Automated document capture is a technology that many businesses are using to automate document processing, as every day, businesses have to process thousands of documents in the form of paper, PDF, email and images. Manually extracting information from these sources is not only time-consuming and expensive, but also potentially prone to countless errors. As AI continues to develop, this technology has appeared a lot. In this article, DIGI-TEXX will analyze in depth how this technology works, the document automation benefits it brings and the importance of secure document capture in data protection.
How Automated Document Capture Works
Automated document capture is a multi-step technological process designed to automate the reading, understanding and extraction of data from many different types of documents, the final step of this process is integration into the internal system of the business (ERP, CRM, …). This process will turn unstructured (like letters) or semi-structured (like invoices) documents into structured data, ready for analysis and use.
Let’s look at the three core stages of the automated document capture process.
Input: paper documents, PDFs
An advanced automated document capture system will have to be able to receive information from many sources and formats, some of the popular formats are as follows.
- Paper Documents: This is the traditional data source. Printed documents such as invoices, contracts, purchase orders, or survey forms are fed into a high-speed scanner or even captured by a mobile device camera. The quality of the scanned image is crucial to the accuracy of the next steps.
- Digital Documents: In the modern workplace, the majority of documents are already in digital form. These documents include PDF files, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, emails and attachments.
The data is always in different formats, but with current AI technology, classifying these documents becomes extremely simple and the time is greatly reduced.
Optical Character Recognition
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a technology that converts images of text (whether from a scanner or PDF file) into text data that computers can read and edit. However, traditional OCR has many limitations, the old technology can only read characters and convert them. The technology applied in the automated document capture method is more modern in that it can understand the context as soon as the text is read, so it is also called Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) or OCR based on AI and ML. Specific examples include:
- Context recognition: AI can know that a string of numbers next to the word “Total” is likely to be the total amount, even if it’s blurry or in an unfamiliar font.
- Handling complex layouts: AI can extract data from complex spreadsheets, even if they span multiple pages or have uneven rows and columns.
- Training: AI models can be trained to recognize new document formats. If a new supplier sends an invoice with an unfamiliar layout, the system can learn and automatically process it correctly next time.
Integration with data management systems (ERP, CRM, ECM)
The extracted data will be useless if it is not integrated, stored and analyzed. The final and most important stage of automated document capture is integration.
After the data has been OCRed, validated and structured, the data needs to be automatically pushed into the core systems of the enterprise. A good solution must ensure integration and connection with the following systems:
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): Common examples of this model are SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics. For example, for accounting, data from automated invoice capture will be pushed directly into the Accounts Payable module of ERP to perform 3-way matching with purchase orders (PO) and receipts.
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management): Popular as Salesforce. Information from a new customer contract or registration form can automatically update the customer profile in the CRM.
- ECM (Enterprise Content Management) / DMS (Document Management System): Along with the extracted data, the original document file itself (usually an OCR-enhanced PDF) will also be stored in the document management system, with the extracted metadata attached for easy searching later. A visual example here is that it can be stored on Sharepoint or Google Drive for business
These seamless integrations can be either direct integration or through APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), which will completely eliminate the final manual data entry step and ensure a smooth data flow.
Benefits of Automated Document Capture
Moving from manual document processing to automation is more than just a process improvement; it is a business strategy that delivers a clear return on investment (ROI). The benefits of document automation impact every aspect of an organization, from finance to operations and compliance, and some of the more tangible benefits include:
Time and cost efficiency
- Reduced processing time: It can take an accounting staff 5-10 minutes to manually enter a complex invoice. An automated invoice capture system can process hundreds of such invoices in the same time. The process from receipt of documents to data availability in ERP is shortened from days to minutes.
- Reduced labor costs: Automated document capture does not necessarily replace humans, but it frees them from low-level, repetitive tasks. Employees can focus on higher-value tasks like data analysis, exception handling, or improving supplier relationships, rather than just typing.
- Reduced storage costs: The costs of filing cabinets, storage, and physical paperwork are eliminated when businesses move to digital storage, an essential part of the automated document capture process.
Reduced manual errors
No matter how careful you are, errors are bound to occur when left to human hands, especially when it comes to mundane tasks like data entry. A mistyped number or a misplaced decimal point on an invoice can lead to incorrect payments, financial loss, and damaged relationships with partners.
AI-based automated document capture systems have outstanding accuracy rates, often above 99% for common document fields. Furthermore, these models can be configured with “validation rules.” For example, the system can automatically check whether the total amount of line items matches the total amount on the invoice. If not, it will automatically flag the document for human review. This ensures data integrity right from the start.
Faster document processing and retrieval
As mentioned, automated invoice capture speeds up the payment cycle. This allows businesses to take advantage of early payment discounts from suppliers, which provides direct financial benefits.
Also, when a document is processed through automated document capture, it is indexed with all the extracted data (e.g., invoice number, customer name, date, content keywords). Instead of having to rummage through a physical filing cabinet or search through rows of unstructured PDF files, employees can find the exact document they need in seconds with a simple search query. This is extremely important for customer service and auditing.
Better data accuracy and accessibility.
By reducing manual errors, the data that enters your ERP or BI system is clean. Clean data is the foundation of all data analysis and smart business decision making, and is always accurate.
And once processed, data is no longer restricted and difficult to access, such as searching through filing cabinets or checking personal emails. Important information is now an accessible asset, authorized for members of the organization. Furthermore, modern secure document capture solutions ensure that this data is protected, encrypted, and compliant with strict privacy regulations.
How to Choose the Right Automated Document Capture Solution
There are many automated document capture solution providers on the market today, from simple standalone OCR tools to intelligent automation platforms. As a result, many businesses are still struggling to find a suitable solution for themselves, so here are the key factors to consider when choosing a partner.
Evaluate accuracy rates and AI model quality.
Ask the vendor to demo how their process works and use your actual documents and information. Since a solution that works well with standard US invoices may completely fail with handwritten invoices or specific European forms, test to see if their process meets your needs.
Also ask about the trainability of the AI model. Does the system allow users to easily adjust the model when it extracts errors? A good AI model will learn from these corrections and become more accurate over time. This is the difference between a true automated document capture and a rigid OCR tool.
Integration capabilities
A great automated document capture solution that cannot integrate with your existing systems is useless. Prioritize solutions that have pre-built connectors for your existing ERP, CRM systems (e.g., SAP, Salesforce, Oracle).
For legacy systems, make sure the vendor has a robust, flexible, and well-documented API that your technical team can customize. Lack of integration capabilities will defeat the goal of seamless automation and is a major barrier to document automation benefits.
Scalability and customization options.
Your business will grow, and so will the volume of documents, so what platform is the vendor’s solution built on? Cloud-based solutions typically offer better scalability, allowing you to increase your processing capacity from 1,000 documents/month to 100,000 documents/month without investing in additional hardware.
And remember that every business has its own workflow. Does the solution allow your company to easily customize the process? For example, an invoice under 10 million VND can automatically go straight to the payment system, but an invoice over 100 million VND must be automatically routed to the Finance Manager for approval. The ability to customize the workflow is crucial.
Vendor certifications and data security standards.
When you entrust your most sensitive documents (contracts, employee records, financial data) to a third-party vendor, security is non-negotiable. This is where the concept of secure document capture becomes paramount.
Check and discuss with the provider whether they have reputable international security certifications. Important certifications include ISO 27001 (information security management), SOC 2 (security, availability, and confidentiality of services), and industry-specific compliances such as HIPAA (healthcare) or GDPR (European data privacy).
Also ask about how data is protected. Is it encrypted in transit and at rest? Does the system offer granular role-based access control? A secure document capture solution should ensure that only authorized people can view or handle sensitive documents.
Automate Smarter, Work Faster with AI-Powered Document Capture
The applications of automated document capture are very clear and specific in life, in this section, let’s take a look at its applications in various fields.
First, we can mention the field of Finance – Accounting, human resources in this field are often overloaded with piles of paper invoices and PDFs. Deploying an automated invoice capture solution will help extract invoices from emails, identify important fields (supplier name, PO number, total amount, tax), and automatically reconcile them with purchase orders and warehouse receipts in the ERP system. Any discrepancies will be automatically flagged for accountants to review. Just this process has helped reduce 90% of daily processing time, besides improving relationships with suppliers thanks to on-time payments.
As for the Human Resources (HR) department, automated document capture helps standardize the recruitment process and manage employee records. When a candidate submits a CV, the system can automatically extract key information such as name, contact information, education, and work experience, then input this data into the Applicant Management System (ATS). When a new employee is hired, documents such as employment contracts, tax forms, and banking information are automatically collected and classified, ensuring a smooth and legally compliant onboarding process.
Next, on the Legal side, secure document capture helps with contract management. Instead of storing contracts as PDF files, automated document capture systems can extract key terms such as expiration dates, auto-renewal terms, contract value, and legal obligations. This data is fed into the Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system, which automatically sends alerts to stakeholders when contracts are about to expire, minimizing legal risks and missed renegotiation opportunities.
Conclusion
The rise of AI has taken document processing to a new level. Automated document capture technology has freed human resources from tedious manual data entry tasks, significantly reducing errors, and providing fast, accurate data input into enterprise management systems. Contact us today if you are ready to help your business achieve success in data management. We are ready to advise on how to implement automated document capture and processing solutions, turning data into your competitive advantage.
>>> Read more: What is Automated Document Processing and How Does It Work?
