Shoeboxed Receipt Tracking Survey Results & ScanSnap Winner

In March 2023, we conducted a joint survey + giveaway with ScanSnap to gain insights into our users’ scanning and expense tracking methods. 

Once the results were in, one survey respondent was randomly selected as the lucky winner of a ScanSnap iX1300 scanner!

Aside from hosting this great giveaway with the fantastic ScanSnap team (one of the top document scanners for small businesses), we were able to drill down on the significant time savings Shoeboxed users gain (an average of 9.2 hours per week back in your pocket!) by using Shoeboxed’s service. 

Keep reading to learn more about who participated and how the survey went!

How many Shoeboxed users participated?

A total of 319 Shoeboxed users responded to our survey. 

Survey Question 1. Do you currently use a document scanner?

ScanSnap wanted to know which of our users use a document scanner frequently. 

Participants had the choice between “yes” and “no” for this question.

Out of the 319 respondents, here were the answers:

• Yes – 161 (50.5%)

• No – 158 (49.5%)

The answers were quite evenly matched here!

Survey Question 2. If you answered “Yes,” which brand scanner do you use?

Of the 161 respondents who use a document scanner, the following answers show the types of scanners in use: 

1. HP all-in-one scanner – 19.25%

2. ScanSnap – 18.63%

3. Epson – 11.8%

4. Canon – 9.94%

5. Brother – 9.32%

6. Phone (app) – 8.7%

7. Fujitsu – 6.83%

8. Neat – 3.73%

9. Raven – 1.86%

10. Other – 10.56%

This question helped ScanSnap determine how many Shoeboxed users opt for ScanSnap products.

Survey Question 3. What accounting software do you use?

Giveaway participants were given 6 selectable accounting tools answers for survey Question 3: QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero, Freshbooks, Wave, None, or Other. 

Here’s what Shoeboxed users had to say:

• QuickBooks Online – 25%

• QuickBooks Desktop – 11.6%

• Wave – 6.3%

• Xero – 2.8%

• Freshbooks – 1.6%

• None – 40.4%

• Other – 12.2%

The users who selected “other” accounting software used the following programs/software: Quicken, Tiller HQ, Banktivity, Excel, Zoho Books, Monarch Money, Giggybank, Salesforce, MS, AI-Ameen Accounting Program, M3, Simple Practice, MYOB, TAM Applied, etc.

Note: The users that chose “Other” often used more than one accounting software.

Survey Question 4. Do you use Shoeboxed for Business or Personal use?

Going back to the basics, Question 4 had the possibility of one of two answers: Business or Personal.

This survey question focused on whether users primarily use Shoeboxed’s services for personal or business expense purposes. 

Here’s what our users said:

• Business – 152 (47.6%)

• Personal – 167 (52.4%)

Including this question allowed us to understand further who our users are to serve our Shoeboxed community better.

Survey Question 5. How much time did you spend per week on expense tracking before signing up for Shoeboxed?

We included this question in our survey because we wanted to know approximately how long expense tracking took our users per week before they came to Shoeboxed.

Here’s a summary of the answers we received:

• Under an hour (per week) – 9.72%

• 1–1.5 hours (per week) – 14.11%

• 2–2.5 hours (per week) – 15.05%

• 3 hours (per week) – 7.84%

• 4 hours (per week) – 5.64%

• 5 hours (per week) – 11.29%

• 6 hours (per week) – 1.25%

• 7 hours (per week) – 1.57%

• 8 hours (per week) – 1.25%

• 10+ hours (per week) – 7.52%

• 20+ hours (per week) – 2.51%

• 30+ hours (per week) –  1.25%

• 50 to 1000 hours (per week) – 1.25%

• Unsure/did not provide a valid response – 12.23%

• “Way too many” (or some variation of this response) – 6.90%

We were amazed at some of our users’ answers. Old-school expense tracking is time-consuming!

The 3 most common timeframes for expense tracking before switching to Shoeboxed:

• 2–2.5 hours (per week) – 15.05%

• 1–1.5 hours (per week) – 14.11%

• 5 hours (per week) – 11.29%

* Answers occasionally included a range of hours rather than a single answer. If respondents gave us a range of numbers, we selected the middle of the range when tallying our totals.

Survey Question 6. How much time do you currently spend using Shoeboxed to track expenses?

To follow up on the previous question, we wanted to determine how much time users saved after switching to Shoeboxed.

Here are the responses we received:

• 0–5 minutes (per week) – 18.22%

• 10–15 minutes (per week) – 6.98%

• 20–30 mins (per week) 14.73%

• 40–50 mins (per week) 1.94%

• 1+ hours (per week) – 26.36%

• 2+ hours (per week) – 8.14%

• 3+ hours (per week) – 4.65%

• 4+ hours (per week) – 1.94%

• 5–10 hours (per week) – 7.75%

• 20 hours 1.55%

• 30–100 hours 1.55%

• “Very little” or “much less than before” (or some variation of this response) – 6.20%

Respondents who were unsure or did not provide valid responses were not included in the totals listed above. 

The 3 most common timeframes for expense tracking after switching to Shoeboxed:

• 1+ hours (per week) – 26.36%

• 0–5 minutes (per week) – 18.22%

• 20–30 mins (per week) 14.73%

Receipt tracking software saves up to 9.2 work hours per week!

Accumulated survey data from survey questions revealed an approximate average of 12 hours spent on expense tracking per week before switching to Shoeboxed’s receipt scanning service. 

After switching to Shoeboxed, the average hours spent on expense tracking fell to 2.8 hours per week, showing a decrease of 9.2 hours spent on manual data entry!

Granted, the extreme ends of the survey replies are causing the average here to be skewed upwards—as one individual reported 1,000 hours spent on expense tracking per week! 

So we looked at our largest cohort of respondents and analyzed what they saw in terms of time savings. 

We found that 32% of them cut their expense tracking time to 1 hour, and a whopping 56% of respondents who spent 2 to 2.5 hours per week (the largest cohort of replies from Question 6) reduced their expense tracking time to 0 to 30 minutes per week. 

Meanwhile, on the extreme end of the survey, one respondent (business plan) who was previously spending 300 hours per week tracking expenses—reduced their expense tracking time by 80% after switching to Shoeboxed!

This is awesome news for those who track expenses for work or in their daily life! If you aren’t a Shoeboxed user yet, check us out :) 

If you’re already a Shoeboxed fan, check out our referral program and earn some cash by sharing your unique referral link!

Announcing the winner! 

After the survey closed, a Shoeboxed user was selected as the winner of a free ScanSnap scanner.

Drumroll, please… 

CONGRATULATIONS to Jose N. (and the team at Affordable Tax Prep)!

Thank you for taking the time to fill out our survey, and we hope you enjoy your new scanner!

We appreciate everyone who completed our survey and sincerely thank you for your participation and for being a Shoeboxed user! 

Shoeboxed is a great way to keep track of your expenses, organize your receipts, and prepare for tax time and tax audits.

Try Shoeboxed today!