APP COMPARE: Data Capture Applications

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The following applications perform data capture, generally used for accounts payable and expense tracking. The applications also link to QuickBooks (and in some cases, other accounting applications) and typically include functionality allowing users to configure how the data is transferred in terms of accounts and other tracking factors; however, they do not go beyond that point and actually offer processing of transactions such as Accounts Payable payments, or Expense Reimbursements.

Be aware, the applications have been listed in 'alphabetical order' without regard to any assessment of their performance. And sorry, these are not side-by-side comparisons and rankings.

AutoEntry

AutoEntry is a data capture tool designed to import bills, receipts, sales invoices, bank and credit card statements and more into QuickBooks. AutoEntry is an intelligent, cloud-based solution which eliminates manual data entry for accountants, bookkeepers and small businesses.

Available as a web or mobile app, AutoEntry captures and analyzes data from scanned and photographed receipts, invoices, bank and card statements and more, and securely inputs this information into QuickBooks.

Once it is finished with the capture and parse of your data, the item(s) appear in your inbox (as shown below) for you to approve so you can then sync them with QuickBooks Online. AutoEntry is a smart solution that remembers how you categorize your expenses, so you won't ever have to categorize them again.

AutoEntry offers fair and flexible pricing mode using a 'credits' (token-like) approach rather than a fixed monthly subscriptions per company. Your pool of credits can be used across multiple companies and document types. For more information see the Auto Entry landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

Greenback

Greenback captures and automates original, itemized receipts, preventing manual data entry. Track spending, in real time, where your business shops the most by automatically fetching itemized receipts directly from top merchants and platforms.

Skip the photos, scanning, typing, and OCR. With Greenback you will connect directly to Amazon, Best Buy, Delta, eBay, Etsy, Home Depot, Lowes, Lyft, Menards, NewEgg, Office Depot, Staples, Uber, Walmart, and more.

Bank and credit card feeds only give you partial views of your transactions, with Greenback you get not only the receipt information but you also get the actual itemized transactions which will make your reconciles easier. In fact, it's the only App that fetches fully itemized sales and expense receipts directly from top stores and channels.

When you need it, Greenback lets you aggregate your transaction feeds so you get totals that make sense. Their settings support a vast number of QuickBooks configurations and workflows so that the Greenback platform conforms to your accounting rather than forcing you to conform your accounting to the platform. Then, it effortlessly syncs your itemized sales and expenses with QuickBooks. With Greenback you will have less work, better insights and more revenue.

When you need it, Greenback lets you aggregate your transaction feeds so you get totals that make sense. Their settings support a vast number of QuickBooks configurations and workflows so that the Greenback platform conforms to your accounting rather than forcing you to conform your accounting to the platform. Then, it effortlessly syncs your itemized sales and expenses with QuickBooks. With Greenback, you will have less work, better insights and more revenue. For more information see the Greenback landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

Hubdoc

Hubdoc is a practical, easy and versatile solution with the ability to ‘fetch’ documents automatically. Hubdoc allows you to automatically collect bank, credit card, phone and other similar statements and bills. This substantially cuts down on time spent otherwise manually retrieving these documents. You can also securely store an unlimited number and type of documents.

In addition to fetching data, Hubdoc gives you the ability to publish that data into your integrated applications like QuickBooks Online. With Hubdoc, you can publish inventory items, publish multiple line items, publish class and customer, as well as publish deposits and refunds.

Hubdoc is mobile ready which means you can access it from your tablet or smart-phone (Apple or Android) as well as your desktop (or laptop) via any scanner.

For more information see the Hubdoc landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

Neat

From expense capture and tracking to document and invoice management, Neat helps you stay organized and focused on growing your businesses. Since 2002, Neat has been a vital resource for small businesses and sole proprietorships needing fast and accurate document reduction and spending management solutions. Today, more than ever, they transform and manage digital or paper documents into data that professionals can use.

Neat provides a cloud-based expense data and document consolidation, retention and processing platform with a simple and intuitive reporting interface enabling users to get the results they need with no hassle. Neat fully integrates with QuickBooks, allowing users to create expense reports in Neat that update into QuickBooks for reimbursement.

Neat not only helps organize and categorize your data to satisfy business reporting needs related to accounting and taxes but it acts as a valuable solution for document retention for audit preparedness by providing the ability to create and leverage a variety of spending report and analysis tools. For more information see the Neat landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

Receipt Bank

Receipt Bank is revolutionizing bookkeeping for over 5,000 accounting and bookkeeping firms and tens of thousands of small business customers globally, using award winning AI and automation to unlock the value of bookkeeping and real-time accounting to help build more valuable accountant-client relationships.

Receipt Bank's world class data extraction software makes manual data entry a thing of the past by extracting key information from clients’ bills, receipts and invoices, removing the need for manual data entry. Data is then published directly into QuickBooks Online, providing an image of the source document.

Receipt Bank Extract – its foundation product – enables accountants and bookkeepers to automate the document collection and data extraction process, with unlimited clients and usage. This seamless automation allows ProAdvisors to provide real-time monitoring of their clients’ cash flow. Accountants can ask questions in real-time versus weeks after the transactions take place.

Receipt Bank makes it possible to optimize and refresh your bookkeeping process and create a profitable workflow with the most sophisticated technology and resources all without manual entry. For more information see the Receipt Bank landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

Scanov

Scanov is an artificially Intelligent paper-to-data capture engine that syncs instantly with QuickBooks to eliminate errors and save time and resources. Based upon my own observations, I can pretty much attest that Scanov appears to have the fastest ‘data capture’ engine for exporting bills, invoices and receipts to QuickBooks Online.

Scanov is really an inexpensive configurable robot that automates the tedious back-office tasks of manual data entry while substantially improving accuracy related to your accounts payable and receivable.

Scanov’s automated robotic processes are the next generation of parsing data, turning printed information into digital data that systems can use. You will easily snap or scan documents and upload the data and the image directly to QBO via an integrated Canon scanner. See how easy it is to turn your piles of paper into automated data by visiting the Scanov landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

ScanWriter

ScanWriter offers unprecedented data entry automation features converting bank and credit card statements, bills, receipts and more into QuickBooks® entries in seconds. It supports over 30 QuickBooks transaction types including Bills, Checks, Credit Card Charges/Credits, etc. ScanWriter automatically enters Vendor/Customer Name, Account Coding, Date, Memo notes increasing efficiency by 90%.

ScanWriter allows you to import multiple bills from a single screen. ScanWriter displays a user friendly preview screen allowing you to edit, review, and total amounts to ensure 100% accuracy. You can easily review the data before it is imported into your company file. Since the preview screen is synced with your QuickBooks, you can use the drop-down menus to easily select Accounts, Vendors, and more. For industries where keeping track of departments and projects is critical, ScanWriter supports over 15 vendor bill fields including Class, Customer, Job, Memo, and more. For more information see the ScanWriter landing page at the Intuit QuickBooks Apps Center.

Editor's comments:

Some people will question the inclusion of some of these Applications within this article saying that they are 'not similar,' that the majority are 'fetching' applications while some are scanning applications. While that maybe true, the real commonality I see in all of these is they involve the ability to 'parse' the data from some source into a format that can be easily translated into QuickBooks data.

Other people will question why other 'data import utilities' were not included in this article. In those cases my answer is that we will be covering them in a separate feature, but for now the ability to import from a formatted set-of-data which is configured within the application to match QuickBooks data sets them apart from these 'data capture' applications.

Lastly, I am certain that we may have left some applications 'out of' our feature. To that I would simply say, there is nothing that prevents us from including them in a 'round two' feature, and with that said, I will just ask you to stay tuned for more of these 'App Comparison' features in the future.