How to Scan Business Cards to Excel

To scan business cards to Excel, capture each card, review its contact fields, and export the saved cards as CSV. Then import the CSV file into Excel. Folocard supplies the CSV export; Excel controls the spreadsheet import.

How do I export business cards to CSV?

1. Scan each business card in Folocard.
2. Review the name, email address, phone number, and company against the card.
3. Open Settings.
4. In Data, select Export all to CSV.
5. Select a destination in the system share sheet.
6. Check that the destination contains the CSV file before you continue.

The export includes all saved cards, rather than a selected subset. Keep the file private because it contains contact details.

How do I import the CSV file into Excel?

These steps use desktop Excel with Power Query. Menu names can be different in other Excel versions.

1. Open a blank workbook in Excel.
2. Select Data > From Text/CSV.
3. Select the exported CSV file.
4. Set the delimiter to Comma in the preview.
5. Select Transform Data to check the columns before import.
6. Set each phone-number column to the Text data type before you load the data.
7. If Excel shows a Change Column Type dialog, select Replace Current.
8. Select Close & Load to place the table in the workbook.
9. Save a working copy as an Excel workbook (.xlsx).

Microsoft gives the import steps in Import or export text files. Its Power Query guide gives information about data types. See Keeping leading zeros and large numbers for the Text and Replace Current steps.

Why must phone numbers stay as text?

A phone number is an identifier, not a quantity. Text format keeps initial zeros and international dialing codes. Check a known number against its source card after import.

Folocard adds an apostrophe before values that start with certain spreadsheet formula characters, including a plus sign. This prevents formula execution in the spreadsheet. Keep the original CSV as your reference.

Which contact fields does the CSV contain?

The file includes name, title, company, email, phone, website, address, and notes columns. Some columns can be empty. Review names and addresses because automatic field separation can be incomplete.

The CSV contains contact data. It is not a template for business card printing. It does not automatically update Excel or a CRM.

Can I scan a stack of business cards?

Use batch mode for a stack of cards. Review the saved contacts before export. For one contact, a vCard (.vcf) can be more suitable than a spreadsheet.

See the current Folocard features and privacy policy before you select your workflow.