Smart Extract+ is Access Capture by Lightyear's AI technology for extracting data from documents in real time. This article explains what it does, how to use it, and answers common questions.
What is Smart Extract+
Smart Extract+ is Access Capture by Lightyear's next-generation AI technology that extracts data in real time, within around 15 seconds per document, from bills, credit notes, receipts and expenses. It's ideal for handwritten documents, poor quality scans, and documents without an existing map.
📌 **Note:** With the latest release, Smart Extract+ can extract **Lines**, **Service** or **Summary** data.
Smart Extract+ has the ability to extract the following information:
Supplier Name.
Bill Number.
Bill Date.
Due Date.
Purchase Order Number.
Product Code.
Description.
Quantity.
Unit Price.
Line Amount.
Line Tax.
Total Tax.
Document Total.
Depending on your choice between Line, Service or Summary as your Extraction Type, Smart Extract+ may extract different data within your line items section.
**Line** — includes all lines with Product Code, Description, Quantity, Unit Price, Line Amount and Tax where applicable.
**Service** — includes all lines with Description, Line Amount and Tax where applicable.
**Summary** — includes a single line with a default description of goods or services and Tax where applicable.
Smart Extract+ methods
There are a couple different methods for using Smart Extract+ within Access Capture by Lightyear:
Document Upload
Email
Within each of these, Smart Extract+ may be triggered automatically or manually, depending on your Auto Smart Extract setting.
Document Upload
If you are in Access Capture by Lightyear, you can click the Upload icon
in the Header Navigation Bar or button
in the Processing Tab.
You will see the Upload modal where you can select your document(s). Click Browse Files to find the document(s), or drag and drop the document(s) into the Upload modal.
From here you can select whether or not you want to use Smart Extract+ in the first column checkbox. Depending on what you have selected, you will see a number of Document Types to upload.
When Smart Extract is checked, you can choose between Bill, Credit Note, Receipt or Expense and then choose your Extraction Type between Line, Service or Summary.
Please Note: When uploading a Receipt or Expense, Smart Extract will be selected by default and cannot be unselected. Smart Extract+ is not available for Purchase Orders or Statements.
After clicking Upload, the document will appear in your Processing tab and will begin to Smart Extract.
When Smart Extract is not checked, you can choose between Bill, Credit Note, Receipt, Expense, Statement or Purchase Order. Depending on your Auto Smart Extract setting, a number of things may happen.
Automatically
When Auto Smart Extract is enabled in Company Settings, if you upload a document to Access Capture by Lightyear via the above method and don't check Smart Extract in the modal, Access Capture by Lightyear will look for a working map and if one is not found it will automatically trigger Smart Extract+ to extract your data.
Manual
When Auto Smart Extract is disabled in Company Settings, if you upload a document to Access Capture by Lightyear via the above method and don't check Smart Extract in the modal, Access Capture by Lightyear will look for a working map and if one is not found it will remain in Processing for you to trigger if and when you need.
In this scenario, you can select the document in Processing and, within Panel 2, click the Smart Extract button either within Doc Data tab.
This will trigger Smart Extract+ and your data will be extracted within seconds.
Automatically
Smart Extract+ via email is triggered automatically or manually, depending on your Auto Smart Extract setting, as described in the Document Upload section above.
Manual
To trigger Smart Extract+ manually from an emailed document, select it in Processing and click the **Smart Extract** button in Panel 2.
What happens after using Smart Extract+
With every upload method, the documents will first appear in the Processing tab and begin to Smart Extract.
After completion, one of two things can happen.
If Smart Extract+ extracts all required fields — specifically Bill Number, Bill Date and Document Total — and a Supplier Name that matches an Access Capture by Lightyear supplier in your account, the document will automatically move into Approvals with the extracted data.
There may be instances where the Extracted and Access Capture by Lightyear Supplier Names are different, and the document automatically moves into Approvals anyway.
If Smart Extract+ misses any of the required fields, doesn't get a Supplier Name, or does get a Supplier name but there is no matching Access Capture by Lightyear Supplier within your account, the document will remain in Processing with the extracted data within Doc Data > Smart Extract.
The missing required fields will be highlighted in yellow for you to manually enter.
If you're repeatedly seeing the same issues on documents, click the Report Issue button
to flag extraction issues to the Access Capture by Lightyear team. This will be a closed feedback loop to provide us with insights to the errors customers are seeing.
Change the extraction type
When uploading via the Upload Modal, you can choose your Extraction Method within the dropdown. If you choose to Smart Extract after the document has already been uploaded, your Extraction Type will come from your Company Settings.
At any point when the Bill or Credit Note is in the Processing Tab, you can change the extraction type between any of the three types.
Supplier extraction rules
When a document is extracted via Smart Extract+, whether the extracted Supplier Name automatically matches to a Access Capture by Lightyear Supplier or you need to manually tell it which Supplier it belongs to, it will be remembered in future to automatically flow through to Approvals.
Multiple tax rates
If you live within Europe, you'll be familiar with having multiple tax rates depending on what you're purchasing — for example, Ireland has 0%, 9%, 13.5% and 23%, and the UK has 0%, 5% and 20%.
Smart Extracted documents can apply these rates automatically, providing you have entered the correct Tax Indicator against your Company or Supplier.
FAQs
Where can I see the Maps related to my Smart Extracted documents
Smart Extract+ extracts your data in real time, using our very own built-in logic to figure out which piece of data relates to which field within Access Capture by Lightyear.
So the simple answer is, you can't, there are no maps!
Why isn't my document automatically smart extracting
If you have uploaded a document and it's not automatically Smart Extracting, there will be one of two reasons.
**Map** — if there is a working map for any of your documents, this will apply or suggest first and will not automatically Smart Extract. You can manually trigger it by clicking Smart Extract in Processing.
**Auto Smart Extract** — the setting to automatically Smart Extract has been disabled in your Access Capture by Lightyear account. Go to Company Settings to enable it.
Why has my document disappeared from Processing
When Smart Extract finds an Access Capture by Lightyear Supplier matching to the extracted Supplier Name, and all required fields have been extracted, the document will automatically move through to the Approvals tab.
What type of documents can I use Smart Extract+ for
Bills, Credit Notes, Receipts and Expenses.
Purchase Orders and Statements cannot be Smart Extracted.
Why is my document shown as manual entry only
If you are seeing the manual entry icon
in Panel 1 there will have been an issue with the Smart Extraction.
Be sure to check in Activity to see the error message - the most common issue will be related to the number of pages. Smart Extract+ has an upper limit of 20 pages currently, anything higher than this will fail.