The steps worth automating
- Collect: one inbox for invoices, with attachments saved and duplicates caught
- Read: supplier, invoice number, dates, line items, tax and total pulled out of the document
- Check: matched against a purchase order or delivery, with differences flagged
- Approve: sent to the right person by supplier, amount or department
- Post: created as a bill in QuickBooks or Xero with the document attached
- Pay: scheduled for payment on the due date
What your accounting system may already do
QuickBooks Online and Xero can both take bills forwarded by email and read the basic details; Xero does this through Hubdoc. Tools such as BILL add approval chains and payments. For a small number of simple invoices, these may be enough. Check what your plan includes before building anything.
When custom is worth it
A custom setup makes sense when invoices need line-level detail rather than a total, when they must be matched to purchase orders or job numbers, when approval rules are more than one step, or when invoices arrive in layouts the built-in tools misread. The extraction step is covered in more depth in document processing.
Watch out for
- The same invoice arriving twice, by email and by post
- Supplier names that differ between the invoice and your accounting system
- Changed bank details on an invoice, which should always be checked by phone
- Totals that do not add up, which should stop the bill rather than post it
How to start
Count how many invoices you handle a month and how long each one takes, from arrival to approval. Pick the suppliers that send the most. See PDF and document data extraction and QuickBooks automation for related work.
Updated 2026-10-24. General guidance, not advice for your situation; we scope each project in writing before any work starts.
Download the template
An n8n workflow that reads PDF invoices from an inbox, pulls out the key fields, checks the totals, and adds a row to a Google Sheet, flagging anything to review. Free, with setup steps. You add your own accounts and settings.
Questions people ask first
Can it read handwritten or scanned invoices?
Clear scans and photos usually read well. Handwriting and poor scans are less reliable and are best sent for a quick human check.
Will bills post without anyone looking?
Only if you want them to. Most businesses start with every bill reviewed, then let trusted suppliers under a set amount through on their own.
Does it work with Xero and QuickBooks?
Yes. Both have APIs for creating bills with attachments, and both have their own invoice capture you can build on.
How do you handle invoices in other currencies?
The currency is read from the document and the bill is created in that currency, using your accounting system's exchange rates.
Tell us what you need built.
Tell us the process and the tools involved, or call. We reply with questions or a written scope.
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