide range of paper sizes, from normal 8.5 x 11 sheets to tiny items like receipts, business cards, and more.

Faster is better

Is there anything more time-consuming than scanning a single page at a time using an antiquated scanner, flipping it over, and scanning the other side? Upgrade to a high-speed adf (automatic document feed) model like Ambir's Imagescan Pro 820ix during peak usage times like tax season.

An adf scanner can scan both sides of a two-sided document in a single pass, at speeds of up to 60 pages per minute, and can handle up to 100 pages at a time. With the scanner's built-in twain driver, OCR accuracy and file size are both improved by automatic page rotation, brightness adjustments, and cropping of scanned images.

Optimal options

For seldom use at home, a computer capable of merely scanning to an image file format, like.Jpeg, may be adequate. You will need greater flexibility, though, to maximize your business's tax filings. Pick a scanner that can export pdf files directly. In addition to transforming your paper files into digital ones that can be searched, pdf output also makes it easy to bundle together several documents into a single archive that is both compact and trustworthy.

Connect to the cloud (and more!)

To begin getting your tax paperwork in order, scanning is a terrific first step, but what comes next? You should transfer data to your tax preparer, keep it locally, and create a cloud backup. This may seem time-consuming, but it's not. In reality, you can get along without a computer.

The nscan 915i is a computer- and cable-free network document scanner. All it needs is an ethernet or wireless connection. It's easy to scan and distribute files to your inbox, the company intranet, a USB drive, a personal computer, a Mac, a tablet, a smartphone, or the cloud. Seriously, what could be more basic?

Quick filing

I scan papers, give the resulting PDFs meaningful names, and place them in the appropriate folders on the server, eliminating the need to sort through piles of paper files to get what I need. If I have a bunch of papers on the same subject, I'll scan them all at once and save the PDF.

Easy prep

As tax season approaches, this one is timely and useful. To save time and avoid having to switch back and forth between my working folder and the original archives, I make a copy of our tax PDFs from the previous year and place it there. Since I am using a copy in a different location, I won't accidentally alter the contents of the archived folder.

Disaster management

Having my files available in the cloud has been a huge time saver. In the past, I've had to deal with unexpected situations that required me to be away from the workplace and in need of remote access to my company and personal information. In both personal and professional contexts, this has proven to be of the utmost importance. While the hurricane forced us to evacuate our home and office, having most of our data stored in the cloud was a huge benefit.

Storage Capacity

You should think about the limitations of your receipt scanner whether you plan on storing your receipts on a hard drive or in the cloud. When scanning receipts, how often each day do you plan to do it? Do you intend to reserve its use for rare events, or will you only pull it out during tax time? You can use this to plan out how much space you'll need on your receipt scanner's software or on an external hard disk.

Remember to think about the safety of the storage you're using. Make sure there is more than one form of security on file for your stored documents and receipts. Digital records can be easily compromised without adequate security measures, while paper receipts and papers are vulnerable to physical damage or destruction.

Speed

One of the least favorite things to do for any working professional is to scan receipts for expense reports. In most cases, people will want to get this done as quickly as possible, and a scanner that can quickly process receipts can help. Depending on the scanner, it only takes about 7.5 seconds to capture a picture of your documents. This helps when scanning multiple receipts at once.

File Types

The format of your receipts will likely depend on their intended purpose. Your employer's cost software probably reads JPEG photos, but your tax preparer might require PDFs. If you want to avoid having to manually convert files after scanning receipts, you should find out what formats your scanner can read.

Exportability

After you've scanned your receipts, you should check that your scanner can handle the rest of your business's paperwork. Do you plan on putting these elsewhere online? Do you intend to send them via electronic mail to someone else? It is important that your receipt scanner makes it simple to send your scanned files to another location.

Now that you know what to look for in a receipt scanner, you should research the top options available.


FAQS

How does a receipt scanner save the images you scan?

Scanners may convert paper documents into digital information that can then be retrieved in a number of ways, including from the scanned pages themselves. The files could be sent wirelessly or via a USB cable, uploaded to a cloud storage service, or saved to a memory card.

Is it better to just scan documents using your phone or tablet?

However, scanning using mobile device camera app is a manual process that might be tiresome. If you have a lot of lengthy receipts, this is especially the case. A receipt scanner allows you to feed in the papers (sometimes an entire stack at once) and let the scanner do the scanning for you.

What’s the difference between a receipt scanner and a regular scanner?

Instead of having to set an item down on the glass of a flatbed scanner or multifunction printer, you may just run the paper through a receipt scanner for speedy image capture. In some cases, a flatbed may be preferable to a feeder, such as when transporting a photograph or other fragile material. A receipt scanner, however, is the best option for firms that scan a lot of paperwork.


Conclusion

Keep in mind the six suggestions we outlined at the beginning of this post if you are reading this while standing in the printer and scanner aisle at Best Buy or reading it in a new window while browsing receipt scanners. Buying a receipt scanner isn't inexpensive, but I hope this buying guide helps you make the best option for your house or company.

Your receipt scanner doesn't have to have all the bells and whistles available, but it should have the capabilities you need at a price you're ready to pay to keep your desk clear and your files in order.


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