Having the luxury of being in my home office nightly to invoice and scan all of my BOLs, PODs, and invoices, I often take it for granted. The truck sleeper can be a tight situation to try and set up an office in, but there is hope to reduce the size needed for scanning purposes. I remember back before the smartphone and tablets of today, truck stop scanners were relied on heavily for instant transmission of BOLs for payment, when drop box delivery was just not fast enough. We have come a long way in a short period of time and now you may actually be able to do the scanning, invoicing, and sending documents for payment, without ever leaving the comfort of your truck! Not only does this eliminate trying to find a scanner at a truck stop, but it soon may be possible to do everything without a traditional scanner altogether!
By reading this far in, you can probably guess that I am reporting a new app to do away with bulky scanners. The need came from me wanting to submit payment documents while experiencing idle time at shippers and receivers, to better utilize the sit time that I had no control over, all while creating less “home office” time when at home and parked for the day. I was turned onto an app called “TurboScan” by a vendor that uses it exclusively for POD submission and creating PDF scans. Earning 
rave reviews for its innovation and user friendly design, it seems very easy to use thus far and has become a favorite tool of mine, virtually eliminating my need for using my traditional office scanner. It can convert several file formats from your email, photo library, or even camera into PDF or JPEG formats for export. It allows you to then save the converted files right on your phone or export them via email, send in a text, save to the cloud, or send them to a printer.
In my opinion, this app has saved me multiple trips back and forth to the flatbed scanner on my all-in-one office printer, as well as eliminated the moments of frustration when I would almost be through a stack of scans and it would jam on the last page only to make me start over again. More importantly than that, it has allowed me to not have to wait until I get home to submit payment documents, in turn allowing me to free up more time to spend with my family. Another great part about TurboScan is its price tag of only $3.99. When I think of how much extra I spent to have a nice all-in-one printer versus just a standard printer, the $3.99 I spent on TurboScan makes me feel as though I am taking advantage of the app developer! This app is worth far more than that, with its ability to turn your smartphone into such a powerful tool. When used in conjunction with my PDF editing app that allows me to edit, type in, highlight, or sign PDF scans, I can virtually complete all of my home office computer functions right on my smartphone from the comfort of my cab. In my opinion, a trucker should never be without this scanning app for saving things such as BOLs, PODs, fuel receipts, and other expense receipts. This is one tool I am glad to have added to my “business toolbox” arsenal!