IP Sentinel, system 03
Legal operations system
Monitors USPTO activity and drafts office-action responses for review.
- Replaces
- Docketing and first-draft preparation
Intelligent document processing for contracts, invoices and forms
Documents read, checked and entered into your systems, with uncertain fields sent for review.
What is intelligent document processing?
Intelligent document processing (IDP) is software that reads documents like a trained clerk. It identifies each document type, extracts the fields you need, checks them against your rules and records, and writes the data into your systems. Plain OCR only turns pixels into text. IDP understands layout and context, and sends fields it is unsure about to a reviewer.
Document pipeline · contract intake
Illustrative- 99
Document type
Supplier agreement
- 98
Counterparty
Northwind Components Ltd
- 97
Effective date
1 March 2026
- 95
Renewal
Auto-renews, 12 months
- 93
Notice period
90 days
- Review
Liability cap
1× annual fees?
5 fields written to the contract register · 1 sent to a reviewer with page 4 open
The problem
Teams spend hours reading PDFs, scans and email attachments to pull out the same fields, check them against rules and type them into another system.
Our approach
We build document pipelines that classify incoming documents, extract the fields you need, validate them against your rules and records, and write the results to your systems. Fields the model is unsure about go to a reviewer, with the document shown alongside.
- Data entry from documents removed
- The same checks applied to every document
- Reviewers see only the uncertain fields
How one run works
Each step is either fixed logic, a model doing the reading or drafting, or a person on your team. You decide which steps wait for approval.
Receive · intake agent
Collects documents from email, portals and scans
Extract · extraction model
Pulls the fields you need
Validate · rules engine
Checks values against your records
Review · your team
Uncertain fields go to a reviewer
Document intelligence · one run
Illustrative- ReceiveCollects documents from email, portals and scansIntake agent
- ExtractPulls the fields you needExtraction model
- ValidateChecks values against your recordsRules engine
- ReviewUncertain fields go to a reviewerHuman in the loop
Data entry from documents removed
What we build for you
We build document pipelines that classify incoming documents, extract the fields you need, validate them against your rules and records, and write the results to your systems.
- 1
Classification
Each document identified by type and routed to the right pipeline.
- 2
Field extraction
The fields you need pulled from typed and scanned documents, including clear handwritten fields.
- 3
Validation
Values checked against your rules, reference data and existing records.
- 4
Review queue
Uncertain fields shown to a reviewer next to the source document.
Related systems in production
Your project starts from architecture we already run.
Your workflow
A system designed for the function you want to automate next, built on the same architecture as the ones above.
Discuss your workflow
Questions about intelligent document processing
Part of these end-to-end blueprints
What is document intelligence?
Document intelligence is another name for intelligent document processing: OCR, layout analysis and language models that read a document, pull out the fields and check them before they reach your systems. Some cloud vendors use it as a product name, and the idea is the same. This page uses the term because it describes the result, which is documents turned into checked data.
How does AI document processing work on an invoice?
AI document processing first identifies the file as an invoice, then reads the supplier, invoice number, dates, currency, line items and tax. Next it checks that the lines add up to the total, that the supplier exists in your master data and that the invoice is not a duplicate. Clean invoices go on to matching and posting. A reviewer sees only the fields that fail a check, next to the page image. This is how we handle invoice data extraction for payables.
What is the difference between OCR and intelligent document processing?
OCR converts an image of a page into text. Intelligent document processing starts there, then works out what the document is, which value is the invoice total or the notice period, whether it passes your checks, and where it should go. OCR gives you a text file. IDP gives you a validated record in your system.
Which document types work best?
Invoices, contracts, application forms, claims, bills of lading, identity documents and anything with repeatable fields. Scans work well. Handwriting works for clear printed fields; cursive is less reliable, so we measure accuracy field by field on your samples before launch.
Can you extract data from contracts?
Yes. Contract data extraction pulls parties, dates, renewal and notice terms, liability caps and other clauses you track, with a link back to the clause. Contracts vary more than invoices, so more fields go to review at first, and the review rate drops as the rules are tuned on your documents.
Should we buy an IDP product or have a pipeline built?
If your documents are standard invoices or receipts and your ERP has a connector, an off-the-shelf IDP product may be enough. Whichever IDP solutions you shortlist, ask how each validates fields against your own records. That decides how much of the document processing runs automatically. A custom pipeline pays off when documents are specific to your business, validation needs your own records, or the output has to drive several systems.
Can the model run inside our environment?
Yes. For sensitive documents we can use a private model deployed in your cloud account or on-premises.
Guides on intelligent document processing
All articlesPeppol e-invoicing: how the network works and where AP automation connects
Peppol e-invoicing explained: the four-corner model, what a Peppol invoice contains, mandate dates by country, and how inbound invoices feed your AP checks.
8 min read
Best accounts payable automation software: a vendor-neutral buyer's guide
A vendor-neutral guide to the best accounts payable automation software: evaluation criteria, profiles of eight tools, and when a custom agent beats SaaS.
9 min read
Sales order processing automation: from emailed PO to ERP order, with EDI and PDF intake
Sales order processing automation across EDI, portals and emailed POs: the validation checks before an order is created, and the exceptions a person must own.
7 min read
Other solutions
Workflow automation
End-to-end automation of multi-step processes across your CRM, ERP, email and internal tools.
Finance operations
Invoice processing, payables, receivables, reconciliation and month-end reporting, automated with approvals.
HR operations
Onboarding, offboarding, employee requests and policy questions handled across your HR and IT tools.
Tell us which documents your team keys in by hand.
A 30-minute call with an engineer. You will leave knowing what a system could do for that workflow and what it would take to build.
What happens next
- 1
Strategy call
We learn how the workflow runs today and what a good outcome would be.
- 2
Workflow audit
We map the process and measure where a system would save the most time.
- 3
Proposal
A written scope, timeline and fixed price for your first system. No obligation to build.