Document handling looks like one task but is four: working out what the document is, pulling out the fields, checking them, and sending the result where it belongs.
The stages
- Classify — document type and language, with a confidence score.
- Extract — the fields you need, with the page and location of each.
- Validate — cross-check against reference data, totals, formats and duplicates.
- Route — straight through, to review, or to rejection with a reason.
Design points
- Keep the original and the extraction side by side for audit.
- Set thresholds from measured accuracy on your own documents.
- Log every decision with the model and rule version used.
Measure straight-through rate and error rate separately. A high straight-through rate with hidden errors is worse than a lower rate with clean data.