How to automate supplier invoice processing with Zoho RPA
- Problem statement
- How Zoho RPA helps
- What changed with Zoho RPA
- How Zoho RPA helps finance professionals
- Ready to simplify supplier invoice handling?
Problem statement
Handling supplier invoices from portals to ERP is more than just a tedious task. It directly impacts financial visibility and operational control. Every day, the finance team receives dozens of invoices from different portals in multiple formats such as PDFs, scanned images, or Excel files.
Each portal has its own layout and naming convention, and all invoices must be entered into the ERP to maintain a centralized record for accurate reporting, regulatory compliance, and timely approvals.
To process these invoices, someone on the team has to:
- Log in to each supplier portal manually.
- Apply filters to find the right invoices.
- Download each invoice individually.
- Extract details such as invoice numbers, dates, and totals.
- Enter all information into the ERP system.
Without a smooth flow into the ERP, critical financial data is scattered across systems, approvals are delayed, and decision-making is slowed. The team ends up spending most of its time just keeping records aligned instead of focusing on cash flow management, vendor relationships, and strategic financial planning.
How Zoho RPA helps
Zoho RPA automates the entire invoice processing workflow on a daily schedule, handling repetitive tasks without human intervention. Here is how it works:
1. Schedule bot execution
The bot runs automatically every day to start the invoice processing workflow.
2. Enter supplier details and open invoices
It enters supplier names or codes and opens the invoices for the selected supplier.
3. Apply date filter
The bot applies the filter to select only invoices for today.
4. Download invoices
All filtered invoices are downloaded from the supplier portal and saved with the name format InvoiceNumber_todaydate.pdf.
5. Move invoices to a folder
The downloaded invoices are moved to a dedicated folder named Daily_Invoices for organized storage.
6. Extract data using OCR and PDF techniques
The bot reads each invoice using OCR and PDF extraction, capturing key details such as vendor name, invoice date, invoice number, purchase order number, line items, quantities, prices, and total amount.
7. Open ERP system
The bot opens the company’s ERP system, such as SAP, or another ERP.
8. Fill in invoice details and save
The bot fills in the extracted invoice information in the ERP, including:
- Vendor name
- Invoice date
- Invoice number
- Purchase order number
- Invoice status
To see this process work in real time, watch the demo video here.
What changed with Zoho RPA
| Before RPA | After RPA |
| Staff spent hours manually downloading, reading, and entering invoice data. | Bot automatically downloads and processes invoices daily. |
| Data entry and validation were time-consuming and prone to mistakes. | OCR-powered extraction ensures accurate data capture and validation. |
| Invoice processing caused delays in approvals and payments. | Invoices are processed on schedule, with discrepancies flagged instantly. |
| Staff had limited capacity for strategic work. | Finance team can focus on reporting, cash flow, and vendor management. |
| Risk of missed or incomplete data. | Records are complete, accurate, and up to date in the ERP. |
How Zoho RPA helps finance professionals
- Zero manual data entry – OCR extracts invoice data automatically.
- Faster processing – Invoices are validated and recorded in minutes.
- Accurate records – Reduces mistakes and ensures compliance.
Scalable – Handles high volumes of invoices across multiple vendors effortlessly.
Ready to simplify supplier invoice handling?
Zoho RPA automates end-to-end invoice processing tasks, freeing your team for strategic priorities.
Want to see it in action? Let’s talk!