Document Processing
Lotics handles the full document lifecycle for operations teams: reading incoming documents with AI, cross-checking data across related records, and generating outgoing documents from templates. Drop a document into the chat or set up an email trigger — AI reads it, enters the data, and catches mismatches before anything goes out.
Reading incoming documents
AI reads and extracts structured data from any document you work with. Upload a file in the chat, attach it to a record, or receive it via email — the AI understands the layout and pulls out the fields that matter. No predefined templates or OCR zones needed.
What it reads: PDFs (typed and scanned), photos, Word files, Excel spreadsheets, CSV files, and email bodies.
What it extracts: The AI identifies fields like invoice numbers, dates, line items, totals, container numbers, vessel names, addresses, and any other structured data in the document. You can tell it exactly what to extract, or let it determine the relevant fields automatically.
Languages: Vietnamese and English are natively supported, including mixed-language documents (e.g., a bill of lading with English headers and Vietnamese cargo descriptions). Also supports Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and all major European languages.
Accuracy: For standard typed documents like invoices and bills of lading, extraction accuracy is typically above 95%. For handwritten or low-quality scans, the AI flags low-confidence fields for human review rather than guessing. You always review before data is committed.
Common document types
| Document type | What gets extracted |
|---|---|
| Invoices | Vendor, invoice number, date, line items, subtotal, tax, total, payment terms, bank details |
| Bills of lading | Shipper, consignee, vessel, voyage, ports, container numbers, seal numbers, cargo, weight |
| Purchase orders | Buyer, supplier, PO number, line items, delivery address, delivery date, payment terms |
| Customs declarations | Declaration number, importer/exporter, HS codes, goods, quantity, value, origin, duty |
| Inspection reports | Inspector, container number, condition, damage descriptions, repair estimates, pass/fail |
| Delivery orders | Consignee, container number, release reference, pickup/delivery locations, free time, demurrage |
| Gate receipts | Container number, size, condition, owner, seal number, driver, truck plate, timestamp |
| Packing lists | Shipment reference, item descriptions, quantities, weights, carton counts, dimensions |
The AI adapts to each document type without separate configuration. The same extraction handles invoices from different vendors with different layouts.
Cross-checking documents
After data is extracted, Lotics can automatically compare values across related documents and records. This catches errors that manual review misses, especially at high volume.
| What's checked | Example |
|---|---|
| Invoice total vs line items | Does the sum of line items match the stated total? |
| Bill of lading vs booking confirmation | Do container numbers, vessel names, and ports match? |
| Delivery quantity vs purchase order | Did we receive what was ordered? |
| Invoice rate vs contract rate | Is the vendor charging the agreed price? |
| Customs declaration vs commercial invoice | Do declared values and quantities match? |
| Inspection report vs delivery order | Is the container condition consistent at handover? |
When a mismatch is found, the record is flagged, the responsible person is notified, and processing can pause until the issue is resolved. Every document is checked against every related record, every time.
Generating PDF documents
Lotics produces PDFs in two ways:
Design from scratch — Describe what you need to the AI assistant ("create an invoice template with our logo, a line items table, payment terms, and bank details") and it builds an HTML/CSS template. The template uses variables that get filled with record data at generation time. Supports repeating sections for line items, conditional content (e.g., show hazardous goods declaration only when applicable), and full layout control including page size and orientation. The output is a professionally styled PDF.
Fill existing forms — Upload a PDF form you already use (government forms, customs declarations, industry-standard documents). Lotics detects the form fields, you map them to your data, and it produces a filled PDF. The layout stays exactly as it was — Lotics just fills in the blanks.
What teams generate as PDFs
- Invoices and debit notes
- Gate-in and gate-out receipts
- Bills of lading
- Customs declarations
- Quotations and proposals
- Certificates and inspection reports
- Delivery confirmations
- Any form or report your business produces repeatedly
Generating Excel documents
Upload a .xlsx template with your company's formatting, formulas, and layout. Mark where data should go. When you generate a document, Lotics fills the template with live data from your records.
Line items expand automatically. A single template row for line items becomes as many rows as needed — 5, 50, or 500. Formulas (subtotals, tax, grand total) adjust automatically as rows expand.
Formatting is preserved. Merged cells, conditional formatting, print areas, page breaks, headers and footers — the output looks exactly like a hand-crafted spreadsheet.
Sheet duplication. Need one sheet per customer or per shipment? A single template sheet duplicates for each item, with data filled per sheet.
What teams generate as Excel
- Financial reports and P&L summaries
- Customs manifests and packing lists
- Inventory count sheets
- Billing reconciliation sheets
- Data exports for partners who need Excel format
- Any spreadsheet your team currently builds manually from data
Generating Word documents
Upload a .docx template with variable placeholders. Lotics fills the variables with record data and produces a completed Word document. Supports repeating sections (loop through line items, charges, or any list) and conditional content (include or exclude sections based on data).
You can mark variables visually — select text in the document preview and replace it with a variable — or type the placeholders directly before uploading.
What teams generate as Word
- Contracts and agreements
- Proposals and quotations
- Formal letters and certificates
- Reports with narrative sections
- Any document where the recipient expects a Word file
Sending emails with documents
Email templates let you send branded, data-driven emails directly from Lotics. The template includes a subject line, recipient defaults (to, cc, bcc), and an HTML body — all of which can pull live data from your records. Attach generated PDFs or Excel files to the email automatically.
What teams send as emails
- Invoice delivery with PDF attachment
- Booking confirmations with shipment details
- Payment reminders with outstanding balance
- Status updates with tracking information
- Weekly/monthly reports sent on a schedule
How it all connects
The power of document processing in Lotics is that reading, checking, generating, and sending are all connected to the same data. An incoming invoice gets read by AI, its data enters your records, the numbers are checked against the purchase order, and if everything matches, a confirmation email goes out — all from the same workspace, using the same data, with a full audit trail.
Templates are created once and reused across all records. The AI assistant can build templates from a description in minutes. Generated documents are stored as file attachments on the relevant record, downloadable at any time.
Frequently asked questions
What document formats can Lotics read?
PDFs (including scanned), images (JPEG, PNG), Word documents (.docx), Excel files (.xlsx), CSV files, and email bodies. The AI processes documents visually, so even photos of handwritten forms can be extracted.
What document formats can Lotics generate?
PDF (from HTML templates or by filling existing PDF forms), Excel (.xlsx from templates with auto-expanding formulas), Word (.docx from templates with loops and conditionals), and branded HTML emails with attachments.
Can the AI extract data from Vietnamese documents?
Yes. Vietnamese and English are both natively supported. The AI handles mixed-language documents and Vietnamese business terminology.
How do I create a template?
Ask the AI assistant: "create an invoice PDF template with our logo, line items, and payment terms." Or upload an existing file (.xlsx, .docx, or PDF form) and map the variables. Templates are managed in Settings.
Are generated documents stored?
Yes. Every generated document is saved as a file attachment on the relevant record. You can download it at any time, and the audit trail shows exactly when it was generated and from what data.
Can I use my existing PDF forms?
Yes. Upload any PDF with form fields. Lotics detects the fields, you map them to record data, and it fills and flattens the PDF. The original layout is preserved exactly.