For small businesses and freelancers, month-end is spent opening PDF invoices one by one and entering them into an accounting sheet. Batch processing handles this in one step, without opening each invoice separately.
What does batch solve?
Processing one invoice is easy; the real pain is dozens in a row. AI Batch processes a whole folder of invoices in turn, extracts each one's data (invoice no, date, seller, amount, VAT) and merges them into one CSV table — one row per invoice.
- Bulk-upload invoices: Add your PDF invoices to the AI Batch tool (up to 25 files).
- Choose "Extract" mode: Start; you see live progress per invoice.
- Download one CSV: All invoices' data merge into one table; open in Excel and import into accounting.
AI Batch — Process dozens of invoices at once and download one CSV.
If you have scanned invoices alongside text ones, OCR kicks in automatically; still, review results for critical amounts once.
Tidy the invoices before processing
Good batch results start with a tidy input folder. A month's invoices arrive from email attachments, the downloads folder and photos on a phone; processing them as they are means an hour spent cleaning up the output.
- Remove duplicate copies of the same invoice; double entry is the most common error.
- Move non-invoice documents (delivery notes, quotes, bank receipts) to a separate folder.
- Run photographed invoices through the Document Scanner first; legibility improves noticeably.
- Put dates in file names so you can match a row back to its invoice while checking.
How to check the resulting table
Checking dozens of rows one by one gives back the time batch processing saved. Instead, open the table in Excel and run a few aggregate checks: compare the amount column total against the period total, check VAT against the amounts, sort dates and look for anything outside the period, and filter seller names for anyone unexpected. Opening the handful of rows that look odd is far more efficient than reading them all.
Which invoices are most error-prone?
- Photographed invoices that are shadowed or skewed.
- Foreign-language invoices using a different date order (month/day).
- Multi-line invoices; the total may read correctly while the line breakdown is incomplete.
- Documents with handwritten notes or stamps added.
- Invoices with discounts, advances or credits — sign errors show up here.
Build the archive properly from the start
Invoices are needed not only at month end but years later in an audit or a warranty claim. Merging the month's invoices into one PDF, adding page numbers and making it searchable saves you from hunting through a folder of separate files. One file per month means twelve files a year, which is an archive a person can actually manage.
When you send it to your accountant
Accountants usually have a clear expectation: a particular column order, a particular date format, a particular file naming pattern. Settling that once in the first month leaves a few minutes of work every month after. Arranging the CSV columns to match and saving that as a template is the practical solution.