Interview with Ng David - CTO and Co-Founder of FireAlert Limited - producer of Scan & Save app.

The Future Proof Hub is delighted to interview Ng David, the CTO and Co-Founder of FireAlert Limited the producer of the Scan & Save app - an innovative AI powered product that helps with the task of scanning, organising and tracking receipts.

Q: Please share with us your background and what inspired you to create Scan & Save?

I am an IT professional with 30 years’ experience. Paperwork has been boring me for a long time. “Scan & Save” can save me from manual data input, particularly, in places like restaurant, airport, and cab, and keep tracking of those receipts.  

Q: What problem does Scan and Save seek to solve?

"Scan and Save" acts as a bridge between the world of paper and the digital world of data-driven processes, resolving the efficiency and accuracy of manual data transfer.

Q: Did you build the product in-house or work with vendors? 

We built the “Scan & Save” in-house as we have experience in developing similar agent-based apps.

Q: Can you describe how AI is used in the Scan & Save Product? How has using AI

improved your product and how can it benefit users?

While traditional OCR is a foundational technology that simply digitizes text, a Visual Language Model understands the content. For an app like "Scan and Save," this translates to:

Higher Accuracy: Fewer errors in the extracted data.

Greater Flexibility: Works on a huge variety of document types and layouts out-of-the-box.

Deeper Automation: Extracts not just text, but structured meaning, which is what a database needs to automate workflows truly.

In short, VLMs don't replace OCR; they build upon it by adding a layer of semantic understanding, turning a simple text scanner into an intelligent data extraction engine.

Q: What practical advice do you have for users to make the most of the product - like good habits / routines to ensure make the most of it?

Adopting the right habits is key to transforming "Scan and Save" from a neat gadget into an indispensable tool that truly saves you time and effort.

Here are practical advice and routines for users to maximize the benefits of the "Scan and Save" app:

1. Build a "Scanning Routine"

Incorporate scanning into your daily or weekly habits to prevent a backlog.

The "One-Touch" Rule: Don't let documents pile up. Scan a receipt immediately after a purchase, a delivery note as soon as you unpack a box, and a worksheet right after you complete it. This takes 15 seconds now and saves 15 minutes of searching and data entry later.

Batch Processing: If you have multiple documents of the same type (e.g., a week's worth of receipts), scan them all in one session. The app will process them sequentially, and you can review and categorize them all at once, which is more efficient.

2. Organize with Tags and Categories

Don't just dump data in. A few seconds of tagging makes retrieval and reporting powerful.

Leverage Auto-Categorization: If the app learns from you (e.g., it automatically tags scans from "Joe's Hardware" as #home-improvement), verify it's correct. This training saves you more time in the future.

3. Review and Verify (The Quick Check)

Trust, but verify. A short review ensures data integrity.

Spot-Check Key Fields: Especially in the beginning, get in the habit of quickly glancing at the extracted data before you hit "Save." Focus on the most important fields: Dates, Totals, and Invoice Numbers. Catching a mistake early prevents bigger problems down the line.

4. Integrate into Your Business Workflow/Practice

Pre-Process for Accounting: If you're a small business owner, use "Scan and Save" to gather all receipts and invoices. Then, once a month, your bookkeeper can use the perfectly extracted and organized data from the app instead of a shoebox full of paper.

5. Maintain Digital Hygiene

Keep your digital "filing cabinet" clean.

Archive or Delete: Once you're confident the data is saved and processed in your final system (e.g., your accounting software has accepted the receipt), safely destroy the physical paper copy (shred it) and consider archiving or deleting the scan image from the app to save storage space. Always check your local regulations on how long you need to keep financial documents.

Backup Your Data: Ensure the database where "Scan and Save" stores its data is included in your regular backup routine.

Sample User Routines:

Freelancer: "After every client lunch, I immediately snap a pic of the receipt. In the cab back, I tag it with the client's name and project code. At the end of the month, I will export a full report of deductible expenses for my accountant."

Office Manager: "I have a tray on my desk for 'Invoices to Process.' Every Friday at 3 PM, I scan the whole stack. The app extracts the vendor, amount, and due date, and I approve the batch to be sent to our accounts payable system."

Household Manager: "All delivery notes get scanned as I unpack groceries. I throw away the paper. If something is missing, I can instantly search the app for 'Today' and 'Milk' to find the note and its order number to report the issue."

By following this advice, you'll move from simply using the app to truly integrating it into your life, unlocking its full potential to save you time.

Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge to get users to start to use your product?  How do you plan to promote usage in Hong Kong?

Based on user feedback, “Scan & Save” is simple enough to use, and its biggest challenge to get users to use it is getting users' awareness and confidence in its data accuracy.  The promotion plan includes 1. Free use for casual use (less than 100 receipts per month), 2. Better interfacing with other systems with standard reports and data export in excel format for integration with other accounting systems. 3. Integrating with popular payment methods so as streamline enterprise in handling payments, such as reimbursement processing for their staffs.

Q: Can you describe what users can do after scanning receipts and what tools are available to them to manage their finances after scanning?

After users scan their receipts, 1. Expense Category: they can have expense break-down by expense category for better understanding of their spending profile. 2 Payment Tracking: based on payment methods, users can easily verify each payments with payment statements.   

Q: Does your company have plans for any other products? Any plans to upgrade Scan & Save?

The “Scan & Save” is ready for the enterprise. The enterprise accounts enable finance department to view all their staff receipts for finance control, such as approve expense or reject the claim, not only save finance department from data input, and can speed up the data flow and consolidation.

Q: What advice would you give to young people today - is it risky to be an entrepreneur? Is it worth it - or better to seek a corporate career?

My advice is that: one does not have to be a genius to be an entrepreneur.  “Scan & Save” is not a state of act like ChatGPT, but it save a small inconvenience in our daily life, but it could have a big impact on the world as it scales.