Like me you’ve probably got an extensive collection of business cards tucked away in an old box or drawer, just waiting to be put into some kind of order – should you ever find the time.

Alternatively, you may be one of those people who files cards away carefully in a folder but, even then, baulk at having to go through them all to find a single contact.

Cardscan addresses this problem, courtesy of a tiny USB scanner and intelligent recognition software that, in seconds, can turn a piece of card into valuable business data.

The scanner is simplicity itself, with no controls to speak of, just an illuminated arrow showing where to insert the cards to be scanned. It doesn’t even have a power supply, drawing all the power it needs from the PC via its USB connection.

As with most USB devices the Cardscan software needs to be installed first, after which the scanner is configured like any other using the wizard provided by Microsoft in Windows. You can then start scanning. And it is really quick – about two to three seconds for the average-sized card.

Also, it doesn’t matter whether the cards are black and white or colour, or what they’re printed on. In our tests we tried all sorts, even oddly shaped and thick plastic cards. It coped with most examples, only complaining when we tried some mini CD-Rom cards, although we even had some success with those.

It also doesn’t matter much how the information is arranged. The software is able to work it all out, identifying names, addresses and telephone numbers with startling accuracy. Of course, you can also edit the data manually, plus you get to keep the scanned image, along with any notes you may have scribbled on the card.

The Cardscan software will open as soon as you start to scan a card. You can also scan and process batches of cards in up to five different languages and automatically categorise the results. The latest Cardscan 8 program is a self-contained contact management application that can be used to organise all sorts of data beyond what’s scanned in from business cards.

For example, we were able to drag and drop information from other applications and websites into Cardscan, then use that information to address emails, make phone calls and print labels. It is also possible to export data to an Outlook contacts folders and an ACT database and use a business card to sign an outgoing message. Support for Lotus Notes and Goldmine is also available in the Cardscan Executive implementation we tried.

Synchronisation of contact information with Windows and Palm-based handhelds and smart phones is another useful option. Plus there’s an even smaller monochrome scanner available Cardscan Personal (£118 ex Vat) designed with mobile users in mind, and a Cardscan Team (£288 ex Vat) implementation, which adds extra workgroup sharing, export, and management tools.

Lastly, all versions come with a free subscription to ‘Cardscan at your service’, an online storage facility that can be used to back up contact data files and access contact information online, via a browser.

We found it all incredibly useful. Small it may be, but it works well and can unlock all the business information held on those cards currently lurking at the back of your drawer.