How Accounts Payable Operations integration with Document Intelligence works

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of How Accounts Payable Operations integration with Document Intelligence works

    The integration between Accounts Payable Operations and Document Intelligence automates the extraction and processing of invoice data received as email attachments. It streamlines invoice creation by extracting relevant information, creating invoice records, and validating data to facilitate efficient invoice processing.

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    Invoice Ingestion Process

    The process varies based on the confidence level of data extraction by Document Intelligence:

    • High Extraction Confidence:
      • An invoice case is created automatically with predefined categories.
      • Extracted data is stored temporarily and then used to create a draft invoice linked to the case.
      • The system checks that all required fields are populated, at least one invoice line exists, and a valid currency code is present.
      • If required fields or invoice lines are missing, an Accounts Payable Specialist must manually complete them before submitting.
      • If currency information is missing, the system falls back on purchase order currency or user's locale currency; manual correction may be required.
      • Once submitted, the invoice status changes to Received and processing begins.
    • Low Extraction Confidence:
      • An invoice case is created but data extraction is skipped.
      • The Accounts Payable Specialist is notified with an error and must manually review and enter invoice data in Document Intelligence.
      • The data is then imported, and the same verification and submission process as with high confidence applies.
    • Transformation Failure:
      • If the entire extraction and transformation process fails, an error message prompts contacting the administrator to resolve the issue.

    Data Validation and Transformation

    The integration performs validations to ensure all required invoice and invoice line fields are completed before submission. It also transforms extracted invoice data into system-compatible formats, handling currency codes by referencing purchase orders or user locale settings when needed.

    Localization and Language Support

    Currently, the Document Intelligence model is trained only for English invoices. To process invoices in other supported languages, customers must train their own DocIntel models.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Automates invoice data extraction and reduces manual entry, accelerating invoice processing cycles.
    • Ensures data completeness and accuracy through validation steps before invoice submission.
    • Provides clear workflows for handling low-confidence extraction and errors, enabling efficient issue resolution.
    • Supports multi-language processing through customizable DocIntel model training.

    Accounts Payable Operations integration with Document Intelligence uses automated workflows to extract the required information from the invoice document received as an email attachment, creates an invoice record in Accounts Payable Operations, and adds the extracted information into the newly created invoice record.

    Invoice ingestion process flow when extraction confidence is high

    When you receive an invoice as an attachment via email from a supplier or an employee, the following occurs:
    1. An invoice case is created with category Invoice automation and subcategory Invoice processing in Accounts Payable Operations.
    2. If Document Intelligence determines that the extraction confidence is higher than the threshold value, it extracts the invoice data and stores the data in temporary staging tables.
    3. The Document Intelligence transformation process imports the invoice data from the staging tables, creates an invoice in the Draft state, and associates the invoice with the invoice processing case.
    4. The application verifies the following:
      • The required fields are populated on the invoice.
        • If the required fields aren’t populated on the invoice, the Accounts Payable Specialist is required to open the invoice, manually enter the required values in the required fields, and submit the invoice.
        • If the required fields are populated on the invoice, the invoice is auto-submitted.
      • At least one invoice line record exists for the invoice. If not, the Accounts Payable Specialist must add an invoice line record and submit the invoice.
      • If a unique currency code isn’t identified during currency transformation, the process uses the currency mentioned in the purchase order. If the currency is missing in the purchase order, the transformation process uses the session currency based on the user's locale. In this case, the Accounts Payable Specialist is required to open the invoice processing case, and enter the correct currency code in the invoice fields and submit the invoice. For more information, see Invoice data transformation logic.

      For more information about the required fields for invoice and invoice lines, see Required fields for creating an invoice.

      After the invoice is submitted, its state changes to Received. The invoice processing begins from this point. For more information, see Work on an invoice processing case.

    Invoice ingestion process flow when extraction confidence is low

    When you receive an invoice as an attachment via email from a supplier or an employee, the following occurs:
    1. An invoice case is created with category Invoice automation and subcategory Invoice processing in Accounts Payable Operations.
    2. If Document Intelligence determines that the extraction confidence is lower than the threshold value, it doesn’t extract the invoice data and as a consequence an invoice isn’t created.
    3. In this scenario, the Accounts Payable Specialist must do the following:
      1. Open the invoice processing case created in step 1.

        The case displays the following error message: Invoice has a data extraction error. Review invoice with automation to continue processing.

      2. Select Review invoice, which opens Document Intelligence and displays the invoice fields.
      3. Enter the required values into the invoice fields, and select Submit.
    4. The Document Intelligence transformation process imports the invoice data from the staging tables, creates an invoice in the Draft state, and associates the invoice with the invoice processing case.
    5. The application verifies the following:
      • The required fields are populated on the invoice.
        • If the required fields aren’t populated on the invoice, the Accounts Payable Specialist is required to open the invoice, manually enter the required values in the required fields, and submit the invoice.
        • If the required fields are populated on the invoice, the invoice is auto-submitted.
      • At least one invoice line record exists for the invoice. If not, the Accounts Payable Specialist must add an invoice line record and submit the invoice.
      • A unique currency code exists on the invoice. If a unique currency code isn’t identified during currency transformation, the process uses the currency mentioned in the purchase order. If the currency is missing in the purchase order, then the transformation process uses the session currency based on the user's locale. In this case, the Accounts Payable Specialist is required to open the invoice processing case and enter the correct currency code in the invoice fields and submit the invoice. For more information, see Invoice data transformation logic.

      For more information about the required fields for invoice and invoice lines, see Required fields for creating an invoice.

      After the invoice is submitted, its state changes to Received. The invoice processing begins from this point. For more information, see Work on an invoice processing case.

    Invoice ingestion process flow when the entire transformation process fails

    When the Document Intelligence transformation process fails entirely, the following error message is displayed on the invoice processing case:

    Invoice automation is experiencing issues. Please contact the administrator.

    You must collaborate with the administrator to resolve this issue.

    Localization information

    Accounts Payable Operations supports multiple languages. The current DocIntel model is trained to extract invoices in the English language only. If you want to process the invoice in multi-lingual languages supported by DocIntel, you must train the DocIntel model on your own.

    For more information on Document Intelligence, see Document Intelligence.