By Mike Goodman
I’m confident in my ability to sell delicious snacks. Before the pandemic, I was an unhappy line cook working at a chain restaurant in a big city. When things closed down, I was honestly relieved to take a break from the sweaty kitchen and monotony. And, after taking some time to reflect on the world and what was going down, I started to get my energy back and decided to revisit my passion.
As it turns out, exploring your passion comes with some chaos. But as they say, there’s an app for that — and the one that made a world of difference for me, believe it or not, is a $40 scanning app for iPhone and iPad.
Managing success without an app
When I originally became a line cook, I was very passionate about food. I went to culinary school when I was younger, and I hoped to open my own spot one day. Unemployed and bored, I decided to finally start a mobile sandwich and coffee cart.
I found a deal on a high-end, bicycle-powered coffee stand with an included refrigerator that I could use to store some eats. I looked up all the necessary COVID-19 protocols to follow. And I made a plan for how much I would need to earn to pay my financing bills on the coffee stand, cover the cost of materials and food, and make a profit. When I eventually got out there, business picked up faster than I ever expected and things quickly got complicated.
As the sales started coming in and the money started to flow, I got swamped. I quickly became overwhelmed with everything I needed to keep track of. It wasn’t until a few weeks into it that a friend pointed out that I needed to be saving my taxes on my own as an independent business. I would write down a day’s earnings on a piece of paper, then lose it by the next morning. Any records of my business were scattered, hard to read, and unorganized. This became a real problem when city officials came after me to get a proper permit for my street sales.
There was a lot to figure out, and I had a hard time with the administrative side of things. That same friend who gave me the tax tip was also kind enough to let me know about a tool she’d been using with great success. The iOS version of the iScanner app saved my small business.
How iScanner helped me get organized
iScanner does what it sounds like it does: It scans all types of documents, including receipts, notes, ID cards, pages from recipe books, bags of coffee from the store, and so on. More than that, it helps me stay organized. Before I knew it, this simple app became the hub for all of my crisscrossing business content.
iScanner uses artificial intelligence to make high-resolution scans. Before paying for it, I tried a couple of free scanning apps from the App Store. The price was right, but the quality of the images simply didn’t compare to the ones iScanner captured. The crystal-clear images make all the difference when I go back to decipher my handwritten records of sales, purchases, shopping lists and so on.
Once I was able to get everything into one place with iScanner, it was easier to focus on the day-to-day tasks and creative efforts of working in food service. With sales logs, receipt tracking and expense tracking under control, I felt comfortable exploring the app further, and it changed my business even more.
I learned how to scan multipage PDFs, like the license I got from the city, and even solve math equations, which helped me figure out prices and discounts on some large orders. iScanner’s QR code feature has gone a long way in making shopping and sales run more smoothly as well.
iScanner is popular … and on sale
After sharing my love for iScanner with friends, I learned that many of them use it, too. I have an accountant friend who uses it to fax documents, share notes on tax returns with clients, and more. It’s also earned a ton of rave reviews and is rated 4.8 out of 5 stars on the App Store.
It seems wild to be so grateful to a scanner, especially with how laser-focused I was on my sandwiches and coffee to start. I still love making the most delicious drinks and food possible. But it’s honestly easier to do that without the stress of having my administrative projects all over the place.
Right now, iScanner is on sale. You can get a lifetime subscription for just $39.99. (That’s 79% off the regular price of $199.)
Buy from: Cult of Mac Deals
Prices subject to change.
