what phone-phablet-tablet to get

I got a Galaxy S7 active and it's really fast with decent amount of memory.
The camera is really nice also.
They can be found fairly cheap used if you look around

 

I'd make sure to look for one with built in flash and a good camera lens/sensor with no dust issues (like possibly with a used phone) so you can use various "scanning apps" like Transflo to send in paperwork without having to go to a busy truck stop before cutoff. These apps often have a limited number of approved phones but the main thing needed is built in flash, if it has that, it should be compatible.

 

Before i had my S7 Edge , i had a Huawei.
Cheap good phone BUT the camera was borderline to use to scan.
Whereas the S7 makes near perfect scans.

So if you want to use your smartphone to scan ,get one that has a good camera.

 

I don't think megapixel size is important. Any modern phone, even with a relatively small image size compared to others, will be adequate as long as it has a flash.

 

8mega pixels is the minimum required using CamScanner app.
I have tried it with less but the scans are not clear.

 

2015 model Motorola Xbox Pure Edition. Picked it up for $250 at Best Buy. 5.7" qhd display, decent chipset, wonderful camera.

Took pic in January in Florida.