Invoices and bills
Vendor, invoice number, dates, line items, tax and totals captured and matched to the right vendor and purchase order, then drafted as a bill in your accounting software for approval.
Service · Document processing
Document processing automation that ends the re-typing.
Invoices, receipts, intake forms, contracts and scanned PDFs arrive all day, and someone has to read each one and type it into another system. We build automated data entry that reads the document, pulls out the fields you need, checks them and puts them where they belong. A person reviews anything the system isn't sure about.
What it is
Automated data entry, with a second look.
Document processing automation takes a file, works out what kind of document it is, and turns the information inside it into clean data. Scans and photos are converted to text with OCR. A language model then reads the text the way a person would, so it can find the invoice total even when every vendor puts it in a different place.
Every extracted value is checked before it goes anywhere. If the numbers don't add up or a field looks wrong, the document waits for a person instead of slipping into your books.
Examples
The paperwork we take off your desk.
If someone on your team reads a document and then types what it says somewhere else, it's a candidate. These are the types we see most.
Receipts and expenses
Photos of receipts sent by text or email are read, categorized by your chart of accounts, tagged to a job or client and attached to the matching card transaction.
Intake and application forms
New client packets, credit applications and onboarding forms, whether filled online, on paper or as a fillable PDF, turned into a complete record with missing fields flagged.
Contracts and agreements
Parties, key terms, renewal dates, notice periods and payment terms pulled into a tracker, with reminders set before deadlines. The full contract stays the source of truth.
PDFs and scans
Old scanned files, faxes and image-only PDFs converted to searchable text with OCR, then indexed so your team can find what's inside them.
Emails with attachments
A shared inbox watched for documents. Each attachment is identified, processed by the right rules and filed, and the email is linked to the record it created.
Accuracy
Checked before it's trusted.
Reading a document is the easy part. Knowing when the reading is wrong is what makes automated data entry safe to rely on.
- Confidence checks
- Each field carries a confidence level. Values the system is unsure about, like a smudged date or a handwritten amount, are held for review instead of entered.
- Validation rules
- Line items must add up to the total. The vendor must exist. The invoice date can't be in the future. The PO number must match an open order. Your rules, written down and enforced.
- Duplicate detection
- The same invoice sent twice, or a receipt already submitted, is caught before it's paid or reimbursed again.
- Human review queue
- Flagged documents appear in one place, with the original next to the extracted fields and the reason it was held. A person confirms or corrects it in seconds.
- Learning from corrections
- Corrections are reviewed and used to improve the rules and examples, so the same issue is flagged less often over time.
How we build it
Your real documents, from day one.
Demos on tidy sample invoices prove nothing. We build and test on the documents you actually receive, including the messy ones.
- 01
Gather a sample
We collect a representative batch of your documents, including the awkward ones: handwritten notes, multi-page invoices, faxes, photos taken at an angle.
- 02
Agree the fields and rules
Together we decide exactly what to capture from each document type, where it goes and what counts as an error.
- 03
Build extraction and checks
We set up intake, OCR, extraction and validation, plus the review queue for anything that fails a check.
- 04
Run side by side
The system processes documents while your team still does them by hand. We compare results field by field and fix the gaps.
- 05
Go live and hand over
Your team moves from typing to reviewing. You get plain-English documentation and monitoring that alerts us if volumes or error rates change.
Where the data goes
Into the systems you work in.
Extracted data lands in your accounting software, CRM or spreadsheets, with the original file stored and linked. We commonly connect tools like these; options for industry-specific software are confirmed during the audit.
- QuickBooks
- Xero
- Bill.com
- HubSpot
- Salesforce
- Google Sheets
- Excel
- Airtable
- Google Drive
- OneDrive & SharePoint
- Dropbox
- Gmail
- Outlook
- DocuSign
- Practice management tools
Sensitive documents
Some files shouldn't travel.
Patient records, tax returns, legal files and personnel documents need more care. For these, the reading can be done by a language model running on hardware in your office, so the documents are processed where they already live.
How private AI works- Local processing on a workstation or small server you own
- Access limited to the folders and people who need it
- Every document logged, with who reviewed what and when
- Designed with HIPAA and privacy requirements in mind, in coordination with your compliance advisor or IT provider
FAQ
Document processing automation, answered.
Can it read scanned documents and phone photos?
Yes. Scans and photos go through optical character recognition (OCR) first, then the AI reads the text in context. Very poor scans or messy handwriting may need a person to check them, and the system flags those instead of guessing.
What happens when the system isn't sure about a field?
Each extracted field gets a confidence check and a set of validation rules, such as totals adding up or a vendor existing in your accounting system. Anything that fails goes to a review queue where a person sees the document next to the extracted data and confirms or corrects it.
Do my documents need to follow a standard format?
No. Unlike older template-based tools, AI-based extraction can read documents in different layouts, like invoices from many different vendors. We test on a sample of your real documents during the build to confirm it works for your mix.
Where does the extracted data go?
Wherever you use it: your accounting software, CRM, a spreadsheet, a database or a practice management system. The original document is filed and linked to the record so you can always check the source.
Can you process sensitive documents like medical or legal files?
Yes, with extra care. For sensitive documents we can run the AI on hardware you own, so files are not sent to an outside AI service. Systems are designed with privacy requirements like HIPAA in mind, and we work alongside your compliance advisor or IT provider.
Related
Where the data goes next
Workflow automation
Once a document becomes data, workflows carry it to every system that needs it.
ExploreLaw & accounting firms
Client intake, document collection and deadline tracking for firms that live in paperwork.
See howPrivate & local AI
Process sensitive documents on hardware you own instead of an outside AI service.
ExploreFree workflow audit
Send us the pile. We'll show you the pipeline.
Bring a few examples of the documents your team types up every week. We'll show you what can be captured automatically, what needs review, and where the data should land. No cost, no obligation.
or email tom@columbusinnovate.com