How Does OCR Work in Spendwise?

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) allows users to extract information from quotes, invoices, and other PDF documents and automatically pull it into Spendwise to create purchase orders, bills, and other transactions, without manual data entry.

Adding PDF Documents to Your Spendwise Account
PDF documents can be brought into Spendwise through email or file upload.
 

Email
To receive PDF files into your Spendwise account via email:

  1. Click the gear icon at the top right.
  2. Click Preferences in the left menu.
  3. Click Other under Preferences.
  4. Click the Edit button at the top of the page.
  5. In the Document Intake Email field, enter the address you'd like to use @spendwisemail.com, then click Save.

Once set up, any PDF sent to that address will be received directly into your Spendwise account and automatically sorted into the appropriate category based on document type. If Spendwise is unable to determine the document type, you'll be able to review and categorize it manually.
 

Upload
To upload PDF files directly into your Spendwise account:

  1. Click the folder icon at the top right.
  2. Click the type of PDF file you want to upload in the left menu.
  3. Click the Upload button at the top.
  4. Select the PDF file(s) you want to upload and add them.


Extracting Information from PDF Files
To extract information from PDF files already in your Spendwise account:

  1. Click the folder icon at the top.
  2. Click the type of PDF file you want to work with in the left menu.
  3. Click the here link on any file with a status of Pending to extract its details.

Auto-Apply OCR
To have information extracted from PDF files automatically as soon as they arrive in Spendwise:

  1. Click the gear icon at the top right.
  2. Click Preferences in the left menu.
  3. Click Other under Preferences.
  4. Click the Edit button.
  5. Check the box for Auto-apply OCR to PDFs and click Save.


Creating Transactions from PDF Files
Once information has been extracted from a PDF, you can use it to create a purchase order, bill, or other transaction:

  1. Click the folder icon in the top menu.
  2. Click the type of PDF file you want to use in the left menu.
  3. Check the box to the left of the PDF file.
  4. Click the Create [transaction type] button at the top.

Spendwise will pull the extracted information into the new transaction automatically, so you don't have to enter it manually.