Since we're in the early stages of tax season and I'm pretty sure that all of us are scrambling through old files, receipts and papers, I thought that it would be helpful to share some information on a Mac application that I came across.

If being eco-conscious and getting organized were on your New Year's list of resolutions for 2010, then Mariner Software's Paperless product is just for you. Paperless is a program that uses OCR (optical character recognition) technology to translate scanned receipts, warranties, manuals, documents and other important paper-based items into an electronic library.

Once you've scanned in your items, Paperless allows you to enter customized and detailed information that can be used to create unique reports, export receipt images for tax purposes, access product manuals or reference important legal documents in the event of an unforeseen disaster. Not only is Paperless extremely multi-functional, but it's exceptionally easy to use.

Paperless recommends using a TWAIN compliant scanner to ensure that functionality of its installed drivers matches up to the capabilities of Paperless. According to Paperless, Fujitsu and Pentax have the best drivers on the market. I will say that I'm using this program with an HP 6210 All-in-One and it's been great. No problems to report at all.

Using Paperless has gotten me used to requesting electronic versions of receipts for purchases that I've made. It's much easier to use the drag-and-drop feature instead of manually scanning receipts in. After my receipts are entered, I organize them using the Paperless Collection feature. What's nice about this is that I have the option to assign my receipts to category names of my choosing and then viewing them in collections based on the category.

The Smart Collection feature makes it simple to organize and view receipts by category.
For instance, any office-related purchase falls into the category of 'office supplies'. Next, I create a 'smart collection' that automatically filters my receipts looking for that category and voila! - I'm able to see all my office supply receipts in one easy place. Although Paperless contains a report option, in my opinion, it's one of the weaker features. Users are limited by drop-down boxes and pre-installed search parameters that make it difficult, if not impossible, to produce reports that evaluate accounting-level details. It would be nice if a set of pre-installed report templates were available to select. If Mariner is listening, I hope you might be able to add in your next upgrade.

Lastly, Paperless is marketed at a fair price point based on the applications functions, features and capabilities. Coming in just under $50 ain't too shabby. If you're still not quite sure about the program, do a trial-run before you purchase. If anyone has discovered other Mac products or solutions for organizing receipts and finances please feel free to share.