Submit invoices via a scanner

Still receiving paper invoices? With a scanner that can send email, you can easily submit them to eConnect for automatic processing. The IDR (Intelligent Document Recogniser) reads the text on the scanned document and converts it to a validated e-invoice.

Scanner requirements

To submit invoices via a scanner, the scanner must meet two requirements:

The scanner must have its own email address with a working mailbox. This is needed so that error messages can be received.
The email address of the scanner must be known to your eConnect organisation. The easiest way to arrange this is to set up a trusted sender for the scanner's email address.

Set up in three steps

You have two options for the receiving address: you can use the default Chamber of Commerce address, or create a new address via the Email Receiver (trusted sender). Choose one of the two; you do not need both.

Step 1: Choose your receiving address

Option A: use your default purchase invoice address (<chamber-of-commerce-number>@inkoopfacturen.econnect.eu) and add the scanner's email address as a known sender.

Option B: create a trusted sender in the platform. The platform generates a unique email address where you can configure the whitelist type, document type and other settings specifically for the scanner.

Step 2: Configure the email address on the scanner

Set the chosen email address (from step 1) as the recipient on the scanner.

Step 3: Check scan settings

Make sure the scanner saves documents as PDF or image (JPEG, PNG or BMP). Set the resolution to at least 300 dpi for the best recognition results.

Scan quality

The quality of the scan directly affects recognition. A few practical tips:

Scan at at least 300 dpi for a sharp and legible result.
Make sure the document lies straight on the glass, so text is not recognised at an angle.
Avoid too light or too dark scans. The document must contrast well.
Do not scan the back of a document if it contains no relevant information; a blank page can cause an error message.

Note: always scan one invoice per file. If an invoice has multiple pages, save them as one PDF. A PDF containing multiple invoices is rejected.

Error messages

If a scanned document cannot be processed, eConnect sends an error message to the scanner's email address. Check the scanner's mailbox regularly for error messages. Common causes are poor scan quality (the document is unreadable) or a file that is too small (below 1 KB).

Want to receive error messages at a different email address? With a trusted sender you can set a separate contact email address where rejection notifications are sent.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum scan resolution required for good recognition?

Scan at at least 300 dpi for the best recognition results. At a lower resolution the OCR engine cannot reliably read the text, which can lead to error messages or incorrect recognition.

Can I scan and submit multiple invoices at once?

Each invoice must be submitted as a separate file. If an invoice has multiple pages, combine them into one PDF. A PDF containing multiple different invoices is rejected with the message "Document contains multiple documents".

What if the scanner has no email address?

The scanner must have its own email address with a working mailbox so that error messages can be received. If your scanner has no email address, you can set up a separate contact email address via the trusted sender so that error messages are sent to another address.

Want to know what technical requirements scanned files must meet? Read the submission requirements.

Submit your first invoice