A strong invoice or medical forms automation platform does more than OCR. It captures documents from every channel, classifies them on its own, routes exceptions to people, and loads clean data into your systems with little manual work.
Why the right choice matters
Many tools can read text from a clean scan. Production volume is harder: mixed PDFs, faxed claim forms, letters with no fixed layout, duplicates, blank pages and documents that match no template. A platform that only works on the easy cases pushes the hard ones back to your staff. This checklist follows the five stages every document goes through: capture, verify, extract, store and deliver. Use it to compare vendors side by side, or turn it into your own RFP requirements.
The buyer's checklist
- Capture: get every document in
- Captures from any source: email, fax, scanners and MFPs, monitored network folders, web portals, mobile devices and Office or PDF files
- Classifies documents automatically using machine learning, without separator sheets or barcodes
- Handles structured forms (such as CMS-1500 and UB-04 claim forms or standard invoices) and unstructured documents (letters, correspondence) that have no template
- Matches each document to the right template or document definition automatically
- Splits variable-length files, for example one 50-page PDF that holds six different document types
- Lets your team add or modify document types, templates and categories without vendor involvement
- Flags unrecognized documents in an exception queue for manual classification
- Verification: keep people in control
- Highlights low-confidence characters and fields so operators review only what needs it
- Runs business rules on each document type to catch errors, such as totals that don't add up or missing fields
- Detects duplicates and lets operators delete one, several or all in a batch
- Removes blank pages and separator sheets automatically
- Auto-rotates pages and allows manual rotation, merge, split and delete
- Lets operators reclassify documents and correct data from a web-based (thin client) station
- Routes incomplete or problem documents to a separate queue for escalation
- Supports approval steps, for example sending a new-template request to a supervisor
- Extraction and data matching
- Extracts the fields you need, including line items on invoices and claim details on medical forms
- Looks up and matches records in your database, such as vendor, patient, member or customer account
- Uses fuzzy matching when names or numbers aren't an exact match
- When a document matches several records (for example several claims for one claimant), shows the options so the operator can pick the right one
- Names files automatically from captured data, such as category, name and date
- Storage and integration
- Writes images, extracted data and metadata (document type, scan date, operator, batch) directly to your SQL database
- Offers a full API for integration with ERP, claims, CRM (such as Salesforce) and document management systems
- Supports different workflows by department or client, for example HR files going to personnel records while claims follow customer-specific rules
- Deploys on-premises or in the cloud, based on your security requirements
- Delivery, workflow and reporting
- Routes documents to the right system or person based on category, customer and line of business
- Sends emails automatically using templates chosen by document type, with configurable recipients and cc lists
- Sends a document to a default address when no contact is found
- Holds back documents with incomplete data and sends them for review instead of loading them
- Creates records or tasks in downstream systems (such as a CRM service ticket) based on document type
- Reports by customer, category and document, including who worked each document, when, and whether it was emailed or imported
- Retains and archives exceptions on a schedule you set, such as 30 days
- Security and compliance
- Restricts access by role and by department or client workflow
- Keeps an audit trail of every action on a document
- Supports HIPAA requirements for protected health information on medical forms
- Encrypts data in transit and at rest
Questions to ask every vendor
- Which features are out of the box, and which need custom scripting? Ask for this in writing for every requirement. It is the biggest driver of cost and timeline.
- Can we test it on our own documents? Insist on a pilot with your real invoices or claim forms, including the messy ones, not a vendor demo set.
- What happens to a document the system doesn't recognize? Walk through the exception path from start to finish.
- Who adds new document types after go-live, and how long does it take?
- How does it connect to our systems? Ask for examples of direct database, ERP or CRM integrations they have delivered.
- Where does our data live? Confirm cloud, on-premises or hybrid options and how protected health information is handled.
- How is it priced? Clarify whether pricing is per page, per document, per user or per server, and what professional services cost.
How OCR Solutions measures up
OCR Solutions builds document automation for invoices, medical claim forms and custom forms, and checks every box on this list. Our platform classifies mixed documents without separator sheets, flags low-confidence data for quick review, and writes results directly to your database or business systems. Where your workflow is unique, our integration team programs it to your rules, on-premises or in the cloud.
Ready to compare? Send us a sample set of your documents and we'll show you how they process before you commit. Email us at [email protected] or visit ocrsolutions.com
