Invoice images in the Kofax ReadSoft Invoices system: Overview

This topic gives you an overview of image files in Kofax ReadSoft Invoices.

Note Warning

Never carry out any manual processes (such as moving, renaming, or deleting) on invoice image files while they are waiting to be processed by one of the production modules. This breaks the link between the image and the corresponding invoice data.

Images entering the system

There are various ways for images files to enter the Kofax ReadSoft Invoices system:

  1. When you scan invoices, image files (TIFF format) are created and saved to a dedicated image folder. (How Kofax ReadSoft Invoices names image files.) The image quality and file size depend on the scanner description that is selected in the Scan job description, among other things. (More info.)
  2. Image files can also be imported to the system. Various formats are supported. Multi-image files are also supported.

Regardless of how an invoice image enters the system, its file name is saved with the invoice data in the Kofax ReadSoft Invoices database.

What happens to image files when invoices are interpreted?

  • When the Source setting is Internal, Interpret does not move the image files.
  • When the Source setting is Import invoice image files, Interpret moves image files to a new location, depending on the interpretation result. Unless you specify otherwise, they are moved to subfolders of the source folder, namely \ident or \error.

What happens to image files when invoices are transferred?

The Transfer job is most often configured to move invoice images from the Kofax ReadSoft Invoices folders to a location where they can be stored (archived).

Otherwise, an administrator must delete or move the images manually.

The names of the files are transferred along with the rest of the invoice data if you insert the appropriate system variable (for example #Pages) in the transaction description.

Images can also be converted to a different format during transfer. Use the Image settings in the Transfer job description to specify this. Another option in the Image settings is Transfer multipage invoice as multi-TIFF.

Additional details

Throughout the process, images of invoice appendices are kept together with the corresponding invoice images.

Another type of invoice image used in the system is a learning invoice.

Recommendations

  • Restrict access to image folders. (See the warning above.)
  • Kofax ReadSoft Invoices itself never deletes image files; it only moves them to specified folders, as described above. Therefore, every company needs routines for moving invoice image files and perhaps uploading these to an archive system.
  • Regularly check the folder and subfolders (especially the \error subfolder, if you are importing images) that contain invoice images. Images can become corrupt or have other problems.

Examine every image file in the folder, checking the date for example. Images that are older than they should be considering your company's routines for moving or deleting these files (see above) most likely have a problem.

If an image file has read-only properties, then manually change this. Once fixed, such image files can be moved back to the import folder.

If an image file is corrupt, find the paper original and rescan it.

  • Ensure that image files are backed up regularly.
  • Secure enough disk space to accommodate the image files used by your system.