Handsfree Invoice approval

Invoice A.I

Machine learning OCR

OCR invoicing

The automated invoice approval process

What is OCR?

OCR or Optical Character Recognition is also referred to as text recognition or text extraction. Machine-learning based OCR techniques allow you to extract printed or handwritten text from images, such as posters, street signs and product labels, as well as from documents like articles, reports, forms, and invoices. The text is typically extracted as words, text lines, and paragraphs or text blocks, enabling access to digital version of the scanned text. This eliminates or significantly reduces the need for manual data entry.

What are we using for OCR?

Microsoft's Read OCR engine is composed of multiple advanced machine-learning based models supporting global languages. This allows them to extract printed and handwritten text including mixed languages and writing styles.

What data do we check?

Each invoice template we receive is mapped to the data we need to check. As the A.I engine improves it will start to find these required data items iteself, identifying the many different ways the data is data, named and where it is positiotioned in the document.
Different Accounts may need different information checking, for example UK specific might be VAT number, not required in Spain.

Freight bill reference
Address
VAT number
Invoice date
Total cost (before VAT)

How does OCR invoice check help you?

The mapped invoice is read and using the freight bill reference, it is compared on the above data matching. It is also checked for complience, carrier name, logo.

Carrier uploads a .pdf invoice
- The invoice must now have the Freight Bill reference added
The invoice is read by the OCR engine and checked against the mapping
If the invoice passes, reCONNECT and reporting is updated as currently happens
- Evening report generated for all approved invoices from the day
- Invoices are prepared ready for batching
If the invoice fails it creates a error for IT to check and will show in reCONNECT as NEW
- For manual approval / rejection
If OCR rejects the invoice, it will inform the carrier of the rejection and provide a reason.

Who can use OCR?

Anyone that requires an invoice to be checked.
OCR invoice approval can be activated in the reCONNECT Invoice configuration

The OCR configuration

Before OCR can be activated you will need to send all invoice templates from carriers to IT to have them mapped.
Once this is done OCR can be activated by switching 'ON' the top button.

note: OCR can be activated before mapping. It will simply check and fail each invoice for manual approval but of course it will charge for doing this.

The 2nd activation is used depedning on how the Account pays carriers.
If this switch is 'NO' we will not check the address.
If the switch is 'YES' we will check the address on the invoice matches the format shown in the configuration. To use this function carriers must comply with the address format provided.

Questions

Invoices have multiple pages, is that an issue?

OCR can deal with any number of pages on a single invoice as it is the mapping to the correct data that it is looking for

My invoices all look different, how does it read them?

Each different format of invoice will need to be mapped. Once it is mapped it is stored and OCR will check against the templates.
IT can map a template in a few minutes.

How do i know if an invoice didnt work?

Any invoice that fails through the OCR process is put into reCONNECT for manual action. The error is checked and fixed by IT.

In the image below you can see APPROVED invoices through OCR, NEW invoices where OCR could not read it and REJECTED invoices with a reason for failure.

and for the carrier to see the reason

How does Invoice A.I reject invoices?

Invoice AI will check following for rejections:

Incorrect invoice address
Check reCONNECT configuration
If config 'We directly pay our carriers' =
YES, then use Account VITALS address
NO, then use format, 3T, {Account name], 4 Thorpe Way, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE19 1SU

Missing company VAT number
We can check this against the Carrier ID as we store the VAT number

Invoice net amount does not match freight bill amount
Here we need to check the BEFORE VAT on invoice amount, against the FRIEGHT BILL amount

Entered invoice number is different to invoice
On upload of invoice by the carrier, the pdf name = Invoice number
Use this to check against the actual invoice

Freight Bill reference is different to invoice uploaded against
On upload of invoice by the carrier, they have to add the Freight Bill reference to the invoice
We use this to check the invoice against the FB it was uploaded against.

Handsfree Invoice approval

Invoice A.I

OCR invoicing

The automated invoice approval process

What is OCR?

What are we using for OCR?

Microsoft's Read OCR engine is composed of multiple advanced machine-learning based models supporting global languages. This allows them to extract printed and handwritten text including mixed languages and writing styles.

What data do we check?

Freight bill reference​

Address

VAT number

Invoice date

Total cost (before VAT)

How does OCR invoice check help you?

The mapped invoice is read and using the freight bill reference, it is compared on the above data matching. It is also checked for complience, carrier name, logo.

Carrier uploads a .pdf invoice

The invoice must now have the Freight Bill reference added​

The invoice is read by the OCR engine and checked against the mapping

If the invoice passes, reCONNECT and reporting is updated as currently happens

Evening report generated for all approved invoices from the day​

Invoices are prepared ready for batching

If the invoice fails it creates a error for IT to check and will show in reCONNECT as NEW

For manual approval / rejection​

If OCR rejects the invoice, it will inform the carrier of the rejection and provide a reason.

Who can use OCR?

Anyone that requires an invoice to be checked. OCR invoice approval can be activated in the reCONNECT Invoice configuration

The OCR configuration

Before OCR can be activated you will need to send all invoice templates from carriers to IT to have them mapped. Once this is done OCR can be activated by switching 'ON' the top button.

note: OCR can be activated before mapping. It will simply check and fail each invoice for manual approval but of course it will charge for doing this.

Questions

Invoices have multiple pages, is that an issue?

OCR can deal with any number of pages on a single invoice as it is the mapping to the correct data that it is looking for

My invoices all look different, how does it read them?

Each different format of invoice will need to be mapped. Once it is mapped it is stored and OCR will check against the templates. IT can map a template in a few minutes.

How do i know if an invoice didnt work?

Any invoice that fails through the OCR process is put into reCONNECT for manual action. The error is checked and fixed by IT.

In the image below you can see APPROVED invoices through OCR, NEW invoices where OCR could not read it and REJECTED invoices with a reason for failure.

and for the carrier to see the reason

How does Invoice A.I reject invoices?

Invoice AI will check following for rejections:

Incorrect invoice address Check reCONNECT configuration If config 'We directly pay our carriers' = YES, then use Account VITALS address NO, then use format, 3T, {Account name], 4 Thorpe Way, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE19 1SU

Missing company VAT number We can check this against the Carrier ID as we store the VAT number

Invoice net amount does not match freight bill amount Here we need to check the BEFORE VAT on invoice amount, against the FRIEGHT BILL amount

Entered invoice number is different to invoice On upload of invoice by the carrier, the pdf name = Invoice number Use this to check against the actual invoice

Freight Bill reference is different to invoice uploaded against On upload of invoice by the carrier, they have to add the Freight Bill reference to the invoice We use this to check the invoice against the FB it was uploaded against.

Freight bill reference

The invoice must now have the Freight Bill reference added

Evening report generated for all approved invoices from the day

For manual approval / rejection

Anyone that requires an invoice to be checked.
OCR invoice approval can be activated in the reCONNECT Invoice configuration

Before OCR can be activated you will need to send all invoice templates from carriers to IT to have them mapped.
Once this is done OCR can be activated by switching 'ON' the top button.

Each different format of invoice will need to be mapped. Once it is mapped it is stored and OCR will check against the templates.
IT can map a template in a few minutes.

Incorrect invoice address
Check reCONNECT configuration
If config 'We directly pay our carriers' =
YES, then use Account VITALS address
NO, then use format, 3T, {Account name], 4 Thorpe Way, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE19 1SU

Missing company VAT number
We can check this against the Carrier ID as we store the VAT number

Invoice net amount does not match freight bill amount
Here we need to check the BEFORE VAT on invoice amount, against the FRIEGHT BILL amount

Entered invoice number is different to invoice
On upload of invoice by the carrier, the pdf name = Invoice number
Use this to check against the actual invoice

Freight Bill reference is different to invoice uploaded against
On upload of invoice by the carrier, they have to add the Freight Bill reference to the invoice
We use this to check the invoice against the FB it was uploaded against.