Invoice interpretation with CrossState

This section does not cover invoice interpretation for those that have the EIM Workflow option.

Below you can find out more about how invoice interpretation with CrossState works for those of you who have installed the option called Electronic invoice management (EIM).

The invoice interpretation service in CrossState helps you save time by automatically capturing the invoice information from your PDF invoices. This way you will not have to enter these manually in the Register supplier invoice procedure.

When the invoice arrives at CrossState, everything on the invoice image is interpreted. The system starts by identifying supplier details/information which are then matched with the supplier register which is loaded from Monitor ERP every night. The interpreter will then search for texts/key words/identifiers such as "invoice date". When the key word is found, CrossState loads/retrieves the value to the right or just below the key word and presents it as a suggestion. When you accept the suggested value, by verifying the invoice in the For registration/verification inbox, feedback is sent to CrossState and information about the supplier is stored.

When you use the EIM option, information is interpreted at invoice header level, for example, supplier, invoice type (debit/credit), invoice number, invoice date, and amount. The information is then imported together with the invoice image into the For registration/verification inbox in the Register supplier invoice procedure. In the inbox, you verify the interpreted data and ensure that the correct values ​​have been found by CrossState.

Only once CrossState has found the supplier that knowledge can be saved based on the verification you have done in Register supplier invoice and therefore is used by the interpreter the next time an invoice comes from the same supplier. In cases where CrossState doesn't find a supplier and you need to enter the supplier in Register supplier invoice yourself, no knowledge will be saved for the supplier from the verification.

Please note that it is only when you make adjustments in the For registration/verification inbox that feedback is sent to the interpreter and knowledge can be saved for the supplier. If you e.g. make changes in the For final recording inbox, the change will not be sent as feedback to the interpreter.
Read more about how verification of invoices works here.

Check the supplier register

It is important that you have an updated supplier register so CrossState can identify the supplier. When CrossState matches the invoice to the right supplier, the details on the invoice image are compared to the details registered in the supplier register. CrossState uses a point system, the more details that match between the invoice image and the supplier, the more points. Certain types of details give more points than others, such as e.g. the supplier’s name, organization number, VAT registration number and bank details. The supplier with the most points is interpreted as the correct supplier. To get a safe match it is therefore important that as many details as possible match. To have an updated supplier register is therefore the most important factor when it comes to the invoice interpreter working as well as possible.

CrossState ”Slogan”

If CrossState is having difficulty confirming the supplier, you are able to enter a value unique to the supplier which makes it easier for the suppliers to be matched. The CrossState “Slogan” field can be found under Alternative supplier information and be exported with the supplier register to CrossState API. You use the field to enter data which will improve the match of supplier in the interpretation. For example, if you have two identical suppliers registered, where the only difference is that one has the currency EUR, and one has the currency SEK, you can enter EUR and SEK in the field for each supplier (in order to separate them). You can enter a maximum of 50 characters.

Even when using a slogan, the interpreter goes off of points when choosing an interpreter. It is therefore important to ensure that the same amount of information is entered in the Supplier register when a slogan is the only thing that differs between suppliers.

If CrossState cannot find the supplier, it can be worth checking the following:

  1. Information in the Supplier register

    Is there enough data registered? Compare the information in the invoice image with the information in the Supplier register, do they match? For example, is the correct corporate ID number/VAT registration number specified? Also check if there are duplicates of the supplier in the Supplier register, if so, it may be difficult for the interpretation feature to know which supplier to choose. If any information distinguishes the invoices, it can help to use the CrossState "Slogan" field.

  2. Is the supplier register uploaded to CrossState?

    If the supplier is new or you have recently made changes to the supplier register, it may happen that data has not yet been uploaded to CrossState. In the Settings for export/import procedure you can see when the most recent update of registers was made. If you have configured a scheduled upload of records, the registers will automatically be uploaded to CrossState every night (between 19:00-22:00). If you have made changes to the supplier register that you want the interpreter to take into consideration immediately, you can do a manual upload of the registers. This is done by using the Manual upload button in the Settings for export/import procedure. Here you can read more about uploading of register.

  3. If supplier information is missing on the first page of the invoice

    CrossState looks for supplier information on the first page of the invoice. If information that enables a supplier match is missing on the first page of the invoice, it can therefore be difficult for the interpreter to find the supplier. In such cases, it is good to enter as much other information as possible in the Supplier register that can be matched on the first page of the invoice. For example, a website address or visiting address. If this does not help, you can contact our support department who will investigate whether further adjustments can be made.

If CrossState cannot find the correct value, it can be worth checking the following:

The following only applies when CrossState has identified the supplier on the invoice.

  1. Have a sufficient number of invoices from the supplier been verified?

    Have multiple invoices from the supplier been verified? If only a few invoices have been verified, it may be that the interpreter has not yet stored all the information it needs to make a safe interpretation of the value. Please keep in mind that at least one day needs to pass between invoices for the information/knowledge to be saved for the supplier. If you e.g. verify 7 invoices from the same supplier all at one time, the interpreter will not have "learned" more on the seventh invoice than on the first, as feedback from the verification has not yet reached CrossState.

    It is not possible to say a general number of invoices that need to be verified to ensure that the value of the invoices will be found. The system continually gathers and uses information/knowledge. And the complexity and logic affect the learning of the interpretation function.

  2. If the interpreter does not find an amount

    If there are amounts that are not found, you can contact our support department for help with an amount template. An amount template helps the interpreter find the amounts on invoices from the specific supplier.

    When amount templates are to be created, the invoice flow in CrossState needs to be temporarily stopped. No invoices will during this time be interpreted or imported to Monitor ERP from CrossState. If there are invoices from different suppliers where the amount cannot be found, it is therefore good to notify support about all of them, that way the invoice flow does not have to be stopped several times.

  3. Incorrect information/knowledge has been stored

    If you failed to correct incorrect information found by the interpreter when verifying your invoices, incorrect information may be stored on the supplier. This may also be the case if your supplier has changed the appearance of their invoices. This causes the interpreter to look for the wrong values ​​on the invoice, which results in the correct values ​​never being found. You can get help removing incorrect information/knowledge by contacting our support department.