How to scan business cards into your CRM, Outlook or Excel

The short answer: To scan a business card into a CRM, use your CRM's own mobile scanner if it has one (HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Dynamics 365 and Pipedrive do), or use a scanner app that syncs to the CRM. For Outlook, Excel or iPhone contacts, scan with an app that exports CSV or vCard, then import the file.

This guide shows the steps for each tool in 2026, first with the tool's own features and then with a scanner app. We checked every step against the vendor's own help page, linked below. Menus change, so if a button has moved, the linked page will have the current path.

Before you start: three decisions

1. Lead or contact? In Salesforce, Dynamics 365 and Zoho CRM, new people from events usually start as leads. In HubSpot and Pipedrive, they are contacts (people). Decide once for the whole team.
2. Which fields? At minimum: first name, last name, company, job title, email, phone, country, and a note. Add a field for the event name.
3. How will you tag the event? Use one fixed name per event, such as “MWC Barcelona 2026”. Without a tag, you cannot measure the event later.

Built-in scanner or scanner app?

Built-in scanners are free or included, and they work well for paper cards. They do not read event badges, they rarely add missing data, and each rep scans into their own view. A scanner app with CRM sync adds badges, QR codes, enrichment and an event tag, and works the same way across CRMs.

How to scan business cards into HubSpot

1. 1

   Step 1: Open the HubSpot app

   Install the HubSpot mobile app on iPhone or Android and sign in.

2. 2

   Step 2: Create a contact from a card

   Start creating a contact and choose to scan a business card. HubSpot maps the text to contact properties.

3. 3

   Step 3: Check and save

   Fix any wrong fields, add a note and the event name, then save.

With Swopi, you connect HubSpot once. Each scan of a card, badge or QR code creates a HubSpot contact with native properties and the event name. See the HubSpot integration.

How to scan business cards into Salesforce

Salesforce says in its help article that it has no built-in business card scanning. It lists three routes:

• Scan cards with any app, export a CSV and upload it with the Data Import Wizard or Data Loader.
• Scan into Outlook and sync contacts to Salesforce.
• Install a scanner app from AppExchange that writes to Salesforce.

The Salesforce integration in Swopi is the third route. It creates a Lead or Contact with native fields filled, not a text note, and attaches the event name.

How to scan business cards into Zoho CRM

1. 1

   Step 1: Pick the app

   The Zoho CRM mobile app can scan a business card into a CRM contact. Zoho also has a separate free app, Zoho Card Scanner.

2. 2

   Step 2: Scan the card

   Take the photo. Zoho Card Scanner lists 14 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.

3. 3

   Step 3: Save as lead or contact

   Choose Lead or Contact, check the fields and save. The card image is attached to the record.

For badges, QR codes or enrichment, see the Zoho CRM integration.

How to scan business cards into Dynamics 365

1. 1

   Step 1: Start a new record

   In Dynamics 365 Sales, select New, then Contact or Lead.

2. 2

   Step 2: Scan the card

   On the Quick Create form, select Scan Business Card. On a phone, take a photo. On a computer, upload a picture.

3. 3

   Step 3: Fill the account and save

   Check the fields. Microsoft notes that the account name is not filled for you. Select the account and save.

Microsoft's documentation says scan limits depend on your licence and that the feature needs access to AI Builder tables. Ask your admin first. With Swopi, the Dynamics 365 integration creates the lead or contact from any scan, including event badges.

How to scan business cards into Pipedrive

1. 1

   Step 1: Open the scanner

   In the Pipedrive app, tap the plus button and choose Contact scanner.

2. 2

   Step 2: Scan and review

   Point the camera at the card, then check the fields. Pipedrive can capture several phone numbers or emails.

3. 3

   Step 3: Save

   Tap Save. The card image goes to the contact timeline.

Per the Pipedrive help page, you need Android 11+ or iOS 18+, and you scan one contact at a time. The Pipedrive integration in Swopi adds badges and the event tag.

How to scan business cards into Outlook

Many people used Microsoft Lens for this. Microsoft retired Lens in 2026, and new scans stopped after March 9, 2026. Today there are two routes:

1. 1

   Step 1: Scan with an app that exports CSV

   Use any scanner app that exports contacts as a CSV file in UTF-8.

2. 2

   Step 2: Import into Outlook

   In new Outlook, open People, choose Import contacts, browse to the CSV file and select Import. See Microsoft's import steps.

3. 3

   Step 3: Or sync directly

   Use a scanner app with a native Outlook sync, so each scan appears as an Outlook contact with no file.

Microsoft advises UTF-8 encoding if names contain Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic or Japanese letters. The Outlook integration in Swopi is the direct sync route.

How to scan business cards into Excel

Excel has a Data from Picture feature, but Microsoft built it for tables. A business card has no columns, so the result needs a lot of cleanup. A better route:

1. 1

   Step 1: Scan all cards into one app

   Scan the cards and add the event name to each one.

2. 2

   Step 2: Export to CSV or Excel

   Most scanner apps export a file with one row per person and one column per field.

3. 3

   Step 3: Open and share

   Open the file in Excel. Keep one sheet per event, or add an Event column if you merge files.

Swopi exports leads to CSV and Excel with the enriched fields, so a team without a CRM still gets a clean list.

How to scan a business card to contacts on iPhone

1. 1

   Step 1: Open the Camera

   Point the iPhone camera at the card. Live Text needs iPhone XS or XR or later with iOS 15 or later.

2. 2

   Step 2: Tap the Live Text button

   The iPhone highlights text it can read.

3. 3

   Step 3: Tap the phone number or email

   Choose Add to Contacts, per Apple's Live Text guide.

Live Text adds one detail at a time, so you still type the name, company and title. A scanner app that exports a vCard (.vcf) fills every field in one step. Tap the vCard and choose Create New Contact.

Common problems and how to avoid them

• Duplicates: the same person met twice becomes two records. Turn on duplicate checks by email in your CRM or scanner app.
• Wrong name order: on many Asian cards the family name comes first. Check a few foreign cards in the trial.
• Everything in the notes field: some integrations paste all text into one note. You cannot filter or report on a note. Ask for native field mapping.
• No event tag: add the event name before you scan, not after the show.
• Leads stuck on phones: if reps sync at home days later, follow-up waits. Pick a tool that syncs as soon as the phone is online.

How this works in Swopi

You connect your CRM once in the Swopi dashboard. At the event, anyone on the team scans a card, a badge or a QR code in the app. Swopi AI adds the verified email, phone, title and company data, and the lead appears in Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, Outlook or another native integration, as real fields with the event name. No CSV, no typing. If your CRM is not listed, Swopi connects it on request within 24 hours. See CRM sync.