Reading invoices automatically: package or custom?

What does reading invoices automatically mean?

Reading invoices automatically means that software takes over the data from an invoice for you. You then don’t have to type it in yourself. The software reads the supplier, the invoice number, the date, the amounts and the VAT. From that it makes a booking proposal. You or your bookkeeper checks that proposal and approves it.

With a PDF or a photo, the software uses OCR: text recognition. It turns the image of the invoice into text. The software then works out which piece of text is the supplier, which is the total and which is the VAT. More and more packages also use AI for this.

There is also another route: the e-invoice. There, nothing needs to be read.

What is the difference between a PDF invoice and an e-invoice?

A PDF is an image of an invoice, an e-invoice is a data file. So a PDF you receive by email is not an e-invoice. An e-invoice is a file in a fixed format, such as UBL. Your accounting package can process it directly, without guessing what is where. E-invoices often go via Peppol: a European network through which businesses send e-invoices to each other via their accounting package.

That matters for the future. The Dutch government wants to make e-invoices between businesses in the Netherlands mandatory from 1 July 2030. That is set out in a letter to the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) from September 2026. The law still has to be drafted and passed. According to the plan, business owners who use the small businesses scheme (kleineondernemersregeling, KOR) are excluded.

What does that mean for you? There will probably be fewer PDF invoices to read, and more e-invoices. If you have something built now to read PDFs, look at e-invoices as well. A good solution can handle both.

The e-invoicing obligation is a government plan, not yet law. Check with the government or your bookkeeper for the latest position.

What can your accounting package already do?

Many accounting packages already read purchase invoices themselves. A few examples, checked on 7 October 2026 in the suppliers’ manuals:

• Exact Online processes invoices that come in via email, PDF, scan, photo or as an e-invoice via Peppol. With OCR and AI it turns them into a booking proposal. You can set who must approve which invoices.
• AFAS Profit has Scan & herken (scan and recognise) for invoices that come in as a PDF without a UBL file. You have to activate it first. If a piece of data is not recognised, you point out on the PDF where it is. Profit remembers that for next time.
• SnelStart Web reads PDF, UBL, PNG and JPG. It recognises, among other things, the supplier, the invoice amount and the invoice date. The booking gets the status ‘Te controleren’ (to be checked). For this you need the inOrde package or higher.
• Moneybird recognises, among other things, the type of document, the supplier, the dates, the invoice number, the amounts and the VAT rates. Documents come in via upload, email, the app or Peppol. Where the package is unsure, it asks you to take a look.

Features and prices change often. What is possible for you also depends on your subscription. So check the manual of your own package, or ask your bookkeeper.

Note what all these packages have in common: a person checks along. The package makes a proposal, someone approves it. That is sensible, because recognition does not go right every time.

Where does automatic reading get stuck?

Automatic reading works well with tidy invoices from regular suppliers. It gets harder in these cases:

• Unusual invoices. A new supplier, a messy layout, or a credit note that looks like an invoice.
• Poor scans and photos. A crooked photo of a crumpled receipt reads less well.
• Several invoices in one PDF. The software must first understand where one invoice ends and the next begins.
• Many invoice lines. A wholesaler’s invoice with dozens of items is more work than an invoice with one total amount.
• Booking to a project or cost centre. Which project does this invoice belong to? That is often not on it.
• Packing slips. A packing slip is not an invoice. Your accounts do nothing with it, but your warehouse does.
• Matching the invoice, packing slip and purchase order. Does what you pay match what you ordered and what was delivered?

That last one is the real work for many businesses that buy in goods. Some packages can link an invoice to a purchase order. Whether that is possible with your package and subscription is something you check per package.

Why is a packing slip different from an invoice?

An invoice says what you have to pay. A packing slip says what was delivered. The invoice belongs to the accounts, the packing slip to goods receipt and stock. That is why the scanning features in accounting packages are made for purchase invoices and receipts, and not for packing slips.

Still, you want to match them. Were ten boxes ordered, eight delivered and ten invoiced? Then you want to know before you pay. At the moment an employee often does this by hand: packing slip in one hand, invoice on the screen. Sound familiar? Then read more about entering packing slips.

How does a custom solution work?

A custom solution follows the rules of your business. It reads, checks and passes things on. Anything that deviates goes to an employee. Step by step:

1. Collect. The software collects invoices and packing slips from a fixed mailbox, a folder or via Peppol.
2. Read. With OCR or an AI model, the software takes the data from the document, line by line as well.
3. Check. The software tests the result against fixed rules. Is the total equal to the sum of the lines? Is the VAT correct? Does the supplier already exist? Is there a purchase order for it, and do the quantities match the packing slip?
4. Pass on. If everything is correct, the software puts a booking proposal in your accounts via an accounting integration. Such an integration works via the API of your package; read more in the explanation of API integrations.
5. Deviations to a person. If something is not right, a designated employee gets a notification, with the reason. That person decides.
6. Record. Every step goes into a log. That way you can see later what happened to an invoice.

Those checks are important. An AI model can misread a figure. By checking whether the amounts add up, you catch such an error. When in doubt, a person decides.

Where do your invoices go?

To every service that processes them. That can be your accounting package, a scanning service, the provider of an AI model or the place where custom software runs. Invoices often contain personal data, such as the name and bank account number of a sole trader or the name of a contact person. Then the GDPR applies.

Does another party process that data for you? Then you conclude a data processing agreement with that party. Also ask where the data is stored, and who can access it.

And don’t forget the retention obligation. You keep invoices for 7 years, in the form in which you received them. So you keep a digital invoice digitally. If you scan paper invoices, that is allowed under certain conditions. The Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) explains which.

When is your package enough?

Often. First use what your package can already do, and set it up properly. Your package is usually enough if:

• you mainly receive invoices from regular suppliers;
• you book them to a few fixed general ledger accounts;
• you don’t need to compare purchase orders and packing slips;
• your suppliers increasingly send e-invoices.

Ask your suppliers to send e-invoices. Then there is less to read and less to check.

When does custom software make sense?

Custom software makes sense if your package only does half the job. For example if:

• you have many invoices with lines that you want to compare with purchase orders and packing slips;
• documents come in through different channels and need to end up in different places;
• you have your own rules, such as booking per project, branch or customer;
• anything that deviates must reach the right person, and not land in one big list.

Custom software can work alongside your package. Your package keeps doing the accounts. The custom software does the reading and checking work beforehand, and puts the result into your package via the API.

What does that cost? That depends on how much you want it to do. One integration between two systems is less work than the whole route from mailbox to booking, with the packing slip and the purchase order included. The number of suppliers, the types of invoices and your own booking rules also count. On top of that there are monthly costs for hosting and maintenance. If the software uses an AI model, there are usage costs. We include those in the monthly amount. What it costs for you is stated in the proposal. Also read what determines the price of an integration.

How do I approach it?

I start with a business analysis. I look at how invoices and packing slips come in now, who does what and what your package can already do. If your package can already do it, that is stated in the proposal and you don’t need to have anything built. I receive no commission from suppliers.

If more is needed, you get a proposal with a fixed price, so you know where you stand in advance. I build the software myself and connect it to your accounts. Anything that deviates goes to an employee. Read more about automation, including the part on reading documents, or book a call.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Exact: automatic invoice processing (in Dutch), AFAS: reading invoices via Scan & herken (in Dutch), SnelStart: reading purchase invoices automatically (in Dutch), Moneybird: scan and recognise (in Dutch), Moneybird: adding a purchase invoice or receipt (in Dutch), Ondernemersplein (the Dutch government’s business portal): e-invoicing (in Dutch), Letter to Parliament on the outline of electronic invoicing and reporting (in Dutch), Belastingdienst: keeping invoices (in Dutch) and Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens: controller and processor (in Dutch). Consulted on 7 October 2026.