Supplier invoice capture is the step that takes an invoice arriving by email or scan and turns it into a checked record in the ERP. In modern systems it includes identifying the supplier and matching the invoice against the purchase order and the goods receipt before anything is posted, not just reading the fields off the page.

The word capture used to mean scanning. A clerk fed paper into a scanner, OCR read the numbers, and the clerk fixed what it got wrong. Today the invoice arrives as a PDF in a shared mailbox, and the question is what happens between that mailbox and the posted invoice.

That gap is where the time goes, and it is why supplier invoice processing still fails in so many finance teams even after they bought a capture tool.

Capture versus processing

Capture reads the invoice

Supplier name, invoice number, date, lines, totals, tax. Done well, it works on any layout without a template per supplier.

Processing decides what to do with it

Is this the right supplier account? Is there a PO? Do the lines, prices and quantities agree with the PO and the receipt? Can it be posted, or does a buyer need to look at it?

The two are often sold as one

Many tools stop at capture and call it automation. The clerk still opens every invoice to do the processing part by hand.

What capture alone misses

The supplier

Reading the name on the invoice is not the same as knowing which supplier account it belongs to, with its payment terms and its open orders.

The match

An invoice can be read perfectly and still be wrong. The price differs from the PO, the quantity exceeds what was received, the invoice was already paid. Only a check against the ERP finds that, which is what three-way matching is for.

The exception

When something does not fit, someone has to know why. A good system stops the invoice with the reason written next to the line. A capture tool posts it, and the reason is found at month end.

How it works with DOConvert

DOConvert is the AI layer for the ERP. Capture is the first step of one flow, not the whole product. One invoice, start to finish.

The invoice arrives by email

PDF, scan or photo, in the AP mailbox. Nobody downloads it.

DOConvert identifies the supplier

From the sender and the document. A new supplier works from the first invoice, with no template.

The PO and the goods receipt are found in the ERP

By the PO number on the invoice, or by supplier and items when it is missing.

Lines, prices and totals are checked

Against the PO and the receipt. What matches continues. What does not stops with a plain reason.

The invoice is entered

As a supplier invoice linked to the PO. On Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP the connection is direct, which is how supplier invoices get into Oracle Fusion straight from email. On Priority it runs through the DOConvert Priority connector, which is bi-directional, so the check reads from the ERP and the invoice writes back to it. No middleware in either case, and the data stays in your environment.

Who it fits

• AP teams receiving hundreds of supplier invoices a month by email
• Controllers and CFOs who want every invoice matched before it is posted
• Shared service centers handling several entities, like the setup for Oracle Fusion invoice capture for multi-entity AP
• IT and IS managers on Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP, Priority or Infor M3 who want a direct connection

Questions and answers

Is supplier invoice capture the same as OCR?

No. OCR is one technique for reading characters. Capture in the current sense also identifies the supplier and prepares the invoice for matching against the ERP.

Does it need a template for each supplier?

Not with DOConvert. The invoice is understood from its content, so a new supplier works from the first document.

What happens to an invoice without a purchase order?

It stops and is routed for approval with a note. Nothing is posted without passing the checks you set.

Where does DOConvert run for Oracle customers?

It is listed on the Oracle Cloud Marketplace and connects directly to Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP. A typical implementation takes about 10 business days.

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