Invoices, contracts, forms, letters: documents arrive every day, on paper, as PDFs and by email. Someone types them up, sorts them and files them. That costs time, and every manual step is a chance for errors.
Digital document capture takes over these steps.
What is digital document capture?
Digital document capture turns documents into data that software can work with. It covers paper as well as digital files.
A scan alone is not enough. A scan is an image of a page. Only text recognition turns it into text, and only classification and extraction turn that text into usable data, such as an invoice number, a customer name or a deadline.
How it works, step by step
- Documents come in via scanner, email, upload or an interface.
- Text recognition (OCR) reads printed text, handwriting recognition (ICR, HTR) reads handwritten entries.
- The software recognises the document type: invoice, application, termination notice. More on this in our blog post on PDF classification.
- It pulls out the data that matters for the process.
- Every result comes with a confidence score. Below the threshold you set, a person checks the document.
- The data goes to the systems where the work continues: ERP, DMS, ECM or a specialist application.
What matters in text recognition
Everything that follows depends on how well the text is read. If recognition gets a figure wrong, extraction carries the error into your system.
When choosing a solution, test it on these points:
- Faded copies, stamps, skewed pages and handwriting are where solutions differ.
- The same data appears in a different place on every supplier’s invoice.
- A solution that works for a hundred pages must also work for a hundred thousand.
- For personal or confidential documents, it matters whether recognition runs in your own data centre or in a foreign cloud.
IDA recognises machine print with an accuracy of more than 99 % and handwriting with more than 95 %. The recognition comes out of more than 30 years of research and has won international competitions, including on handwriting. All awards are listed on our technology page.
Where companies use it
Incoming mail
Letters, emails and attachments are read, sorted and routed to the right department. More on IDA for input management.
Invoices
Invoice number, amount and due date go straight to accounting.
Forms and applications
Handwritten and typed entries are read field by field. More on IDA for forms.
Personnel and contract files
Records become searchable instead of sitting in folders.
Archives
Old holdings, including handwritten ones, become searchable. More on IDA for archives.
Typical hurdles
Data protection
Documents often contain personal data. Choose a solution that processes them where your data protection rules require. Sensitive passages can also be redacted automatically.
Poor originals
Bad scans cost recognition quality. A good scanner setting and image correction (cropping, black and white) help before the software even starts reading.
Acceptance in the team
Capture works best when the team trusts it. That happens when people see what the software has read and check uncertain cases themselves.
Connection to existing systems
Capture only pays off when the data reaches the systems where work happens. Plan the interfaces from the start.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between document capture and document management?
Document capture reads documents and turns them into data. Document management (DMS) stores, versions and organises them. Capture delivers what the DMS stores.
Is OCR the same as document capture?
No. OCR is one step: it turns an image into text. Document capture also includes classification, extraction, review and handover.
Can handwritten documents be captured?
Yes. Handwriting recognition reads handwritten entries, from forms to historical records. More in our blog post on handwriting recognition (HTR).
Does everything have to be scanned first?
No. Digital PDFs, emails and their attachments are read directly. Only paper needs to be scanned.
Where are the documents processed?
With IDA, wherever you choose: in your own data centre, in your cloud or hybrid.
See it with your documents
In a demo, we show you how IDA captures documents like yours.