Extracting data from invoices - Would you use a service that could do that?

[madpilot 0]

Hi all,

 

I've just started using Evernote with a SnapScan ix500, and it's pretty awesome. I've been shredding as I've been scanning, and this has shown an issue with this setup - I tend to forget that when bills are due.

 

So I started looking at ways to parse the data out of the invoice, get the amount and due date, and then email me when they are due, and perhaps have a little dashboard that show me the bills due in the next week/month etc.

 

Long story short, I have proof-of-concept code that does it, and I'm wondering if there would be interest in me developing this as a service that others could hook into - a digital corkboard that can email you

 

The basic work flow is:

 

1) Scan the invoice, and tag it as "bill" (or similar)

2) Evernote notifies my service that a new invoice has been uploaded, and downloads the details and attempts to parse it

3) If the system recognises the invoice, it parses it and saves the data.

3a) If it doesn't, it emails you a link - click the link and you can highlight the interesting parts of the invoice, and save it. The next time the system sees that invoice it will be able to parse it.

 

After that, the system will send emails to remind you a week before, the day before and when it becomes overdue. It will also have a dashboard listing the invoices visually.

 

So, would you use it? If there is enough interest, I'll spin it out into a real project - No idea on pricing yet, but somewhere in the $5-$10/month range.

 

I look forward to your feedback

 

Myles

[jbenson2 2,147]

Step #2 - I would not be comfortable letting a start-up 3rd party scan or analyze my bills.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

Hi all,

I've just started using Evernote with a SnapScan ix500, and it's pretty awesome. I've been shredding as I've been scanning, and this has shown an issue with this setup - I tend to forget that when bills are due.

So I started looking at ways to parse the data out of the invoice, get the amount and due date, and then email me when they are due, and perhaps have a little dashboard that show me the bills due in the next week/month etc.

Long story short, I have proof-of-concept code that does it, and I'm wondering if there would be interest in me developing this as a service that others could hook into - a digital corkboard that can email you

The basic work flow is:

1) Scan the invoice, and tag it as "bill" (or similar)

2) Evernote notifies my service that a new invoice has been uploaded, and downloads the details and attempts to parse it

3) If the system recognises the invoice, it parses it and saves the data.

3a) If it doesn't, it emails you a link - click the link and you can highlight the interesting parts of the invoice, and save it. The next time the system sees that invoice it will be able to parse it.

After that, the system will send emails to remind you a week before, the day before and when it becomes overdue. It will also have a dashboard listing the invoices visually.

So, would you use it? If there is enough interest, I'll spin it out into a real project - No idea on pricing yet, but somewhere in the $5-$10/month range.

I look forward to your feedback

Myles

When I scan or download bills, I go ahead & pay them. All websites allow you to submit future payments (or at least the ones I use). And for companies/people who don't have websites, I use Checkfree/Quicken/whatever it's now called. It also allows you to submit future payments up to a year in advance. So I don't need to be reminded to pay a bill & would never use this service.

[gazumped 11,652]

Agreed that as far as possible my finances stay offline,  I already have a due system that works, and Evernote has its own reminder feature now that will (hopefully) get better with time...

[Steve Johnson 0]

For invoicing apps you can visit http://www.nutcache.com . It is a free online website for creating invoices and reports with feature rich facilities.

[GadgetAddict1 0]

I've been looking to do the same thing.  I created my own billing system for balancing and paying the bills, but I want a way to scan the online statements or PDFS to obtain due date and amounts. 

 

I just found https://filethis.com which gets all your statements and imports them into evernote... now I just need to find out how to parse the PDF in evernote.   I've looked at IFTTT and there aren't any recipes yet for what I'm looking for. 

 

I say go for it man.. I'm all ears and would love to hear what you got planned.

Forget all these Nay-sayers... It just isn't their thing, but I love the idea.