Smart Extract+
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FAQ's
What is Smart Extract?
Smart Extract is our next generation AI technology that extracts data in almost real-time from your payable documents. It is ideal for handwritten documents, poor-quality scans, and one-off documents where a map is not needed.
How does it work?
To have your documents extracted via Smart Extract, upload to Lightyear via:
- Email - You can email your dedicated Lightyear email e.g. [email protected]. When the documents have been received in Lightyear they will lang in your Processing tab where Lightyear will automatically Smart Extract your data when we do not find a map.
- Upload - You can upload your documents from within Lightyear. Once you have selected your document type i.e. Bill, Receipt or Expense, you can select the Smart Extract checkbox to trigger extraction on upload.
- Mobile App - If you have the Lightyear App installed on your mobile phone, you can take photos of documents and receipts to be sent into Lightyear. When you have the Upload via Smart Extract option enabled, bills, receipts and expenses sent to your Lightyear account will automatically be Smart Extracted.
What data is extracted?
Smart Extract extracts fields including Supplier, Bill Number, Bill Date, Due Date and Purchase Order Number. You can choose between Line and summary extraction, each of which will populate the relevant fields. The Tax and Total will also be extracted.
What is the difference between Smart Extract and Mapping?
| Mapping | Smart Extract |
| Requires system generated PDFs and quality scans | Processes system generated PDF's where a map does not exist, unstructured documents, hand-written notes, images, and poorly scanned documents, and unformatted Microsoft Word documents. |
| Manual intervention to create map for new document formats | Zero-touch processing with real-time data extraction |
| Single line descriptions extracted | Longer descriptions spread across multiple lines extracted |
What types of documents with Smart Extract work for?
Smart Extract will be able to extract the following document types:
- Bills
- Receipts
- Expenses (These will process through the Expenses module in Lightyear)
You can continue to request maps for the below document types:
- Purchase Orders
- Credit Notes
- Statements
Are there limits on the number of pages?
There is a 20 page limit.
Will it extract in different currencies?
Smart Extract will be able to extract a currency if the currency code is available on the document e.g. AUD, GBP, USD are the accepted currency codes. If no currency code is found, it will default to USD. If this is the case, you can override this via the Supplier Settings to set the default for future documents. Alternatively, you can edit in the Approvals Tab on a case by case basis at the Document level.
What languages are covered with Smart Extract?
Smart extract will be able to extract data from invoices using the Latin alphabet.
What happens if the document is missing required data?
If the document is missing information the document will be held in the Processing Tab and will require you to navigate to the Manual Entry tab to enter the missing information before you can transitions it into the Approvals Tab.
If for any reason Smart Extract is not providing the information you require, you still have the options to either have the document mapped (if it is a structured document i.e. pdfs) or manually entered (if it is an unstructured document i.e. hand written bills).
Will my coding and approvals still be automated?
Yes! The introduction of Smart Extract is designed to you data faster so you can speed up operations. This will simply enhance your Lightyear experience your Supplier defaults such as coding and approval routing to still apply.
Is there an additional cost?
Smart Extract comes at no extra cost as part of our commitment to deliver the highest quality data extraction with speed.