Once all that was over, NeatReceipts offered to run me through a short animated review of its features that's clearly aimed at busy business types. It's just enough to get you going, but if you've got the time, it's worth consulting the manual to truly unleash the useful features of this product.

Using the Scanalizer couldn't be simpler. Insert a receipt face down and hit the scan button. Scans are automatically cropped, sized and rotated. The scanner will accept documents as small as 1 by 1 inch, up to the standard 8.5 by 11 inches (up to 30 inches long).

Weighing only 10.6 ounces and measuring 10.8 by 1.6 by 1.3 inches in size, the Scanalizer easily passes the portability test. It comes with the USB cable, a carrying case, installation CD and a stand that allows the scanner to sit vertically on your desk when it's not in use.

When it came to the OCR test, getting a good scan should boost the chances of getting accurate text. I found that the Scanalizer did a decent job of creating clear images even from receipts that had been balled up in a pocket. You can also manually tweak the scan settings in NeatReceipts to adjust for problems such as colored backgrounds or faded ink.

The NeatReceipts interface is generally straightforward, with multiple tabs and fields for navigating and editing entries. When you scan a receipt, an image appears in a left-hand viewing pane, with the extracted text in various categorized fields on the right. You can also skip the scan and manually enter information into the database.