How to extract data from receipts ?

One of the many tedious jobs of payroll processing is extracting information from the receipts submitted by different employees. The HR department has to complete 3 steps in this – extract the amount from the different types of receipts, extract the rest of the information such as expense category, location, date, currency etc and verifying it against the claim submitted. The very first step of extracting the information from different types of receipts, printed or digital, itself is quite tedious. For small organizations, this can be done manually by offshore data entry services. But when it comes to very large organizations and corporate companies, manual entry may not be a feasible solution. Technology intervenes here for smooth functioning or else, the entire process is outsourced.

Reading information from paper receipts or PDF receipts can be cumbersome technically. Manual data entry is an easier option even though a huge volume of data will have to be input. When the receipts come in all sizes and formats, using one standard reading tool may not be feasible. Offshore outsourcing companies that undertakes data extraction from receipts and invoices make use of multiple tools and engage experts in such complex profession to make sure that the data extracted is complete, accurate, and clean in all aspects.

Once the receipts are read, they can be verified against the claims using another tool or manually, whichever is more feasible. This information is stored in excels or databases for future reference and for various reports and analysis. Once the receipt information is collected, it can be easily used for online and offline verification against what each employee has claimed. Automation of this verification can save a lot of time and effort of the HR and payroll departments.

This issue comes not only in payroll processing, even though it is the gravest issue in payroll. Offline Invoice processing also involves receipt data entry and the receipt size and format may vary depending on different vendors or types of transaction. Bulk volume is another major challenge and hence, choosing the right technology and tools can be critical for clean and complete data entry. Sometimes it involves referring additional documents and also image data entry to make sure the corresponding invoice or receipt is also stored along with the categorized information in it.