Feb 9
Your Complete Guide to Automated Invoice Data Extraction
Automated invoice data extraction might be the second big game-changer when it comes to enterprise-level book-keeping, right after the introduction of spreadsheets that did the math old-time ledgers used to do by hand. Replacing the tiresome manual data entry of yesterday with automated, AI-led parsing, this is a type of software no busy accounts payable office wants to do without.
What is Automated Invoice Data Extraction?
Put simply, automated invoice data extraction is a type of software that parses invoices, extracting the data you need to keep on top of payments. Fields like amount due, due date, account number and payment instructions are extracted and parsed in a structured format that is easy for both humans and machines to understand. This data can easily be transformed into actionable insights, fueling the next step.
Invoice OCR is often the first step in invoice data extraction, which means you are able to parse not only digital invoices such as word documents and computer-generated pdfs but also physical invoices or financial documents you might receive in the mail.
Reasons to Use Invoice Data Extraction
It’s easy to see why automated invoice processing is such a big favourite in the AP community. An invoice parser can transform that huge deluge of unstructured documents into actionable data. Not only does it enable automation of your entire workflow, it can also:
- Save money and give your team a chance to work on high-value tasks rather than low-value manual data entry
- Eliminate human error and increase accuracy, ensuring everyone gets paid what they should when they should.
- Parse invoices in seconds or minutes vs the hours, days, or weeks required by manual data entry
How to Use Invoice Data Extraction
If you’d like to get a feel for how invoice data extraction works and run a few sample invoices, take Affinda’s free online invoice parser for a spin. This invoice processor works in your web browser with a simple drag-and-drop interface.
When you’re ready to get serious about integrating an automated invoice data parsing solution into your workflow, you’ll want to sign up for access to the API and integrate it into your system. If you’re using Quickbooks or Xero, the work is already done for you, and it’s pretty much plug-and-play. Otherwise, it’s a job for your developer — but it’s an easy job that shouldn’t take them long.
Best Software for Automated Invoice Data Extraction
Automated invoice data extraction is a fast-growing field, and you’ll find a wide variety of software options. The best invoice capture software will be built on new advances in machine learning and natural language processing, harnessing cutting edge artificial intelligence to achieve the most accurate results possible.
That’s important, because your suppliers are not all using the same template for their invoices. With a good data extractor that includes semantic search capabilities, you’ll be able to parse each and every supplier invoice that comes in, even if all the data fields are in different places and different terminology is used on some of them.
One of the best options for automated invoice parsing is Affinda’s Invoice Extractor, and the good news is that it comes with a very reasonable pricing scheme and is accessible to both small businesses and large enterprises alike. Affinda also boasts a committed customer care team that is dedicated to providing their customers with the best experience possible. When you call up Affinda, you’ll get an IT expert on the line: someone who knows the software inside out and wants nothing more than to help you get it right.
So get on it today. Automated invoice parsing is a lifesaver when it comes to accounts payable, and it is a tool you’ll never want to be without again.
