What is document capture and data extraction?
Document capture and data extraction turns invoices, receipts, bank statements and contracts into structured data a finance system can post. Older tools read fixed templates with OCR. Current ones use trained models that handle a supplier's layout they have never seen, and send only the uncertain fields to a person.
DefinitionTwo groups sell into accounting. Practice tools feed the bookkeeping: Dext, owned by IRIS, and AutoEntry, owned by Sage, both push straight into Xero, QuickBooks and Sage. Document processing platforms handle volume across any document type: ABBYY, Rossum, Docsumo, Nanonets and Klippa. The two are converging from above, because the buyers of finance software want capture built in rather than bought separately: Coupa acquired Rossum in May 2026 to put its extraction models across source-to-pay, and in audit DataSnipper built a $1 billion company doing the same job inside Excel.
Common questions
What is the difference between OCR and data extraction?+
OCR reads characters off a page. Data extraction works out what they mean: which number is the total, which is the VAT, which line is the purchase order. Template-free extraction does that on layouts it has not seen before.
How accurate is it?+
Good enough that the work becomes review rather than typing, but not unattended. Platforms are measured on how few fields a person has to touch, and the target quoted in 2026 benchmarks is an exception rate below 5%.
Do accounting firms still need it if the ERP has AI?+
Increasingly not as a separate purchase. The capability is being absorbed into ledgers, AP platforms and audit tools, which is why the specialists are being acquired.
Software for document capture and data extraction
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Dext
DataSnipperRelated terms
Updated September 2026 · Part of Accountio’s accounting technology coverage · Glossary
