Introduction

As an IT systems integrator, the company specialized in enabling cost-effective, rapid, transparent, and error-free processes in corporate procurement and automatic invoice processing for its partners.

The Story

Our team implemented a range of IT solutions to support the processing of incoming paper-based and electronic invoices, primarily in PDF format. We designed and developed automated invoice processing workflows tailored to the diverse formats and structures received by our partner companies. This included building data recognition and extraction modules using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition) technologies, designed to function independently of invoice layout or format.

To ensure efficiency and accuracy, we enabled automatic validation of extracted invoice data in most cases. For data that couldn’t be validated automatically, we developed manual validation modules. Once validated, the invoice data was seamlessly transferred to the partner company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, along with digitally signed electronic copies of the validated invoices.

Designing, developing, and deploying each invoice processing workflow typically took 3–5 months and involved 1–3 developers.

Technologies Used:

• OCR/ICR

• eFlow framework

• C#

• Visual Studio

• MS SQL Server

• Scrum methodology

The Challenge 

The enterprise resource planning system was cloud-based, which necessitated transferring validated invoice data through an intermediary solution. This was addressed by implementing an FTP server to bridge the systems securely and reliably. One of the recurring challenges involved poor print quality or crumpled invoices, which complicated data recognition. To mitigate this, we enhanced OCR engine parameterization, significantly improving recognition accuracy even on lower-quality inputs..

The Results

While invoice formats and volumes varied between partner companies—requiring tailored invoice processing workflows and data validation algorithms—the projects were otherwise similar in nature. Through our development efforts, manual entry of invoice data was eliminated, the overall workflow became significantly more efficient, and labor requirements were reduced to a fraction of previous levels.