Invoice OCR is software that reads a supplier's invoice, from a PDF or a photo, and turns the printed text into data: supplier name, invoice number, date, totals and tax. This article answers the first question a finance lead asks: what does it actually do, and does a firm of your size need it yet? The short answer is that OCR saves typing, not judgement, and below a certain volume a well-run intake process gives you most of the benefit. We also show how to set that intake process up on the levelpartner.ai platform, which handles the routing but does not read invoices itself.
What OCR reads and what it cannot
OCR stands for optical character recognition. Modern invoice tools add a layer on top that guesses which number is the total and which is the VAT. On a clean, typed PDF from a large supplier, that works well. On a crumpled receipt photographed at an angle, or a handwritten invoice from a local tradesperson, it gets fields wrong.
What OCR cannot do is decide whether you owe the money. It does not know that the order was cancelled, that the price was meant to be the discounted one, or that the same invoice arrived last week by post. Those checks remain human, or they move into an approval step.
When a firm of 10 to 250 people needs it
The question is volume and variety. If finance enters 40 supplier invoices a month from a dozen regular suppliers, typing them takes a couple of hours. A capture tool adds a subscription, a setup project and a review queue, and saves perhaps an hour.
If you receive several hundred invoices a month from many suppliers, typing becomes a part-time job and errors creep in. That is when OCR earns its place.
Suppose the firm gets about 120 supplier invoices a month and typing each takes three minutes, so six hours a month. A capture tool might cut that to two hours of checking, a saving of four. Set that against an illustrative £150 a month subscription and a two-week setup. The better move would be to fix intake now and look at OCR again if volume reaches around 300 a month. The numbers are there to show the comparison.
The intake problem OCR does not solve
Most firms do not have a typing problem. They have an intake problem. Invoices arrive in a dozen personal inboxes, on paper at reception, and as links in supplier portals. Some are never forwarded. Others are forwarded twice.
Fix intake and you fix the bigger leak. Every supplier invoice should arrive in one place, with an owner, and get a decision within a set number of days. You can run that on the platform with a form and a workflow, and add OCR later if volume justifies it.
Before you start
- A shared accounts payable email address, such as invoices@yourcompany.
- A list of your regular suppliers and who in the business approves each.
- A decision on the approval limit each manager can sign off alone.
- Access to Sites and Automation on the platform.
How to set up a supplier invoice intake
- Go to Sites, then Forms, click + Create New Form and start from a blank form.
- Name it Supplier invoice submission and add fields for supplier name, invoice number, invoice date, amount and approver.
- Add a file upload field for the invoice PDF or photo, then save the form.
- Click Integrate, copy the direct form link and pin it in your internal channels.
- Go to Automation, then Workflows, click + Create Workflow and start from scratch.
- Click Add New Trigger, choose Form Submitted and select the new form under Form Is.
- Add a Send Internal Notification action addressed to the approver.
- Add an Add Task action asking finance to record the invoice within five working days.
- Save the workflow and switch it from Draft to Publish.
- Test it with a real invoice from a regular supplier.
This gives you one queue, one owner per invoice and a deadline. It also tells you your real monthly volume, which is the number you need before buying any OCR tool.
What it replaces and the time it takes
The intake form replaces forwarded emails and paper trays. Building it takes about an hour. Submitting an invoice takes the employee under a minute. Finance still keys the invoice into the accounting system, but from one queue rather than a scavenger hunt.
The mistake most people make
Buying OCR to fix a process that is not written down. The tool reads the invoice beautifully, then it sits in a queue because nobody knows who approves it. Decide approvers and limits first. The guide to processing invoices after OCR has read them covers matching and approval in detail.
When not to use OCR
Skip it if most of your costs are a handful of fixed monthly bills, such as rent, software and payroll services. Set those up as known recurring costs in your accounting system instead. Skip it as well if your suppliers already send structured e-invoices that your accounting software imports directly.
Troubleshooting
People keep emailing invoices to finance directly. Reply with the form link every time for a month. Habits change when the shortcut stops working.
Approvers ignore the notification. Add a second notification after three days and copy their manager.
The same invoice is submitted twice. Check the invoice number against existing submissions before recording it. A simple rule: supplier name plus invoice number must be unique.
Photos are unreadable. Ask for PDFs where suppliers can send them. The guide to scanning invoices with OCR covers capture quality.
Frequently asked questions
Does the levelpartner.ai platform read invoices with OCR?
No. The platform handles intake, routing, approvals and reminders through forms and workflows. If you need automatic reading, use a dedicated capture tool and keep the platform for the process around it.
How accurate is invoice OCR?
It depends on the document. Clean PDFs from large suppliers read well; photos and handwritten invoices need checking. Always budget time for a person to confirm totals and tax.
Is OCR the same as invoice data capture?
OCR is one method of data capture. Capture also covers manual entry and structured e-invoices. The guide to invoice scanning and data capture sets out which fields to capture and how to check them.
Can OCR handle our sales invoices too?
You do not need it for those. Invoices you send are already data on the platform. OCR is for invoices you receive.