Frequently Asked Questions

What DOESN'T this program do?

BankScan is not a case management tool and it is not an analytical platform. Its sole job is to get your bank data into a usable form like a spreadsheet. What you do with it after that is up to you. This program was developed based on the needs of hundreds of forensic accountants in the federal system, they did not need a program to generate fancy graphs and charts. It is the workhorse for data extraction, for analysis all kinds of tools are available like Excel, Analysist Notebook, MS Access, Palantir, and in house developed tools. We do not claim nor desire to be the "experts" in forensic accounting/investigation. However if there is some function/feature that you just can't find in another tool we always welcome feedback and customizations are always possible.

This program also does not assume that its users are computer illiterate or dumb. There are other toy solutions out there that try to reduce this function to a few mouse clicks. If all bank records were pristine documents spit straight out of the mainframe that might work, but we all know the often crummy documents we have to contend with and this is where the program really proves its worth. BankScan does have a learning curve but the support is there to help you - use it!

Can you guarantee 100% accuracy in the extracted data?

Nope, and beware of anyone who plasters that on their website. To do that you would need a team of people to go through every transaction extracted and compare them to your actual statements. Imagine the cost and time to do that! What we can do is report if calculated ending balances match to what the statements report.

What are the system requirements for BankScan?

1. OmniPage Standard (v18.0) or Ultimate (v19.X), Ultimate is recommended but Standard is cheaper. If using v18 or v19.2 make sure to install the provided patches.
2. High resolution monitor (two are strongly recommended so that you can have both statement PDF and BankScan open on different screens)
3. Windows 7 or greater OS running on Intel i5 or greater class processor 2+ GHz speed, 8+ GB RAM
4. A good quality scanner like Fujitsu fi-7160 (if you don't have a scanner).

Do I have to use OmniPage as the OCR program? Why can't I use the software that came with my scanner?

After many years of doing this we have found that OmniPage offers the best OCR accuracy and formatting preservation. The accuracy of the OCR process will largely determine the speed with which BankScan can produce a fully balance checked output file. Other commercial programs we have looked at like Abbyy FineReader just don't come close, and don't waste your time with "free" OCR solutions. As such BankScan has been optimized to work with the kind of .txt files that OmniPage produces. Note that OCR is not integrated into BankScan, this allows you to fully use all of the features of OmniPage to produce the best possible text files. Also, keeping OmniPage and BankScan as separate programs allows you to use OmniPage for other OCR uses. A standard version of OmniPage will cost you less than 149 bucks. We are not paid by Nuance, if a better OCR comes along we would recommend that one.

How do I procure the program and purchase a license?

First create an account on the web-site. After it is enabled you can log in and go to the Download tab. There is an installation video to guide you through the process. If you are just evaluating the program you do not need to purchase a license. Otherwise use the online store to purchase either credits for the pay-per-transaction license or an annual subscription. OmniPage can be obtained as a two week free trial from Nuance/Kofax, to purchase it shop around to find the lowest price. Do not ever pay the full $499 retail price on the Nuance/Kofax web-site!

Once I've installed BankScan how do I use the program?

From least expensive to the most, there is extensive help documentation, a growing base of on-line training videos, web-based classroom training, and finally on-site training. We advise starting out with clean, simpler statements until you are familiar with the OmniPage/BankScan process.

Can BankScan be deployed as an enterprise application?

Yes, for a large deployment is makes sense to have one central template library rather than many local copies on individual machines. The base program can be installed on separate machines, then a small configuration file is set to point to the template library using a shared network folder path or DNS alias.

How do I keep BankScan up to date?

The BankScan template library is constantly being added to as new templates are requested by users, and old templates are always being improved. The fastest way to keep up with changes is to have an internet connection so that you can perform a "Check for Updates" in the BankScan program.

We have a closed network with no external internet connection. How do I keep up to date?

You would need to install BankScan on a separate internet connected machine that is only used for downloading updates. BankScan can create a zipped updates file that you can burn to a CD and use to update your isolated machines.

For Pay-Per-Transaction licensing, how do I unlock my output if there is no internet connection?

In BankScan you can generate a unique token when you want to unlock your output. Log into your account on an internet computer and use the token to redeem credits. You will receive an unlock code to input back into BankScan.

How many banks are in the BankScan library?

There are hundreds of banks in the library and this number changes contantly. New banks and statement formats are added almost as soon as a sample is submitted to the template request tab.

The financial data I work with is sensitive in nature, how do I provide samples for you to create new templates with?

If you want a new template a sample of your statement format will have to be provided; there is no way to avoid it unless you want to pay for someone to come to your site and create it there. You can easily redact personally identifiable information in OmniPage when you are creating the PDF and text files from your statements. Samples submitted to the website are encrypted in transit and stored as encrypted files on the server. Files are deleted from the server once a template is made. Note that an image exemplar from the sample must be made for the library, but it will be redacted to the requestor's satisfaction.

Tell me more about data security.

BankScan does not transmit any customer specific information to the BankScan web-site, except in the case of Pay-Per-Transaction licensing when account credits need to be updated. BankScan is NOT a "cloud" based application. Processed financial data will NEVER leave your site, unless a user volunteers it in order to obtain support. Any data sent by a user for support reasons is stored on an encrypted hard drive that requires a physical presence to unlock. Samples submitted for creating templates are also stored as encrypted files.

How long will it take to fulfill a template request?

It depends on the complexity and quality of the of the statement sample. A simple but poor quality sample will take longer to clear all of the OCR errors (which we have to do to verify that the template captures every transaction) than a more complicated but accurately OCR'd one. Normally a new template can be added to the library within one business day.

Can BankScan read in check and deposit items?

Yes, this can be done with a separately licensed feature called FileScan, and as long as the checks can be OCR'd with reasonable accuracy. Templates can be created to read the check number, date, amount, payee, and memo. This information can then be merged with the rest of your statement data, including links to the original check images.