Reclaim Your Time: Turn Name Card Photos into Excel – Fast
✨ Why This Matters
After a busy event or client meeting, you’re often left with a stack of business cards… and the dreaded job of typing each one into Excel.
I’ve been there — spending a Sunday evening squinting at cards, checking spellings, and manually copying job titles. It’s slow. It’s tedious. And it’s 2025 — there has to be a better way, right?
There is. I tested a new workflow using ChatGPT-4o and my phone camera — and turned a photo of 5 name cards into a clean, ready-to-import Excel file in minutes.
In this post, I’ll show you exactly how you can do the same — even if you’re not tech-savvy.
🧰 Tools I Used
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 📱 Phone Camera | Take a clear photo of multiple business cards |
| 🤖 ChatGPT-4o | Extract and structure contact data into a table |
| 📊 Excel | Format for export and reuse (e.g., CRM, email) |
📚 What I Wanted to Create
A contact spreadsheet that’s ready to use — fast.
No typing, no formatting, no fuss. I wanted GenAI to:
- 🕵️ Recognize info from a single photo
- 📇 Pull out fields like Name, Title, Email, and Company
- 📤 Deliver it back as a structured Excel (.xlsx) file
Something I could just drag into my CRM or email tool and move on with my day.
📝 My Prompt to ChatGPT-4o
Here’s exactly what I used after uploading the image:
Extract all contact details from this photo of name cards.
Create a table with these columns:
Company Name, Name, Title, Email, Direct Number, Mobile Number, Address.
Once confirmed, convert the table into an Excel format I can download.
🎯 The Result
✅ A clean, structured Excel file — done in minutes
✅ Accurate and formatted — with no post-editing needed
✅ CRM-ready — no manual data entry required
🧭 How to Do This Yourself
- Line up your name cards on a flat surface
- Take a clear, glare-free photo with your phone
- Upload the image to ChatGPT-4o (Vision input)
- Paste the prompt above
- Ask it to export as
.xlsx - Download and use — whether it’s for CRM, follow-ups, or archiving
⚠️ Heads-Up
GenAI tools aren’t perfect — here’s what to watch for:
- ✏️ Check for typos — especially with fancy fonts or glossy cards
- 🧠 If something’s off, just rephrase your prompt or re-upload the image
- 🔐 Always review before sharing — privacy matters!
💬 What’s Next
I’m working on a quick video walkthrough showing this step-by-step — so even your teammates who hate Excel can follow along.
