Step-by-step instructions for document matching and processing

In many business processes, delivery notes and invoices need to be matched and processed together. With Automatic PDF Processor, you can automatically identify related documents, merge or organize them, and route them to the appropriate destinations.

Typical use cases

• Match delivery notes with corresponding invoices
• Merge related documents into a single PDF
• Archive invoice with delivery note as attachment
• Print matching documents together
• Route documents to different departments

Step 1: Create profiles for document identification

Create separate profiles to identify each document type:

• Profile "Invoices": Filter for documents containing "Invoice" or "INV-"
• Profile "Delivery Notes": Filter for documents containing "Delivery" or "DN-"

Alternatively, use a single profile with filters to identify both types.

Step 2: Extract matching identifiers

Create extraction rules to identify the common reference number that links delivery notes to their invoices:

• Order number: Common reference on both documents
• Delivery note number: Referenced on the invoice
• Customer number: For organizing by customer

Step 3: Use file grouping for matching

Enable file grouping to process related documents together:

1. Go to the "File Group" tab in profile settings
2. Enable "Group files"
3. Set grouping key to the common identifier (e.g., order number)
4. Configure timeout to wait for related documents

Learn more about file grouping

Step 4: Configure document processing

Choose how to handle the grouped documents:

Result

After configuration, incoming documents are automatically:

• Identified as invoice or delivery note
• Common reference numbers extracted
• Related documents grouped together
• Processed according to your configuration (merged, printed, archived)

Tips & notes

• Timing: Set an appropriate timeout for file grouping to allow all related documents to arrive before processing.
• Partial groups: Configure how to handle incomplete groups (wait longer, process anyway, or alert).
• Sort order: When merging, configure the order of documents (invoice first, then delivery note, or vice versa).

Other step-by-step instructions

Getting Started

• Getting Started - Your first profileBeginner
  
• Understanding Data ExtractionBeginner
  
• Placeholder System ExplainedBeginner
  

Basic Tasks

• Automatically print PDF filesBeginner
  
• Automatically rename PDF filesIntermediate
  
• Automatically move PDF filesIntermediate
  
• Automatically split PDF filesIntermediate
  
• Automatically merge PDF filesIntermediate
  
• Automatically send PDF files by emailIntermediate
  
• Automatically make PDF files searchable (OCR)Beginner
  
• Automatically save PDF attachmentsBeginner
  
• Automatically extract PDF form dataIntermediate
  
• Extract PDF dataIntermediate
  

PDF Editing

• Add watermarksIntermediate
  
• Stamp contracts automaticallyIntermediate
  
• Remove cover pages and blank pagesIntermediate
  
• Embed receipts with invoicesIntermediate
  
• Insert barcode/QR codeAdvanced
  
• Anonymize documentsIntermediate
  
• Compress PDF filesBeginner
  

E-Invoicing & Archiving

• Create ZUGFeRD e-invoicesAdvanced
  
• PDF/A for long-term archivingIntermediate
  
• Archive invoices automaticallyIntermediate
  

Practical Examples

• Send payslips with passwordAdvanced
  
• Sort applications automaticallyIntermediate
  
• Use file groupingAdvanced