What is Automated Document Processing? A Quick Guide!

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Automated document processing uses technologies like natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and optical character recognition (OCR) to automatically extract, analyze, and handle information from documents. This helps solve many problems that come with the old way of doing things manually.
August 12, 2024
What is Automated Document Processing? A Quick Guide!

How many hours does your team lose to manual document processing? Too many, right? Automated document processing streamlines these tasks by using AI to quickly and accurately handle, sort, and extract data.

As businesses deal with approximately 80% of their data being unstructured, the need for advanced solutions is growing daily. This is where intelligent document processing (IDP) tools come in.

In this blog, we will explore what automated document processing is, why IDP is a better choice, and how to efficiently automate your document processing workflows. 

What is automated document processing?

Automated document processing uses technologies like natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and optical character recognition (OCR) to automatically extract, analyze, and handle information from documents. This helps solve many problems that come with the old way of doing things manually.

Problems with manual document processing:

Manual handling of documents is slow and often filled with mistakes because it involves a lot of repetitive tasks like typing data into computers, sorting files, and checking for errors.

These tasks not only take a lot of time but are also prone to errors, which can mess up important decisions and slow down work. Plus, when there are a lot of documents, manual methods can’t keep up, causing delays and more workload.

How ADP helps:

Automated document processing (ADP) organizes messy data into a clean format that computers can easily process. This speeds up data handling and cuts down on errors by reducing the need for manual entry and checking.

ADP handles many documents at once, enabling businesses to make quick decisions and manage growth without extra staff. For instance, banks use ADP to speed up loan approvals and improve accuracy by automatically extracting key information, resulting in happier customers and smoother operations.

By using ADP, businesses avoid the pitfalls of manual methods and enhance their capacity to manage increased workloads as they grow, all without needing additional employees.

How does automated document processing work?

Automated document processing (ADP) uses advanced technology to make handling and analyzing documents faster and more accurate. Here's how the process unfolds:

1. Document capture

ADP systems start by collecting documents from various sources such as physical papers, emails, digital files, and web forms. Physical documents are scanned to create digital versions, while digital files like PDFs, Word documents, and images are directly imported.

This initial step ensures that all relevant information is ready for processing, regardless of its original format.

2. Pre-processing

Once documents are captured, the system enhances and normalizes them to ensure consistency. This includes adjusting image qualities like brightness and contrast, removing noise, and standardizing text and layout formats to prepare documents for accurate processing.


3. Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

The enhanced documents then undergo OCR, where text is extracted from images and scanned documents. Modern OCR technology is capable of handling various text styles and even degraded document quality, turning non-editable content into editable and searchable text.


4. Data extraction and interpretation

With the text extracted, the system applies rule-based techniques and artificial intelligence, including machine learning and natural language processing (NLP), to interpret and extract critical information. 

This step involves identifying key data points such as dates, names, and amounts, while also understanding the context and semantics of the text to pull meaningful information.


5. Data validation and correction

The extracted data is automatically checked for errors and inconsistencies.It is cross-referenced with existing databases or external sources to verify its accuracy and completeness. This process ensures that the data meets the predefined standards of quality and reliability.

6. Integration and automation

Validated data is then formatted to suit the needs of downstream applications like databases and ERP systems. This integration facilitates automated workflows within the business, triggering actions such as updating records, initiating transactions, or generating reports without manual intervention.


7. Continuous improvement

Throughout the process, ADP systems utilize feedback to refine their operations. Machine learning algorithms learn from each document processed, improving the system’s accuracy and efficiency over time.

The system also adapts to handle new types of documents and formats, ensuring it remains effective across various document handling requirements.

8. Reporting and analytics

Finally, ADP systems provide analytics and reporting capabilities, offering insights into the efficiency of the document processing workflow.

These insights help businesses identify performance metrics, detect operational bottlenecks, and make informed decisions to optimize processes further.

Through these integrated steps, automated document processing transforms traditional document handling into a highly efficient, accurate digital workflow. This technology not only saves time and reduces the potential for human error but also ensures that businesses can quickly leverage their data for better decision-making.

Top 4 automated document processing techniques

The way businesses handle documents has been revolutionized by advancements in artificial intelligence. Techniques like deep learning, natural language processing, and computer vision are transforming how we extract and utilize information from paper and digital documents.


Let’s take a closer look at each automated document processing technique:

1. Deep Learning-based OCR

Deep Learning-based OCR uses neural networks to recognize and extract text from images accurately. Unlike traditional OCR, it adapts to different fonts, handwriting styles, and complex layouts, even handling poor image quality.

These systems improve over time, making them ideal for various document formats and reducing the need for manual corrections. They can also process large volumes of documents quickly, speeding up data entry and digitization tasks.

2. Natural Language Processing (NLP) for document understanding

Modern NLP techniques, using models like BERT or GPT, have improved machines' ability to understand human language in documents. These models analyze text meaning, extract key information, and summarize long documents.

They are valuable for handling complex documents like legal contracts and research papers, analyzing customer communication sentiment, and making documents easier to use. Additionally, NLP can translate documents into multiple languages, making information accessible to a broader audience.

3. Computer vision for document layout analysis

Computer Vision focuses on understanding the visual structure of documents. It segments pages, detects and extracts tables, identifies form fields, and interprets charts and graphs. This is particularly useful for complex documents like financial reports and scientific papers, improving information extraction and processing accuracy.

Moreover, computer vision can detect and redact sensitive information, enhancing document security and compliance with privacy regulations.

4. Intelligent document processing (IDP)

 Intelligent document processing (IDP) goes beyond simple data extraction by interpreting context and relationships within the document. It combines OCR, NLP, and machine learning to understand and process complex documents. It can handle various document types—whether they’re structured forms or free-form emails—with remarkable accuracy and speed.

This is extremely useful for processing invoices, contracts, and medical records, automating tasks based on document content, and improving efficiency with minimal manual work. IDP also integrates with existing business systems, ensuring seamless data flow and enabling automated workflows across different departments.

Now, you might be confused about which technique will be better, quicker, and more efficient FOR YOU. So, let’s take a closer look at how automating document processing with IDP compares to traditional methods like OCR.

IDP is the ideal choice: Why?

When choosing between an automated document processing system like IDP and traditional techniques like OCR, the decision depends on what exactly your business needs. While OCR is useful for converting text into digital form, it lacks the depth of understanding and automation offered by IDP. 

OCR often struggles with varied document types and complex layouts which leads to frequent errors that require manual correction. This can lead to inefficiencies and increased costs as you need extra resources to fix mistakes and handle diverse documents. 

On the other hand, IDP uses advanced AI and machine learning to interpret data more accurately and manage complex workflows effortlessly. This means IDP not only improves accuracy and flexibility but also reduces manual work and improves overall efficiency.

For businesses dealing with large volumes of diverse documents, IDP provides a more powerful, scalable, automated and cost-effective solution compared to traditional OCR technologies. With that being said, let’s learn more about the benefits of choosing IDP.

6 Key benefits of choosing IDP over other technologies

Gartner's analysis shows that IDP and RPA tools offer finance departments a yearly saving of 25,000 hours and $878,000 in error correction costs for organizations with 40 accountants. That’s how impactful and beneficial IDP can be for you.

Here are the key benefits of choosing IDP and how it outperforms traditional technologies in automation, accuracy, and efficiency:

1. Holistic automation

IDP combines various AI technologies like OCR, NLP, computer vision, and machine learning to fully automate the entire document processing workflow, from extracting data to making decisions. An ideal end-to-end solution.

2. High accuracy and context understanding

IDP provides more precise data extraction and interpretation by understanding the context and relationships within documents, which is especially beneficial for complex documents.

3. Versatility and adaptability

IDP can manage a wide range of document types, including structured, semi-structured, and unstructured. It also improves over time using machine learning, adapting to new document layouts and types.

4. Scalability and efficiency

IDP systems can handle large volumes of various document types efficiently, scaling with your business without losing performance. This reduces the need for manual work, saving time and resources.

5. Better integration and workflow automation

IDP integrates smoothly with existing business systems, facilitating automated workflows and boosting overall operational efficiency.

6. Improved compliance and consistency

IDP helps ensure regulatory compliance by consistently applying rules and identifying potential issues across extensive document sets.

In short, intelligent document processing (IDP) enhances operations by automating document workflows and minimizing manual tasks. It improves accuracy and speeds up data handling while seamlessly integrating with existing systems. This leads to greater productivity and allows teams to focus on more strategic work.

Try Docxster for document processing automation

Docxster is a revolutionary intelligent document processing platform designed to transform your business's approach to handling paperwork. With its advanced AI technology, Docxster simplifies the document handling process and enhances your team's efficiency and accuracy.

And here’s how Docxster can assist you:

1. NLP-powered document sorting and auto-classification

Docxster leverages advanced natural language processing (NLP) to automatically sort and classify your documents based on their content. This will removes the need for manual sorting while helping you keep your records organized effortlessly. This way, your team can spend less time on paperwork and more time on strategic tasks that drive growth.

2. AI and ML-driven document analysis and data structuring

Docxster’s AI and machine learning (ML) technology analyze your documents to understand their content deeply. It extracts the most important information and organizes it into structured data that’s easy to use.

This automated process accelerates your decision-making and reduces the costs and time usually spent on manual document work.

3. Real-time data extraction and validation

Combining machine learning with optical character recognition (OCR), the platform accurately extracts data from your documents. It then validates this data in real-time against existing databases and business rules while ensuring all information is correct and meets your business standards.

By automating this process, you can trust your data while speeding up workflows and reducing errors.

4. Reporting and workflow automation

Our platform provides powerful analytics and insights that help you identify areas for improvement, optimize your processes, and make data-driven decisions that ignite business success.

Whether using the default dashboard or customizing your personalized reports, Docxster seamlessly integrates with your existing applications to streamline workflow automation and enhance overall efficiency.

5. Industry-specific solutions

Tailored solutions are available for various sectors like healthcare, legal, insurance, and human resources. For example, the platform can automate data entry for invoices in finance or streamline patient record handling in healthcare.

These targeted solutions enable businesses across different industries to manage their document workflows efficiently while meeting specific regulatory and operational requirements

Bottom line? With Docxster, your document processing workflow becomes much smoother, efficient, and accurate!

Conclusion

Automated document processing uses AI technologies to extract, classify, and manage data from documents while reducing manual work and errors. It is revolutionizing the way businesses handle documents.

By adopting technologies like Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) and leveraging tools such as Docxster, organizations can significantly enhance their document processing workflows. This leads to improved productivity and overall business performance.

Ready for an efficient, accurate, and cost-effective document processing solution? Try Docxster for free today!

Automated document processing FAQs

1. What types of documents can be processed automatically?

Automated document processing can handle a wide range of documents, including invoices, contracts, forms, financial statements, medical records, and HR documents. It's versatile enough to process structured, semi-structured, and unstructured document types.

2. How does Docxster ensure data accuracy?

Advanced automated document processing systems can achieve accuracy rates of 90-99%, depending on document type and quality. Accuracy is influenced by factors like document clarity, information complexity, and the sophistication of the AI model used.

3. Is automated document processing secure?

Yes, automated document processing solutions like Docxster are designed with robust security measures to ensure data privacy and compliance with regulatory standards.

4. Can automated document processing handle handwritten documents?

While some automated document processing systems can handle handwritten documents, the accuracy may vary. Docxster is equipped with advanced OCR technology to improve the handling of handwritten documents.

5. How can I get started with Docxster?

Getting started with Docxster is easy. Simply contact our sales team for a demo or get started with our free forever plan to understand how our solution can meet your specific document processing needs.