Read PDF consultants

Q: Can this process handle PDFs that arrive as email attachments?

Yes, this is the most common trigger we build. An n8n workflow monitors an email inbox (Gmail, Outlook, IMAP), detects new messages with PDF attachments, extracts the attachment as binary data, passes it to the Read PDF node, and then processes the extracted text. The email can be from a supplier, a client, a bank, or any system that sends PDF documents.

Q: What happens if a PDF is corrupted or cannot be read?

The workflow catches errors from the Read PDF node and routes unreadable files to an error queue with a notification to your team. The error log includes the filename, the error message, and a link to the original file so someone can investigate. The rest of the batch continues processing — one bad file does not stop the pipeline.

We can help you automate your business with Read PDF and hundreds of other systems to improve efficiency and productivity. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss implementing Read PDF.

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About Read PDF

The Read PDF node in n8n extracts text content from PDF files within a workflow. It takes a PDF file (received as binary data from another node) and outputs the extracted text, which can then be parsed, searched, transformed, or sent to other systems. This is the starting point for any n8n automation that needs to read information from PDF documents — invoices, purchase orders, contracts, reports, forms, or certificates.

The node handles standard text-based PDFs well. For scanned PDFs (image-based documents without selectable text), the Read PDF node alone is not sufficient — these require OCR (optical character recognition) processing, which we handle by routing the file to an OCR service or AI model as a subsequent step in the workflow. The combination of Read PDF for text-based documents and AI/OCR for scanned documents covers the full range of PDFs businesses receive.

At Osher, we use the Read PDF node in document processing pipelines that automate manual data entry. A common build: invoices arrive by email, n8n extracts the attachment, the Read PDF node pulls the text, an AI model identifies the key fields (invoice number, date, line items, total), and the data is pushed into the client’s accounting system (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks) without anyone typing a single number. If your team spends hours manually reading PDFs and keying data into your systems, our automated data processing services can build a pipeline that handles it end-to-end.

Read PDF FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about how Read PDF consultants can help with integration and implementation

What types of PDF files can the Read PDF node process?

The Read PDF node works with text-based PDFs — documents where the text was digitally generated (e.g., exported from Word, generated by accounting software, or created by a reporting tool). If you can select and copy text in a PDF viewer, the Read PDF node can extract it. For scanned PDFs or photographed documents where the text is embedded in an image, we add an OCR step to the workflow using an AI model or a dedicated OCR service.

Can you extract specific fields from invoices or purchase orders automatically?

Yes. After the Read PDF node extracts the raw text, we use either structured parsing (regex patterns for known invoice formats) or AI-based extraction (sending the text to a language model that identifies fields like invoice number, date, vendor, line items, and totals) to pull out the specific data points. The extracted data is then mapped to the fields in your accounting or ERP system.

How accurate is the data extraction from PDFs?

For text-based PDFs with consistent formatting (like system-generated invoices), accuracy is very high — typically above 95%. For PDFs with varying layouts from different vendors, AI-based extraction adapts better than rigid regex parsing. For scanned or poor-quality documents, accuracy depends on the scan quality and OCR engine used. We always include validation checks and flag low-confidence extractions for human review.

Can this process handle PDFs that arrive as email attachments?

Can you process hundreds of PDFs at once?

Yes. We build batch processing workflows that read a folder of PDFs (or a batch of email attachments) and process them sequentially, with progress tracking and error handling for each file. Processing speed depends on file size and the complexity of the extraction logic, but a typical workflow handles a few hundred standard invoices per hour. For very high volumes, we can parallelise the processing.

What happens if a PDF is corrupted or cannot be read?

How it works

We work hand-in-hand with you to implement Read PDF

As Read PDF consultants we work with you hand in hand build more efficient and effective operations. Here’s how we will work with you to automate your business and integrate Read PDF with integrate and automate 800+ tools.

Step 1

Analyse Your PDF Documents and Data Requirements

We review a sample of the PDFs your business receives — invoices, orders, forms, reports — and document the layouts, field locations, and data you need extracted. We classify them into text-based and scanned categories and note which vendors or sources produce which formats. This determines the extraction approach for each document type.

Step 2

Design the Processing Pipeline

Based on the document analysis, we design the n8n workflow: how PDFs arrive (email, SFTP, folder, API), whether they need OCR or direct text extraction, what fields are extracted, where the data is sent (accounting system, database, spreadsheet), and how processed files are archived. Validation rules and error handling paths are defined at this stage.

Step 3

Build the Extraction Workflow

We build the n8n workflow with the Read PDF node, data parsing or AI extraction logic, field mapping to your target system, and the connection to the destination API. For documents that need OCR, we add the appropriate service (Google Vision, AWS Textract, or a local OCR engine) as a pre-processing step before text extraction.

Step 4

Train and Validate the Extraction Logic

Using your sample documents, we test the extraction against each document format, verify that the correct fields are captured, and tune the parsing rules or AI prompts until accuracy meets the agreed threshold. We build a validation step that flags extractions with low confidence scores for manual review rather than pushing uncertain data into your systems.

Step 5

Integrate with Your Destination Systems

We connect the validated extraction output to your accounting system (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks), ERP, database, or spreadsheet. Field mapping ensures each extracted value lands in the right place. We also set up duplicate detection so the same invoice is not entered twice if the email is processed again.

Step 6

Go Live and Monitor

We activate the workflow on real incoming documents, monitor the first two weeks of processing for accuracy and errors, and hand over documentation covering the pipeline architecture, supported document formats, and troubleshooting steps. Your team gets a dashboard or report showing how many documents were processed, how many succeeded, and how many were flagged for review.

Transform your business with Read PDF

Unlock hidden efficiencies, reduce errors, and position your business for scalable growth. Contact us to arrange a no-obligation Read PDF consultation.

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