Artturi Jalli

Posted on Aug 27

Best OCR for Invoice Processing (I Tried Them All)

#ocr #ai

I tested several OCR tools for invoices. DocuClipper turned out to be the easiest and most reliable.

It takes PDFs, scans, or digital invoices and converts them into clean data within seconds. You can send that data straight to QuickBooks or Excel.

It also has automation features to save even more time. You can match invoices to purchase orders, match transactions, and more.

Here’s how it works.

👉 Try DocuClipper Free

My Experience

I just received a paper invoice that I took a picture of, and now I’d like to scan it into my accounting software without having to type it all in.

For demonstration purposes, this is an imaginary invoice with imaginary information. However, the paper and the picture are real to demonstrate the OCR in action.

To OCR your invoices, go to DocuClipper. You can try it free with my link above.

Then, drop the file into this view.

This tool only accepts PDF files, so if you have a photo, you need to convert it to PDF. However, that's usually easy. Just open up the photo and go to your computer's settings and export to PDF.

In just a few seconds, the tool pulls out the data and shows it in columns.

Looks correct to me.

It also picked up some extra fields from the invoice:

It’s mostly correct. Just a few small things to fix.

For example, it shows “Clara ThompsonBlueTech Ventures 77.” It should be split into the name, the company, and then the address.

Still, very impressive given how poor the image quality is.

Some parts are hard to read even for me.

If something is missing, you can just add a new line and fill it in.

If there’s extra info or something looks off, just delete that line.

After editing and checking the fields, you can export the invoice to Excel or QuickBooks.

Before exporting, you can also customize the file.

For example, change the date format with a dropdown instead of editing it by hand.

That’s all you need for the basics.

Now let’s look at some advanced options.

After running OCR, you’ll see a column on the right side of the viewer:

These options give you more control and automation.

Approvals help keep spending in check.
Automation saves time.
Matching makes sure invoices line up with your bank records and purchase orders.

Let me show you how those work.

1. Approvals

This feature lets you set rules so some invoices need approval first. For example, invoices over a certain amount go to a manager.

It helps keep spending under control and adds a final check before payment.

Here’s the view. Just add a name, description, conditions, and approvers.

2. Automation Rules

This feature lets you create rules for handling invoices automatically.

For example, you can auto-categorize invoices from a vendor or set default tax codes.

This cuts down on manual work and mistakes.

Here’s the view. Just set the conditions and choose what to include or exclude.

You can add multiple conditions with the “Add another condition” button.

You can also set categories for those conditions and add as many as you need.

3. Bank Transaction Matching

This feature matches invoice data with your bank transactions.

It confirms the invoice was paid and matches your books. This reduces reconciliation issues.

Here’s an example with sample invoices:

4. Purchase Order Matching

This feature cross-checks the invoice with a purchase order.

If the amount, items, and vendor match, it gets approved faster. If not, it flags a mismatch.

Here’s some sample data:

Pretty handy, right?

This tool converts invoice images into digital ones, no typing needed.

It also cuts down on errors.

But that’s not all. Sure, you could do OCR with ChatGPT too.

The difference is this is a full invoice management platform. It lets you set rules and conditions to automate the boring parts.

👉 Try DocuClipper Free

Pricing

Here’s DocuClipper AI pricing:

Also, here’s what’s included for that price.

Starter ($27/mo) — 120 pages/month, good for freelancers and small businesses.
Growth ($52/mo) — 280 pages/month with categorization and 1-year retention.
Pro ($111/mo) — 640 pages/month, adds reporting, API, team tools, and premium support.
Enterprise (Custom) — custom pages and features, built for large firms with heavy needs.

👉 Try DocuClipper Free

Pros

Let’s go over the pros and cons.

These are based on my own testing and what others said in their reviews.

Works with any invoice format. No setup or training needed.

Very accurate at pulling data.
Fast, even with large batches.
Connects with QuickBooks, Excel, and more.
Secure and reliable.
Easy to use with good support.

Cons

No deep analytics, it only extracts data.
Pricing depends on the number of pages you process.
Sometimes splits invoices into separate files if there are multiple accounts.

Core Features

Before wrapping up, here’s a quick list of the main features:

High accuracy (97.5%+) — pulls all key invoice data.
Fast processing — ~30 seconds per invoice, handles big batches.
No setup needed — works out of the box, no training required.
Flexible export — send data to Excel, QuickBooks, CSV, and more.
Any format — scanned PDFs, digital invoices, and multi-page files.
Smart automation — set rules for categorization, approvals, and vendor handling.
Enterprise security — SOC 2, AES 256-bit encryption, AWS hosting.
Scales easily — process 10x more invoices without extra staff.

Pretty handy. Plus, you can test it for free on their website before paying.

👉 Try DocuClipper Free