# Contact Data Cleansing: Validate Scanned Business Cards Before Export *Source: https://eximagent.ai/blog/contact-data-cleansing-business-cards · Published: September 11, 2026 · Updated: September 12, 2026 · Category: Technology* > Clean scanned business card contacts before export. Check names, email addresses, phone numbers and duplicates while preserving the original source. Contact data cleansing means checking and correcting contact records so they are consistent and usable. For scanned business cards, it starts after extraction: compare the fields with the card, resolve ambiguous text and separate records that still need review. A record can look complete and still be wrong. An email may contain a misread character, a phone number may have lost its country code, or a person’s job title may have landed in the company field. Exporting the file does not verify those details. Use the following review process before moving contacts into a shared workbook or another system. ## 1. Keep a reference to the source Keep the original card available during review. If your team keeps a separate card photo, follow its retention and access rules; do not assume a scanning tool retains the image for you. Preserve event and meeting context when correcting fields. The contact information and the conversation note answer different questions, and both may be needed later. Work on a copy when cleaning an existing spreadsheet. That gives you a reference if an import or bulk edit changes the wrong values. ## 2. Check names, roles and companies separately Read each field against the card. Check accents, initials and the order of the name rather than forcing every card into the same naming convention. Separate the person’s role from the company name. A department, brand or office name may be printed more prominently than the legal business name. Keep the wording supported by the source; if your workflow needs a legal entity, research it separately. Do not turn a title such as “Manager” into “Purchasing Manager” because it seems likely. Leave unclear details flagged for review. ## 3. Check email text without claiming deliverability Look for missing characters, extra spaces and common image-reading confusions such as the letter O and the number 0. Compare the local part and domain with the printed card. If the source is unreadable, do not guess a likely address or silently change a domain to a familiar spelling. Mark it unresolved. An address that has a plausible format is not necessarily deliverable. This review checks whether the record matches the source. Mailbox verification is a separate process, and neither establishes permission to send a campaign. ## 4. Preserve phone numbers as text Keep the printed country code, leading zeros and extension. In a spreadsheet, use text fields for phone numbers so the software does not treat them as quantities. Do not infer the country code solely from the location of the event: international exhibitors and visitors may use numbers from elsewhere. If a number has an extension, preserve it in a separate field where the destination system supports one. Before importing, confirm how that system expects country codes and extensions to be represented. ## 5. Review possible duplicates manually Compare records using more than a name. An exact email match is a useful signal, but shared addresses can belong to a team. A matching company does not mean two people are duplicates. When you find two records for the same person, compare the source details and meeting dates. Preserve distinct notes and promised actions before choosing the main record. For example, two fictional records for the same contact may contain different requests from two meetings. Deleting one without reading the note can remove an outstanding promise. Review possible duplicates before handoff, even if a tool updates an existing card record during upload. Updating a scanned record does not establish that every duplicate person or company has been resolved. ## 6. Separate reviewed records from unresolved ones Use a clear review status in your working file. “Reviewed against card” is more precise than “Verified,” which could imply identity, employment or email verification you have not performed. Set unresolved records aside for clarification. Avoid filling blank fields simply to make the spreadsheet appear complete. Record who reviewed the data and when in your working process if the team needs that accountability. This is a suggested practice, not a claim that the scanner automatically attributes every action to a teammate. ## 7. Check the export before importing elsewhere Open the exported file and inspect names, accented characters, phone numbers, notes and row counts. Confirm that columns map to the intended fields in the destination system. Test a small sample before importing a large list. Check whether the destination creates new contacts or updates existing ones, then review the outcome. The EximAgent [business card scanner](https://eximagent.ai/business-card-scanner) landing describes Excel and NDJSON handoff. Native CRM connectors and direct phone-contact sync are listed as roadmap items, so treat imports into other systems as a separate workflow. ## A short pre-export check - Each important field has been compared with the source. - Uncertain values are flagged rather than guessed. - Possible duplicates have been reviewed without losing meeting notes. - Phone formatting and special characters survive export. - The next action remains attached to the correct person. Clean contact data gives the next person a more reliable starting point. It does not prove that the contact is a qualified buyer or ready to receive outreach. Start with the EximAgent [business card scanner](https://eximagent.ai/business-card-scanner), then review the extracted fields before handing the record to your team.