Frustration with client jpeg data files

[artp]

I have many clients that do not have access to stand alone scanners so they take a picture with their phone and I get a jpeg image that is almost unreadable mainly because the image is way too small. I could get a photoshop type software and try to get a workable image, but that is a lot of extra work.  Does anyone have a good alternative?

[Catherine]

Tell them to get an app like CamScanner (there are several out there) that use a phone to scan into pdf. I refuse to accept jpeg except for driver's licenses. No documents. At all. Ever.

[BulldogTom]

We recommend Genius Scan (free) app.   Only because that is the only app I know that is free that I have actually used.   It is OK.   Did I mention it is free?

I still get jpeg files and it sucks.

Tom
Longview, TX 

[Lion EA]

I use and recommend the free Scannable app. I try to convince my clients to use it. When they don't, I can use it to scan my monitor with their unreadable jpeg image so Scannable can clean it up.

Jason Staats soft-launched at $20 (it might be $40 now) ScanStraight:

New Launch

I soft-launched a new app over the weekend, ScanStraight. It's steeply discounted for the next week while it's in early access, but essentially converts terrible smartphone document pics into tidied-up scans. Imo this ought to be in the toolbelt of every firm admin.

https://scanstraight.com

 

[Margaret CPA in OH]

I also have refused jpegs, impossible to read.  In my cover letter and as reminders, I recommend Adobe Scan, free app for iPhone and Android.  I tried it out last fall before recommending.  It works really well.  On the occasion of an illegible jpeg appearing, I remind folks I cannot read it, get an app to scan or send me a copy.  The worst was a couple of years of items with heic extension from iPhones.  I was able to find some software to 'translate' it, sometimes, but decided to stop doing their work.  I do bill time but it was such a pita.

Good other suggestions here, I will make a list for next year to offer options.

[Randall]

I just received one and all it had was the bank name.  Nothing else.  No document the client was trying to send.

 

[Margaret CPA in OH]

I just downloaded ScanStaight.  Will give it a try.  Thanks, Lion.  It might save me more time and frustration than nagging clients to do it right the first time.  Not that I would nag clients...

[DBerg]

One app I like (that is for the Iphone and Android phones) is Microsoft Lens. I lets you take pictures, but you get to pick the type of the subject. Document, Whiteboard, Business Card or just a plane photo.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-lens-pdf-scanner/id975925059

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.officelens&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1

The Document option, will try and OCR the picture and you can take multiple pictures at once and then save them all in one PDF, Onenote, Onedrive, WORD or powerpoint on the phone. Or you can Email them straight to someone.

You can even edit the picture a little, by adding highlights, extra text and some other things (which I have never used)

[kathyc2]

Personally, I'd be leery of scanning software that's from an unknown company.  Who's to say they aren't capturing the info on the forms they are scanning?

[mcb39]

I just tell them that I have to have it as an attached PDF file.  They will usually  comply.  I refuse to accept screen shots.  It is on them to furnish me with the correct paperwork.

[GLJEANNE]

I have some like that.  I just tell them the document has to be lying flat, fill the frame, and to check that every bit of it is legible before uploading it.  I'll suggest some of these apps next year!

[TaxCPANY]

Since March 6 I've been broadcasting the following to ALL my clients, and those that try it love it -- as do I when getting scalable pix instead of JPGs in which it's impossible to differentiate 5 from 6 from 8 from 3 . . . !  I regret I don't recall in which publication I found this -- but at least I'm citing the author.

Using Google Drive app to scan important tax documents right from your phone
by Olivera Ojdanic
Tax Day is right around the corner, and if you haven’t filed yet, it’s time to quickly get all your documents in order.
The best way to save, store or upload your tax documents, especially if you have paper copies, is by digitizing them.
You don’t have a scanner?  Not a problem!  You can easily scan all your documents right from your smartphone. Here’s how.
Scanning tax documents from your iPhone or iPad
There are a few ways to digitize your tax documents from an iPhone or iPad.  The simplest way is to simply open your camera app and take photos of each document.  Make sure you place your documents on a well-lit, flat surface and snap a picture of each one.  This method will be a bit time consuming, since the files will be stored as images (not PDFs) and you will need to manually crop and organize each one.
However, our preferred method is using the Files app, which will automatically recognize, scan and crop your documents and help you organize them for easy sharing at a later date.  Here’s how to get started:
        Open the Files app on your iPhone or iPad
        Tap the Browse tab (likely in the bottom corner)
        Tap the three dots in the top right corner and choose Scan Documents
        Position your document on a well-lit flat surface and hover your phone’s camera over the document.  The app should automatically recognize and scan it.  The file will be placed in your scanned documents
        Continue scanning documents until you are done.  Click Save.
        Choose the folder you would like to save your documents in, or click the three dots at the top of your screen to create a new folder.  Click Save to save your documents.
Scanning tax documents from your Android device
Scanning documents on Android devices can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.  Some models have a built-in scanning function in the Camera app, while others do not.  However, you will likely use Google Drive on your Android to store your documents, photos and other important information, so here’s how to use Google Drive to scan your tax documents, which should work across all Android models.
    Open the Google Drive app.  (If you don’t have Google Drive installed on your device, download and install it from Google Play here.)
    Tap the “+” button, then tap Scan.
    Position your document on a well-lit flat surface and hover your phone’s camera over the document, then tap the shutter button.  You can now edit, crop or rotate the image.
    To add more documents, tap the + button.
    When you’re finished scanning, click Save.  Now give your document a name and organize your files in Google Drive.

[JJStephens]

What I love about phone camera pics is that on about half of them the right quarter of the page (the side with all the numbers) is cut off. And then, the icing on the cake: "I sent you a picture. Can't you just enlarge it?" Somehow, they just don't get that enlarging the pic doesn't magically add the stuff off to the side. Eye roll.

[Catherine]

40 minutes ago, JJStephens said:

they just don't get that enlarging the pic doesn't magically add the stuff

Before I put my foot down about "no jpegs allowed" I had one client fuss at me about how it was too much trouble to scan - just blow up the picture sent. So I blew up the picture, took a screenshot of the pixelated nonsense, and sent it to the client asking them to tell me what the numbers were. I got scans later that day.

[Abby Normal]

3 hours ago, kathyc2 said:

Personally, I'd be leery of scanning software that's from an unknown company.  Who's to say they aren't capturing the info on the forms they are scanning?

I'm just as leery of the known companies.

[Abby Normal]

I don't get a lot of photos of documents but almost all of the time, the photos are good enough. Sometimes they're too big, but I have batch resize tools. I can also select a bunch of jpegs, and combine/convert them into one PDF.

I guess my clients are good at taking photos, and don't use iPhones. Apple is famous for resizing your photos and videos to save themselves on data transmission costs. We get postage stamp sized videos from one family of their kids because they all use iPhones.

[artp]

Bulldog Tom,

Thanks for your suggestion.  I just tried Genius Scan and it looks good.

[artp]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions...much appreciated

[Lion EA]

I have a couple clients who text me pics. Even if the pic is readable, I have to figure out how to save it, usually email it to myself and then save in the client's file on my computer. Time wasted on an extra step or two. Usually the pics are NOT readable. Even the email attachments, if not .pdfs, are odd, such as just one quarter of the page. "But I sent it to you."

ScanStraight is a creation of Jason Staats who's a tax preparer. I haven't tried it out, but I did download it at his opening discount price. Jason's heavy into AI. I think ScanStraight's strength is that if you get a bunch of pics from a client, you can "fix" them all at once. I think you move them all into one folder in ScanStraight and then process the whole folder.

Scannable is by Evernote so if you use Evernote (which I don't) it's there for you. Save to Evernote or camera roll. Send via email or Share by all the usuals: Message, Mail, Notes, Copy, HP ePrint, Files, Open in..., or your favorite printer app. It's great at cleaning up photos, turns those gray backgrounds white, smooths out folds and creases, makes "stretched" areas readable, finds the document when you're the photographer. I think I said I've used it to take a photo of the messy attachment on my monitor to get something readable and worth saving without having to print to paper. Scannable's a one-at-time thing, where ScanStraight will do one or batches at a time.

Hubby teaches piano and has a lawyer student who travels a lot and uses Scannable to send and receive documents when on the road. Hubby downloaded it (it's FREE) and uses it to send music back and forth to his students. It was very handy while he taught remotely during the thick of Covid, but even now he has kids that forget their music or need something new right this minute. He told me about Scannable, so I use it and try to get my clients to use it.

The newer iPhones (mine is an old iPhone 6+ or something) do a good job without an app.  

[GLGACCT]

I email the jpeg file to myself and open Kofax Standard PDF.  You can just drag the jpeg file from the email to Kofax and it will automatically convert the image to a PDF.  Usually works, just a few extra steps.

 

 

[Abby Normal]

3 hours ago, GLGACCT said:

I email the jpeg file to myself and open Kofax Standard PDF.  You can just drag the jpeg file from the email to Kofax and it will automatically convert the image to a PDF.  Usually works, just a few extra steps.

You delete both the sent email and the received email so the jpeg isn't sitting on some server out there forever.

If you get a Google voice number, the text will go right to your computer with no need to email it to yourself.

[Lee B]

I just checked my deleted email, goes back 90 days.

[Slippery Pencil]

On 4/13/2023 at 5:57 PM, Abby Normal said:

You delete both the sent email and the received email so the jpeg isn't sitting on some server out there forever.

Deleting an email doesn't necessarily remove it from the server. 

[Catherine]

18 hours ago, Slippery Pencil said:

Deleting an email doesn't necessarily remove it from the server. 

You do what you have control over.

[Slippery Pencil]

3 hours ago, Catherine said:

You do what you have control over.

Which is why you never email sensitive client data.