Shoeboxed

Shoeboxed is the assistant who won’t hate you as she’s filing that cash receipt where you spent $1K on bed linens. Shoeboxed is the assistant who will not judge you when she sees what you spend in groceries in one week. Shoeboxed is the assistant who will not repeat what she saw that you spent on underwear.

You’re a woman who is either managing her household finances, a woman who is working to create a business or you’re a woman like every other woman and have too much to to manage in your life. You need a personal assistant. Someone who can input that cash receipt; organize your financial data; and file paperwork so that you can get on to more important things.

But really, filing and inputting data makes assistants snappy too, because no one likes the job. It’s tedious. It doesn’t require much brain power and there is no immediate reward.

So, what do you do?

If you are a woman entrepreneur (whether you’re selling cupcakes or services), run – do not walk – to your nearest computer and visit Shoeboxed. The service has changed the way I do my filling and financial business. I am tapped into technology – I have iPads, iPhones, computers and scanners. If there is a piece of technology that I think will help me become a more efficient OCD, Type-A New Yorker with a husband and two children, I’m in.

But no matter how diligently I work to maintain my cash and credit card receipts, I fall behind; which means, come tax season, I lose out on deductions (which are mine to claim); I spend a week or two leading up to the tax deadline immersed in paperwork and stress; our accountant and bookkeeper grow to resent me; or I try a new system here or a new one there…to no avail.

Keeping track of my finances (especially credit and cash receipts) has whooped my Southern behind.

And then I read an article about Shoeboxed, a service which helps a user to organize and keep track of their cash and credit card receipts (as well as bills, contacts/business cards and other important documents).

Can I hear a Hallelujah?

When I first tried the service, I was most excited about the scanning software that I downloaded to the iPad. I envisioned myself quickly scanning a receipt while still in the cab, but that was a pipe dream. We have a five-year old and a two-year old and they tend to want to open that yellow door and bolt, which means my plans of on-site organization died during my first attempt.

I still use the scanner app and it’s great, but I have receipts – lots of receipts - and it wasn’t practical to scan the receipt in a shop or in a cab.

So, this is where the brilliance of the service comes in:

• Users can scan those receipts with that iPad app.

• Users can clip their receipt directly from their computer screen. I am the girl who makes about 90% of our household purchases online. So, I’ve just ordered those water shoes from Amazon. Instead of waiting for an e-mail receipt, I clip the receipt and it is directly uploaded to the service.

• Or users can meet and  fall in love with the blue envelope. It’s now a relationship for me. The blue envelope stays on our counter.  I come in, place my receipts for the day in the blue envelope and at the end of the week send it to the service. Shoeboxed takes those crumbled little receipts; scans them for me; recognizes the text with OCR technology; and, uploads the receipts to my account. There are no stamps. There are no worries. There is just me and my gal Friday, the blue envelope.

I log-in to my account. Look to see if there are receipts that need to be recategorized or categorized and then I get these pretty little reports, which speak to my OCD and I’m happy and I’m less stressed and I wonder, why in the hell did someone not tell me about this service sooner?

Honestly, this service has made life better for me. You may not be like me. You may not have receipts growing at such a pace that you throw them out just to gain peace of mind and space. But if you are a woman, with a business and a lack of cash flow for multiple assistants, I highly encourage you to take a peek. Promise.

The fees for the service is free (5-receipts per month, don’t even consider it) to $50.00 per month for the business plan/500 documents. I’m currently utilizing the Classic Plan at $29.95 per  month/150 documents. I have plans to upgrade soon.

Look, women need to be smart about their money and their time. And Shoeboxed is just smart.

Photography Credit: lisamurray via Photo Pin cc

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