Hey guys!
I still receive a lot of business cards and I would like to organise them in a way that they are easily found!
How do you keep track of business cards, contact information and other small pieces of information that needs to be easily found? Do you use an app or any other system?
Regards,
David
Cardhop is the contacts system that is generally recommended, flecibits that makes it is a great company, and I can recommend it though not using it myself.
All my small bits of info generally end up in google keep or for specific projects in a scrivener file
Would you care to elaborate on a sci nerd file? Not familiar with that 
I did look at Cardhop, glad to hear it’s recommended!
Opps, there was an autocorrect issue there, I have corrected the post to scrivener
I’m adding Farley file type info on people to their entry in the standard Contacts app.
Misc small bits of useful or interesting stuff go into DEVONThink.
I get a lot of business cards too. I scan them ASAP using the iPhone camera. I’m currently playing with Google Photos for the scanning, previously used Evernote for years and found it was great.
Once scanned, I tear up the business cards and throw them away immediately.
Same for business receipts. Scan using the iPhone camera, tear them up, throw the paper receipts out right away, store the scans in an Apple Notes folder until I get a chance to do expense reports.
Where do you store the business cards then? Also in apple notes?
This is one of the things that I still use Evernote for. I have a dedicated Notebook for scanned business cards. I either scan from my phone, or put the card through my desktop scanner. The “text in photo” search in Evernote means I can always find it again.
And yeah, I throw away the paper ASAP.
Lisa
Until very recently, scans of the cards went in Evernote. Now I’m trying out a system where I just delete the scans after saving the relevant contact info to my contacts app.
I can see where this year I may finally join the 21st Century and stop using business cards entirely.
I’m stunned. I haven’t handed out a business card in about 10 years. The only person who has given me one in that time is a friend of mine who had some rather fancy ones made.
I haven’t even seen one handed out for the past eight or nine years.
Don’t people just exchange e-mail addresses and get the details off mail signatures or connect of LinkedIn, Xing, etc.
I mean obviously not, but shouldn’t we be actively seeking other ways to exchange connection details with people that’s beyond handing over a scrap of paper to be lost, snapped & banned, etc.
If you work in the business, corporate, legal, or financial worlds, exchanging business cards is still practiced. It’s an entire ritual at many meetings. In fact, I just got a box of new cards today! 
As for the information, I’m using the stock Contacts apps on both macOS and iOS. I’ve tried a few alternatives (BusyContacts, Full Contact, and Cardhop), but I keep using the stock apps. Whatever I use, it has to sync with Exchange because I have to use a PC at work.
Not sure why Contacts management is so hard on a computer, though. Between duplicate entries and stuff not syncing over in the right format, its harder than it needs to be.
I agree it happens in some industries in probably the majority of the world, but it just seems archaic doesn’t it? My point was that rather than trying to find ways to accept business card data more efficiently would it not make sense to find more efficient ways to share that data?
I work for a reasonable sized European consultancy business. I also used to work for a very large financial company in the UK. I meet wth clients (mainly from the UK, but some globally) in my current position and in the last 8 years none of them have offered me a business card and I have never seen anyone else exchange cards either.
I have an entire box of business cards on my desk that have never been opened … I actively tried not to get given them.
I use FullContact.com. iOS app scans in both sides and human enters the data.
Side benefit is that service syncs my Apple iCloud contacts to my G-Suite contacts and my wife’s Gmail contacts.
Cost for individuals is 1) free account (10 business card scans and one sync account) or 2) $99.99/year for lots more).
Well I generally hand out something like 150-200 cards a year. Ours have contact info on the front with our farm logo and a picture of our black sheep on the back. I can’t imagine going without them.
I’ve had great success with Full Contact’s handling of business cards! 
I was thinking of having some made for my business. I would say that the value comes from time shifting the exchange of details.
For me I am likely to mention my website right at the start of a conversation, and thus if it becomes a longer conversation, the card becomes this nice callback.
I agree that a better way would be to change the communications channel, but I feel that there is a need to cater to the lowest common denominator, and thus a slip of paper is good because it is compatible with everyone’s system.
I don’t think there is value in having boxes of thousands lying around, but a few can be useful
Reminds me I need to reorder some. I use a lot, it’s expected.
How do I deal with the ones I get: I just throw them away. Never had any issue getting the contact data (Google call reception) for anyone. Easier than wrangling them into a system.
The only ones I keep (+scan): the very, very rare ones that include the private number of people otherwise only accessible through a bureaucracy maze.
Not sure where you are or what you do in your company, but all my European colleagues share cards (mostly senior law partners and C-level executives). In fact, they take great pride in the look and feel of their cards. And the Asians take it to another level (two-handed presentation, etc.). So no, it’s not archaic, it’s more tradition than anything else. Look, the corporate world doesn’t change very fast, so my guess is that handing out business cards is going to remain an expected and accepted practice for a while.
Now, that said, iOS does give you the ability to share your contact card via AirDrop or Message. (My Card, Share Contact). I remember about 10 years ago, the “new” practice of sharing business cards was to AirDrop them to each other during networking events or meetings. I’m not sure what happened to that, but I’ve never seen it done.
One App I used for a while was Interact Scratchpad by Agile Tortise. It made contacts out of plain text from email sigs, etc. Sadly, its not available anymore.
Good news! Interact Scratchpad is still around. I use it often.