[BETA] Using OCR to Extract Transactions From PDF Statements and Post to the GL

This can be especially useful for clients that don’t have bank or credit card connections or the annual shoe box client looking to get financials completed for their tax returns.  Either way this article will ensure you have the prerequisite setup completed to be able to successfully use your clients’ electronic bank or credit card statements to add their transactions to their general ledger; regardless if they are a monthly bookkeeping client or a write-up client.

In order to use this service your client will need to be on QBO or Xero and have been added to your Botkeeper platform. Let’s take a moment now to ensure your client’s set up is complete. Read straight through or jump to one of the following steps.

• Setup
• Upload Statements
• Review, Edit & Add Transactions To Your Client’s GL

Setup

Before we jump in, let’s take a moment to ensure your client’s setup is complete.

1. Ensure your client’s general ledger is connected to Botkeeper. 
2. Navigate to the Work module.
3. Statement Uploads:
   1. Infinite Clients: 
      1. Check for and complete any GL Account Found tasks. 
      2. This will ensure bank statement folders are created for each account. 
      3. Note: these tasks are generated after the GL (QBO/Xero) is connected to the platform.
      4. Ensure the client’s Bank Statement is uploaded to the account’s Bank Statement folder within the Documents module.
   2. Infinite Plus Clients:
      1. Ensure all statement upload tasks are completed 
4. While in the Work module, you have the option to create a recurring document upload task for the statement to be uploaded by a named user on a monthly basis. 
   1. Assign the appropriate bank statement folder in the task to have the platform save the uploaded statement to it automatically.
   2. Note: (Infinite clients) this task is optional, as documents are permitted to be uploaded directly to the client’s Bank Statement folder.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for all accounts that need their statements’ transactions added to their GL.  
   1. Note: the data extraction and data validation process occurs behind the scenes.
   2. Within 24 hours, a task is generated for the account assignee set in Auto Bank Rec, or, if none is set, the Client Point of Contact. If the Client Point of Contact is the appropriate party to receive the tasks, there is no need to add an account assignee in Auto Bank Rec.
6. Navigate to the Transaction Manager module.
7. Take the steps detailed in the GL Automation article to ensure this setup is completed.
   1. Note: When using GL Automation, this setup is required for the AI categorization to work. Once completed, transactions will begin being categorized within 24 hours of your client’s transactions being added to their GL.
   2. Alternatively, you can click the blue light bulb for steps to complete this setup.
      

With the setup complete you can upload your client’s bank statement(s) 

Infinite clients follow the steps within this article: Upload directly to the bank statement folder.

Infinite Plus Service clients follow the steps within this article: Upload via a document upload request task.

Note: In order to have the platform perform monthly reconciliations, each month’s statement should be individually uploaded to the Botkeeper platform. If you prefer to have a single (annual) reconciliation you can upload a single statement that encompasses the entire year.

Now It’s Time To Review The Bank Statement Transactions And Add Them To Your Client’s GL

Once your client’s statements have been added to their respective Bank Statement folders, the platform will use OCR technology to extract the statement details, add your client’s transactions to the Auto Bank Rec module, and assign a Reconciliation Task to the associated point of contact*. The steps outlined below will show you how to review and make any necessary edits to your clients’ transactions before they get added to their general ledger.

* Within 24 hours, a task is generated for the account assignee set in Auto Bank Rec, or, if none is set, the Client Point of Contact. If the Client Point of Contact is the appropriate party to receive the tasks, there is no need to add an account assignee in Auto Bank Rec.

1. Navigate to Work and open the Reconciliation Exceptions. 
2. From inside the task, click the Reconcile button.
3. The will be taken to the associated bank or credit card reconciliation. 
4. Locate and Review the extracted transactions in the Statement Transactions table..
5. Edit your client’s transactions using one of the following methods (single or bulk editing)
6. The following morning, the AI will categorize the statement transactions (behind the scenes) that were added to the GL.
7. Navigate to Transaction Manager and click the Needs Review tab.
8. Review and update (as necessary) any low- or medium-confidence transactions.
9. Put a tickmark in the first column to select the transactions and click the button to Mark Reviewed. 
10. Your transactions will now sync back to your client’s GL and move from the Needs Review tab to the Processed tab within Transaction Manager.
11. After all transactions have been Marked Reviewed in the Needs Review tab it’s time to do a Bot Review to ensure no exceptions were found by the AI/ML that need your attention.
12. Navigate to the Bot Review module and address any exceptions that the AI/ML have identified.

Congratulations you have successfully added your client’s transactions from the statements to their general ledger! 🥳