Invoice Processing

This recipe uses the object field type with nested_fields to capture tabular line-item data.

Workflow fields

We recommend creating this workflow in the anyformat platform where you can test with sample invoices and iterate on field descriptions. Copy the workflow ID to use with the API.

Field	Type	Description
`invoice_number`	string	The unique invoice identifier
`vendor_name`	string	Name of the company issuing the invoice
`issue_date`	date	Date the invoice was issued
`due_date`	date	Payment due date
`subtotal`	float	Amount before tax
`tax_amount`	float	Total tax applied
`total_amount`	float	Final amount due including tax
`currency`	enum	Currency code (USD, EUR, GBP, …)
`line_items`	object	Individual line items (description, quantity, unit_price, amount)

End-to-end

curl
TypeScript
Python

Three-step flow: create the workflow, run a document, poll the results endpoint until it returns 200.

# 1. Create the workflow
curl -X POST 'https://api.anyformat.ai/v2/workflows/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANYFORMAT_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Invoice Processor",
    "description": "Extract invoice header and line items",
    "nodes": [
      {"id": "parse_1", "type": "parse"},
      {
        "id": "extract_1",
        "type": "extract",
        "extraction_schema": {
          "fields": [
            {"name": "invoice_number", "description": "The unique invoice identifier", "data_type": "string"},
            {"name": "vendor_name",    "description": "Name of the company that issued the invoice", "data_type": "string"},
            {"name": "issue_date",     "description": "Date the invoice was issued", "data_type": "date"},
            {"name": "due_date",       "description": "Date by which payment is due", "data_type": "date"},
            {"name": "subtotal",       "description": "Amount before tax", "data_type": "float"},
            {"name": "tax_amount",     "description": "Total tax amount", "data_type": "float"},
            {"name": "total_amount",   "description": "Final total amount due including tax", "data_type": "float"},
            {
              "name": "currency",
              "description": "Currency of the invoice amounts",
              "data_type": "enum",
              "enum_options": [
                {"name": "USD", "description": "US Dollar"},
                {"name": "EUR", "description": "Euro"},
                {"name": "GBP", "description": "British Pound"}
              ]
            },
            {
              "name": "line_items",
              "description": "Individual line items listed on the invoice",
              "data_type": "object",
              "nested_fields": [
                {"name": "description", "description": "Description of the item or service", "data_type": "string"},
                {"name": "quantity",    "description": "Number of units",                    "data_type": "integer"},
                {"name": "unit_price",  "description": "Price per unit",                     "data_type": "float"},
                {"name": "amount",      "description": "Total amount for this line item",    "data_type": "float"}
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "edges": [{"source": "parse_1", "target": "extract_1"}]
  }'
# → { "id": "550e8400-…", ... }   ← workflow_id

# 2. Run a document
curl -X POST 'https://api.anyformat.ai/v2/workflows/WORKFLOW_ID/run/' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANYFORMAT_API_KEY" \
  -F 'file=@invoice.pdf'
# → { "id": "069dcc2c-…", "status": "pending", ... }   ← collection_id

# 3. Poll for results (412 while processing, 200 when done)
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANYFORMAT_API_KEY" \
  'https://api.anyformat.ai/v2/workflows/WORKFLOW_ID/files/COLLECTION_ID/results/'

For production integrations, use webhooks instead of polling — they deliver results immediately and don’t consume your rate limit.

import { Anyformat, Schema } from "@anyformat/sdk";

const af = new Anyformat({ apiKey: process.env.ANYFORMAT_API_KEY! });
const file: File = /* a File with .name set (e.g. read from <input type="file"> or new File([bytes], "invoice.pdf")) */;

const workflow = await af
  .workflow("Invoice Processor", "Extract invoice header and line items")
  .parse()
  .extract([
    Schema.string("invoice_number", "The unique invoice identifier"),
    Schema.string("vendor_name",    "Name of the company that issued the invoice"),
    Schema.date("issue_date",       "Date the invoice was issued"),
    Schema.date("due_date",         "Date by which payment is due"),
    Schema.float("subtotal",        "Amount before tax"),
    Schema.float("tax_amount",      "Total tax amount"),
    Schema.float("total_amount",    "Final total amount due including tax"),
    Schema.enum("currency", "Currency of the invoice amounts", [
      Schema.option("USD", "US Dollar"),
      Schema.option("EUR", "Euro"),
      Schema.option("GBP", "British Pound"),
    ]),
    Schema.object("line_items", "Individual line items listed on the invoice", [
      Schema.string("description", "Description of the item or service"),
      Schema.integer("quantity",   "Number of units"),
      Schema.float("unit_price",   "Price per unit"),
      Schema.float("amount",       "Total amount for this line item"),
    ]),
  ])
  .create();

const run = await workflow.run(file);
const result = await run.wait();

// Scalar accessor — undefined for missing or list-valued fields.
console.log(result.field("invoice_number")?.value);
console.log(result.field("total_amount")?.value);

// Nested rows live under extractions[0].fields.<name>
console.log(result.extractions[0]?.fields.line_items);

import os
from anyformat.sdk import Client
from anyformat.workflow import Schema

client = Client(api_key=os.environ["ANYFORMAT_API_KEY"])

workflow = (
    client.workflow("Invoice Processor")
    .parse()
    .extract([
        Schema.string("invoice_number", "The unique invoice identifier"),
        Schema.string("vendor_name",    "Name of the company that issued the invoice"),
        Schema.date("issue_date",       "Date the invoice was issued"),
        Schema.date("due_date",         "Date by which payment is due"),
        Schema.float("subtotal",        "Amount before tax"),
        Schema.float("tax_amount",      "Total tax amount"),
        Schema.float("total_amount",    "Final total amount due including tax"),
        Schema.enum("currency", "Currency of the invoice amounts", options=[
            Schema.option("USD", "US Dollar"),
            Schema.option("EUR", "Euro"),
            Schema.option("GBP", "British Pound"),
        ]),
        Schema.object("line_items", "Individual line items listed on the invoice", fields=[
            Schema.string("description", "Description of the item or service"),
            Schema.integer("quantity",   "Number of units"),
            Schema.float("unit_price",   "Price per unit"),
            Schema.float("amount",       "Total amount for this line item"),
        ]),
    ])
    .create()
)

result = workflow.run("invoice.pdf").wait()

print(result.fields["invoice_number"].value)
print(result.fields["total_amount"].value)
# Nested rows: read from the raw extractions array
print(result.raw["extractions"][0]["fields"]["line_items"])

Example response

The full envelope is documented in Response formats. The top-level keys are collection_id, verification_url, parse, classifications, splits, and extractions. Each scalar field follows the ExtractedField shape (value, value_override, verification_status, confidence, evidence).

{
  "collection_id": "069dcc2c-e14c-7606-8000-2ee4fb17b4e1",
  "verification_url": "https://app.anyformat.ai/workflows/.../files/...",
  "parse": {"markdown": "<DOCUMENT id=\"1\" page=\"1\">...", "text": "...", "parse_confidence": 94.2, "layout_confidence": 87.4, "blocks": []},
  "classifications": [],
  "splits": [],
  "extractions": [
    {
      "split_name": null,
      "partition": null,
      "fields": {
        "invoice_number": {
          "value": "INV-2024-0847",
          "confidence": 97.0,
          "evidence": [{"text": "Invoice #INV-2024-0847", "page_number": 1}],
          "verification_status": "not_verified"
        },
        "total_amount": {
          "value": 4087.50,
          "confidence": 96.0,
          "evidence": [{"text": "Total: $4,087.50", "page_number": 2}],
          "verification_status": "not_verified"
        },
        "currency": {
          "value": "USD",
          "confidence": 98.0,
          "evidence": [{"text": "USD", "page_number": 1}],
          "verification_status": "not_verified"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Tips

Write specific field descriptions. “Total amount due including tax” extracts better than just “total”.
If invoices span multiple currencies, add the enum_options for all currencies you expect.
Multi-page invoices are handled automatically; no special configuration needed.

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Invoice Processing

Workflow fields

End-to-end

Example response

Tips

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Field types

Response formats

​Workflow fields

​End-to-end

​Example response

​Tips

​Next steps

Field types

Response formats

Workflow fields

End-to-end

Example response

Tips

Next steps