What this guide covers
This guide is designed for bookkeepers and accountants who need to digitize and organize paper bills efficiently. It explains how to use FilePile for scanned invoice processing, turning image-based PDFs into searchable, sortable data using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Artificial Intelligence. By following these steps, you will learn how to upload documents, review extracted data, and manage your payables without manual data entry.
Before you begin
To follow this guide, you need an active FilePile account. The Free plan supports 25 invoices per month, while the Pro and Business plans offer higher limits and advanced reminder features. Ensure you have your vendor bills saved as PDF files. FilePile supports standard digital PDFs and scanned PDFs where the text is embedded as an image. You do not need to install any software, as this process takes place entirely in your web browser.
Step-by-step instructions
- Log in to your account by visiting filepile.co/login and entering your credentials.
- Navigate to the Dashboard by clicking Dashboard in the left dark sidebar.
- Locate the Process tab at the top of the Dashboard page and click it.
- Drag your PDF files directly into the dashed upload zone in the center of the screen. You can select multiple files at once. If you prefer to browse your computer, click anywhere inside the upload zone to launch the file selection dialog. Ensure your files are in PDF format, as FilePile supports both native digital PDFs and scanned PDFs created from physical paper documents.
- Once the files are uploaded, the system will automatically begin the scanned invoice processing workflow. You will see a progress indicator for each file. During this phase, the OCR engine converts the visual text into machine-readable data, and the AI analyzes the document layout to identify the vendor name, invoice date, due date, total amount, and line item details.
- After the initial processing is complete, click the Tasks tab on the Dashboard. This tab is critical for quality control. It lists any invoices where the system could not extract data with high confidence or where specific fields were missing.
- Review the list in the Tasks tab. Look for items marked as "Needs Review" or with missing fields such as Vendor Name or Invoice Date.
- Click on a specific invoice in the Tasks list to open the detail view. Manually type in the correct information for any missing fields to ensure accurate record-keeping.
- Click the Save button to update the record. The invoice will then move out of the Tasks queue and into your main repository.
- Click the Browse tab on the Dashboard to verify that your invoices have been sorted into the correct vendor and month folders automatically.
- Click the Recurring tab on the Dashboard to view auto-detected recurring products. FilePile automatically identifies these after you upload two monthly invoices for the same vendor and product. You do not need to register these manually in a separate setup wizard.
- Check the Recurring products section within the Recurring tab. For each vendor detected as recurring, you will see a row of months. If you have uploaded the invoice for a specific month, that month's column will display a green checkmark. This visual confirmation serves as your proof that the document has been received and processed for that billing cycle.
- To manage payments, open Business HQ from the left sidebar by navigating to /account/business.
- Locate the Vendor Payment Command Center panel within Business HQ. This section displays your open bills, total amount due, and a 30-day cash outlook based on due dates extracted from your PDFs.
- Return to the main Dashboard view. Scroll down to find the card titled Upcoming vendor payments. Note that this is a card on the Dashboard page, not a link in the sidebar.
- Review the Upcoming vendor payments card. It lists individual one-off invoices due in the next 30 days. Below this list, a separate subsection shows the status of your recurring products, indicating whether they are "Received" or "Awaiting".
What you should see
After uploading, you should see a progress bar in the Process tab indicating that the OCR and AI extraction is underway. Successful extractions will disappear from the queue and appear in the Browse tab. In the Tasks tab, you should see a clean table view with columns for Vendor Name, Invoice Date, Amount, and Status. Rows requiring attention will be highlighted. In the Recurring tab, you should see a list of vendors you pay regularly with visual indicators (checkmarks) for months where invoices have been successfully uploaded. On the Business HQ page, the Vendor Payment Command Center should display a summary of your payables without requiring you to manually enter payment amounts.
Tips and common issues
- Scanned quality matters: For the best OCR results during scanned invoice processing, ensure your scanned PDFs are high resolution and clearly legible. Blurry or dark images can prevent the AI from extracting the correct data, leading to more items appearing in the Tasks tab for manual review.
- Do not manually mark recurring products as paid: For auto-detected recurring products in the Recurring tab, simply uploading the PDF confirms the payment for the month. Do not use the Mark paid feature for these items. The Mark paid button on the Upcoming vendor payments card is strictly optional and intended only for one-off vendor bills you wish to clear from the open list.
- Check your reminders: If you are on the Pro or Business plan, navigate to /account/reminders to configure email alerts. These can notify you of due dates and recurring gaps, which occur when an expected recurring invoice is missing for the month.
- Handling one-off payments: If you have a one-time bill listed in the Upcoming vendor payments card on the Dashboard and you have paid it outside the system, you can click the Mark paid button next to that specific item. This removes it from your open list.
Why FilePile
FilePile simplifies bookkeeping by automating the tedious task of data entry. Our advanced scanned invoice processing technology reads your bills just like a human would, but faster and with fewer errors. By auto-detecting recurring vendors and providing a clear view of upcoming payments, FilePile helps you maintain accurate financial records without the manual hassle.
Getting started with FilePile
Ready to streamline your invoice workflow? Sign up today to start using FilePile's powerful OCR and AI tools.