How to keep track of bills and letters on your phone

The easiest way to keep track of bills and letters is to scan each one the day it arrives and set a reminder for the date it asks for. ScanMojo is free on iPhone and Android with no ads: it reads the dates printed on the page, suggests them, and when it's time, the reminder opens the letter at the page the date came from. Reminders are free for three at a time.

  1. 1

    Scan the letter when you open it

    Tap Scan and hold your phone over the page. A letter with several pages goes into one document, and ScanMojo names it from the text on the first page.

  2. 2

    Open it and choose Remind Me…

    Open the document and tap the ••• menu at the top right, then Remind Me…. Under "Dates in this document", ScanMojo lists the dates it read from the page, with the page number and the words around each one.

  3. 3

    Pick the date, or set your own

    Tap the date the letter asks for, like a payment due date or a reply-by date, or change Due to any day you like. The dates are read from the page, so check the one you pick against the letter.

  4. 4

    Say what to do and when to hear about it

    Under What to do, type a few words like "Pay", "Reply" or "Renew". Under Remind me, choose On the day, 1 day before, 3 days before or 1 week before, then tap Save.

  5. 5

    Open it from the notification

    The reminder arrives at 9 AM on the day you chose and opens the letter at the right page. If you picked an earlier day and haven't marked it done, a second one comes on the morning it's due. When it's handled, choose Mark as done.

A simple routine for the paper pile

Give incoming mail one spot, like a tray by the door, instead of the kitchen counter. Once a day or once a week, open everything in it. Anything that asks you to pay, reply, renew or show up by a date gets scanned and a reminder. Everything else gets filed or tossed.

Choose how much warning you need. A bill you pay online might only need a reminder the day before; a form that has to go back by mail, or a renewal you need to compare first, is worth a week's notice.

To see everything that's coming up, open Tools and then Reminders. It shows the reminders you've set and, under "Found in your documents", dates from your other scans that you can tap a bell on.

Find the letter later by a word on it

Every scan's text is recognized on your phone, so you don't need to remember what you called it. Search for the company's name, an account word or "renewal", and the letter comes up, whatever folder it's in.

Your scans stay on your phone unless you share them or turn on sync to your own iCloud Drive or Google Drive. The dates are read on the phone too, and there's no account to make.

What's free

Scanning, text recognition, search, PDF export and three reminders at a time are free, with no ads, no watermark and no scan limit. A reminder stops counting once its day has passed or you remove it. ScanMojo Pro adds as many reminders as you need, plus tools like Smaller PDF and Safe Copy.

Questions

Does ScanMojo set reminders by itself?

No. It suggests the dates it reads from the page, and you choose one, or a date of your own, and how far ahead to be reminded. Check the date against the letter before you rely on it.

How many reminders can I set for free?

Three at a time. When one's day passes or you remove it, you can set another. ScanMojo Pro has as many as you need.

What if I turned notifications off?

Your due date is still saved, but the reminder can't arrive. ScanMojo shows a note in the reminder screen with a button to turn notifications on.

Does it work on Android?

Yes. Remind Me…, the dates read from the page, the free three and the Reminders list work the same on Android and iPhone.

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