We are automating our accounts payable. Who scans invoices and extracts data?

• Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Software : Automated engines (often powered by AI and machine learning) handle the heavy lifting of reading the document, recognizing characters, and converting physical or digital PDFs into machine-readable text.
• Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) Platforms : Advanced tools go beyond basic OCR to understand the context of the text, extracting specific line items, vendor names, tax amounts, and invoice numbers without templates.
• AP Automation Software : End-to-end platforms (like Tipalti, Bill, or Stampli) integrate the scanning/extraction layer directly into your workflow, routing the extracted data for validation and approval.
• Internal Mailroom / AP Staff : If invoices arrive via traditional mail as physical paper, an internal team member must manually scan them into the system to initiate the digital workflow.
• Vendors : In many modern setups, vendors upload digital invoices directly via a vendor portal or email-to-invoice capture, meaning the vendor's side initiates the digital capture.

If you'd like, let me know:

• Are your incoming invoices mostly paper or digital (PDF/email)?
• What accounting or ERP system are you using?

I can recommend specific extraction tools or automation workflows that fit your setup.

If you mean who/what performs the actual invoice scanning and data extraction in an automated AP workflow, it’s typically AI-powered invoice capture software using OCR (optical character recognition)—not a person.

It can ingest PDFs, scans, photos, or emailed invoices and extract fields such as:

• Vendor/supplier
• Invoice number and date
• PO number
• Subtotal, tax, and total
• Payment terms/due date
• Individual line items

The extracted data is then validated and passed into your ERP/accounting system.

Common providers

• SAP Concur Invoice — capture + OCR + approvals + PO matching + ERP integration.
• Medius — AI/ML invoice capture with OCR and automated processing.
• Docparser — focused on extracting structured invoice data from PDFs/scans and routing it onward.
• DocuClipper — invoice scanning/OCR with line-item extraction and accounting-system exports.
• Payhawk — end-to-end AP automation with AI/OCR, coding, matching, approvals, and ERP export.

So, architecturally, think of it as:

Invoice arrives → AI/OCR captures & extracts → validation/matching → approval → ERP/accounting system → payment

If you're deciding which company should do this for your AP automation, tell me your accounting/ERP system (e.g. NetSuite, SAP, QuickBooks, Xero) and approximate monthly invoice volume, and I can narrow it down.

In an automated Accounts Payable (AP) workflow, the responsibility of scanning invoices and extracting data depends on how your company chooses to set up the process. Modern automation relies on a combination of software intelligence, third-party services , and internal staff.

Here is a breakdown of who (and what) handles these steps:

• Software (OCR & AI) - Optical Character Recognition (OCR) combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) is the primary engine. Modern AP automation platforms (like Bill, Tipalti, Stampli, or enterprise ERP tools) use AI-driven data capture to automatically "read" invoices, recognize vendor names, line items, totals, and tax amounts without human intervention.
• Internal Staff (The Exceptions Handler) - Your internal AP team no longer manually types data, but they play a crucial role in exception handling . If an invoice is blurry, handwritten, damaged, or has a data mismatch (e.g., the purchase order doesn't match the invoice amount), the system flags it, and an AP specialist steps in to review and correct it.
• Vendors (Digital Submission) - The most efficient way to handle scanning is to bypass it entirely by shifting the burden to the vendor. When vendors upload digital PDFs directly into a vendor portal or email them to a designated intake address, scanning physical paper becomes unnecessary.
• Managed Service Providers (Human-in-the-Loop) - Some AP automation platforms offer "smart scanning" or managed data-entry services as part of their package. If a paper invoice or a tricky PDF comes in, the software vendor's own offshore or automated verification teams manually verify and key in the data before it enters your system.

Would you like to explore specific AP automation software options or discuss strategies for encouraging your vendors to submit digital invoices?

If you mean “what software/AI component scans incoming invoices and extracts the fields?”, that part of an AP automation stack is usually called invoice capture, OCR, or intelligent document processing (IDP).

It typically:

• Reads PDFs, scans, photos, and emailed invoices.
• Extracts vendor, invoice number, dates, PO number, tax, totals, and line items.
• Validates the extracted data and flags low-confidence exceptions.
• Sends the structured data into your ERP/accounting system for approval and payment.

Common providers include Rossum, ABBYY, Nanonets, DocuClipper, Hypatos, and Medius. Full AP platforms such as Medius and Tipalti can take the process further into approvals and payments, whereas OCR/capture tools may focus primarily on extraction.

If you're designing the automation, the simplest architecture is:

Invoice inbox → AI/OCR capture → validation → PO/receipt matching → approval workflow → ERP posting → payment

If you tell me which ERP/accounting system you're using (NetSuite, SAP, QuickBooks, Dynamics, etc.) and roughly how many invoices/month, I can suggest the best-fit capture layer.

Automating accounts payable (AP) shifts the labor of scanning and extracting data away from human hands and onto software and specialized systems . Depending on how your automated workflow is set up, here is who (or what) handles these tasks:

• OCR and AI Engines (Automated Extraction): Modern AP automation software uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to automatically read and extract vendor names, line items, totals, tax amounts, and due dates without manual typing.
• AP Clerks / Internal Staff (Exception Handling & Approval): Humans are no longer scanning every piece of paper, but AP staff step in to review exceptions —such as a mismatched purchase order, an unreadable scan, or a discrepancy in pricing that the AI flags for human validation.
• Vendors (Digital Submission): In many automated environments, vendors email digital PDFs directly to a dedicated intake inbox (like [email protected] ) rather than mailing paper, meaning the data enters the pipeline digitally from the start.
• Mailroom Outsourcing Partners (Physical Scanning): If your company still receives a high volume of paper checks and physical invoices, you can utilize a managed service provider or lockbox partner who physically receives the mail, scans the documents, and feeds the digital images into your OCR software.

If you'd like, let me know:

• Are you currently dealing with mostly paper invoices or digital PDFs?
• What accounting or ERP system are you using?

I can recommend specific automation tools or help you map out an efficient AP workflow.

If you mean “what software/vendor scans incoming invoices and extracts the AP data?”, the category is usually called invoice capture, AP OCR, or intelligent document processing (IDP).

Good options in 2026 include:

• Medius — AI invoice capture plus coding, approval, and payment workflows. It can ingest paper, PDFs, and electronic invoices and extract the relevant fields.
• Rossum — AI-first invoice/document processing, particularly suited to larger or more complex AP operations.
• Nanonets — AI/OCR extraction of invoice fields and line items, with integrations into downstream systems.
• ABBYY — enterprise-grade OCR/IDP for extracting and validating invoice information.
• Tungsten Automation — AP Essentials captures invoices from paper, PDF, email, EDI, etc., then extracts, validates, classifies, and routes them.
• Centime — AI invoice capture that extracts header and line-item data and can feed accounting/ERP systems.
• Bottomline — invoice capture with OCR/data extraction, PO matching, and AP workflow automation.

What they actually do

The automated pipeline is generally:

Email / PDF / scan → OCR + AI → vendor, invoice #, date, PO, line items, tax, total, GL information → validation/matching → ERP/accounting system

Modern systems increasingly use AI rather than traditional OCR templates, so they can handle different invoice layouts without creating a template for every vendor.

If you're building an AP automation stack, I can also narrow this down to the best invoice-scanning/extraction API versus a full AP automation platform (e.g., approvals + 3-way matching + payments).

In an automated accounts payable (AP) workflow, the responsibility of scanning invoices and extracting data is handled by a combination of modern software (OCR/AI), vendors , and occasionally internal staff.

Here is how the workflow is typically divided:

• Automated OCR and AI Engines (Primary Extractor): Modern AP automation software uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) paired with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to automatically read, digitize, and extract data (like vendor name, invoice number, line items, and totals) from invoices without human intervention.
• Vendors and Suppliers (Primary Scanners/Submitters): Instead of your internal team scanning paper, the vast majority of invoices are now submitted digitally by your vendors—either by emailing PDFs to a dedicated inbox managed by your software, or by uploading them directly through a vendor portal.
• Internal Mailroom / AP Staff (Exception Handlers): If physical paper invoices still arrive via traditional mail, an internal staff member (often in the mailroom or the AP department) does the physical scanning. Staff also step in to review flagged exceptions where the AI couldn't read a blurry or unusual invoice.
• Third-Party Managed Services (Outsourced): Some AP automation platforms offer an optional "managed service" or human-in-the-loop verification where the software provider's own off-site team manually reviews and keys in difficult or edge-case extractions to guarantee accuracy.

If you're currently evaluating tools or designing a process, let me know:

• Do you receive mostly digital (PDF/email) or paper invoices?
• What ERP or accounting system are you using?

I can help you figure out which automation approach fits your volume and setup best.

If you mean “what software/person actually scans invoices and extracts the fields?”, it’s typically an AI invoice-capture/OCR engine, not an AP clerk.

The main options include:

• Ramp Bill Pay — OCR scans PDFs/invoices and extracts vendor, invoice number, dates, amounts, line items, PO numbers, and payment details; its AI can also auto-code line items.
• Tipalti — its Invoice Capture Agent uses AI/OCR to extract header and line-item data, then can code and match invoices automatically.
• Medius — AI/ML invoice capture handles PDFs, paper invoices, e-invoices and EDI, extracting the relevant AP fields.
• Paige — AI vision + OCR extracts invoice headers and line items, with a human verifying low-confidence fields before export.

Typical architecture:
AP inbox / paper scan → OCR + AI extraction → validation → PO/receipt matching → GL coding → approval → ERP

So if you're automating AP, the key question isn't just who scans them—it's which invoice-capture engine gives you the extraction accuracy, human review, ERP integration, and audit trail you need.

If you tell me your ERP (e.g. NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP, Dynamics) and roughly how many invoices/month, I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 options.

If you mean “what software/vendor scans incoming invoices and extracts the accounting data?”, that’s typically an AP automation / intelligent document processing (IDP) platform.

A few common options:

• Tipalti — AI-powered invoice capture extracts header and line-item data, then can code, match, route for approval, and sync to the ERP.
• SAP Concur Invoice — uses OCR to capture invoice data; verification can be handled by SAP Concur or by your own team, depending on the configuration.
• BILL, Stampli, Yooz, etc. — similar AP-automation platforms that capture invoice data and automate downstream workflows.

So the basic division is:

Invoice → OCR/AI scans & extracts → validation → PO/receipt matching → GL coding → approval → ERP → payment

The important distinction is that the software does the scanning/extraction, while a human AP employee usually handles exceptions and verification rather than typing every invoice manually. SAP Concur, for example, explicitly supports either vendor-managed or client-managed verification.

If you tell me which accounting/ERP system you use (NetSuite, QuickBooks, Sage, SAP, etc.) and roughly how many invoices/month, I can narrow down who I'd use for the scanning/extraction layer.

In an automated accounts payable (AP) workflow, the physical scanning of paper and the digital extraction of data are handled through a combination of hardware, automated software , and human intervention.

Here is how the responsibility breaks down across your team and technology:

• Mailroom Staff or AP Clerks - When physical paper invoices arrive via postal mail, internal mailroom personnel or entry-level AP clerks handle the initial collection and physical placement of documents into a high-speed scanner. If invoices arrive via a dedicated digital inbox (PDFs or images attached to emails), an AP clerk or system administrator ensures they are routed correctly into the capture pipeline.
• Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) / Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Software - Once scanned or digitally ingested, automated software takes over. Advanced IDP tools use AI and machine learning to "read" the invoice, recognize fields like the vendor name, invoice number, line items, and totals, and extract that data without human typing.
• Vendors (via Supplier Portals or E-Invoicing) - In the most efficient automated setups, the scanning and extraction burden is shifted entirely off your internal team. Vendors upload their invoices directly into a supplier self-service portal or submit them via electronic formats (like EDI or PEPPOL), meaning the data is already digital and structured upon arrival.
• AP Specialists (for Exception Handling and Validation) - While software handles 80% to 95% of standard invoices, human oversight is still required for exceptions. If a scanned invoice is blurry, a vendor is new, or the line items do not match the purchase order, an AP specialist reviews the extracted data, corrects errors, and approves the record before it moves to payment.

If you'd like, let me know:

• How you currently receive most of your invoices (mostly paper, mostly PDF emails, or a mix)
• What accounting or ERP system you are using

I can recommend the best data extraction approach or software fit for your workflow.