With tax season a distant thought on the horizon for most folks, I think it’ll be safe to say that this app will probably be relatively unheard of by many. Also, if you’re a candidate for that reality show "Hoarders," then this app could be a life or at the very least, space saver. So whether you’re a high-powered business executive or a frazzled soccer mom dreading the holiday season, this is the app for you. It’s called GeniusScan, and I’m here to tell you folks, this ingenious little app more than lives up to its name.

Smudged receipts? No more. Lost receipts? A thing of the past. It’s a simple concept, like most genius ideas are. The utility of GeniusScan is quite straightforward. It turns the camera on your phone into your very own pocket-sized accountant, only without the retainer.

Sound simple? That’s because it is. So instead of using your wallet, purse or ashtray for a receipt vault, with the press of button (and a somewhat steady hand) you can scan your receipts directly into your iPhone. From there, they can be stored for later, or if you’re away on business, can even be emailed directly to accounting. That ought to get the bean counters off of your back. However, explaining how you went a hundred dollars over your travel allotment is still up to you.

I realize that most people who travel extensively, on business or otherwise, probably already have some system of bookkeeping in place, and even if your record keeping isn’t the most fastidious, there’s probably some kind of paper trail that needs to happen. For that percentage of the population, GeniusScan will provide at best a good system of redundancy, which of course isn’t a bad thing.

Now let's move on to some of the actual functionality of the app. GeniusScan performs a simple preview of your receipt initially. From the preview screen, users can choose to either Use the picture they took or Retake it. By tapping the Use button on the lower right hand corner of your screen, you’ll be taken to another window. The next screen may come across as a little baffling, but it’s quite simple once you figure out the interface. You’ll be presented with the picture of your receipt surrounded by an orange border. Simply press on any corner of the box with your finger and drag the box to whichever dimensions you’d like. This would be a good time to crop out the phone number of that person you were chatting with at the convention.

Now press the Select button. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be given the option of what you would like to do with scan. Hit the Transfer button, which will take you to another screen, where you’ll have your choice of whether to send it to your iPhone’s Camera Roll for later retrieval or Send to Email. If your Camera Roll is filled with half of the -- let’s say, questionable -- material that mine is, then I’d opt for the latter. 

If you choose the Send by Email option, you’ll be brought to another screen, where you can select contacts from your Address book to which you want to send a copy of your receipt. I found it to be a good practice to email yourself with any pertinent info or notes about the receipt while the details are still relatively fresh in your mind. Download GeniusScan today and wow your co-workers at the water cooler Monday morning.

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

More Mobile Devices Articles
More By Thelonius Funk

blog comments powered by Disqus