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Going paperless

Scan, name and organize your papers at home, keep backups, and know which originals to keep on paper, so you can find any document without a filing cabinet.

All · 30Document scanning · 19PDF editing on iPhone · 10Signing PDFs on iPhone · 5Text recognition (OCR) · 5App comparisons · 6Going paperless · 8
An iPhone with a dark screen beside beige and red file folders and a white envelope on a light desk
Document scanning· 10 min read

How to scan medical records at home and keep them private

Lab results, discharge papers, vaccination cards and bills pile up in a folder you can never search. Here is how to scan medical records with your iPhone, name and file them, and when to ask your provider for the official copy instead.
A closed grey document box on a shelf beside grey binders and one red binder
Going paperless· 9 min read

How to store important documents at home and on your iPhone

Birth certificates, passports, deeds and insurance papers need a safe home and a copy you can find in a minute. Here is where to keep the originals, how to keep a digital copy on your iPhone, and a yearly routine that keeps both up to date.
An iPhone with a dark screen lying on a stack of crisp white paper on a light desk by a window, a thin cyan light line across the top sheet
PDF editing on iPhone· 10 min read

How to print to PDF on iPhone from Safari, Mail and more

A booking page, an email receipt, a note: your iPhone can turn any of them into a PDF from the Print screen, with no printer. The steps for each app, and how to check the file.
A short stack of printed pages, one sheet half turned over, beside an iPhone with a dark screen on a light desk
Document scanning· 10 min read

How to scan double-sided documents into one PDF, front and back in order

A lease or a tax form printed on both sides should arrive as one PDF in reading order. Here is the flip-as-you-go method on iPhone, plus what printers do.
An iPhone lying on a printed document on a light desk next to a window
PDF editing on iPhone· 10 min read

How to save a PDF on iPhone and find it again when you need it

A PDF that only lives in an email is gone the moment you lose signal. How to save it to the Files app from Mail, Safari, Messages or a scan, and find it again.
A paper receipt beside an iPhone with a dark screen on a light desk
App comparisons· 11 min read

The best receipt scanner app for iPhone, compared

Five receipt scanner apps for iPhone side by side: what each one reads from a receipt, where the files go, whether you need an account, and which job each one fits.
A few paper receipts, a red paper clip and an iPhone with a dark screen on a light warm-grey desk
Going paperless· 10 min read

How to scan receipts on iPhone, read the totals and stop losing them

Paper receipts fade, crumple and vanish right before the expense report is due. Here is how to scan them on your iPhone, pull out the shop, date and total, and file them so you find each one again at tax time.
Sorted piles of paper documents and envelopes on a table by a window, with an iPhone and an empty drawer
Going paperless· 8 min read

How to go paperless at home: a two-day plan for the paper drawer

A Saturday and a Sunday are enough to turn a drawer of bills, receipts and contracts into searchable PDFs on your iPhone, with a short list of originals you keep.