To extract data from remittance advices, you can use Lido. Upload the remittance advices, specify the fields your cash application needs, and Lido pulls every invoice line into a spreadsheet, whatever format each customer uses.
In this tutorial, we will walk you through extracting data from a sample remittance advice with several invoices and a credit memo.
Lido is the best way to extract data from remittance advices because it reads every customer's layout, matches their labels to your columns, and returns one row per invoice line without templates.
Before you start, make sure you have your remittance advices saved as PDFs, images, or scanned copies.
If you don't have a Lido account yet, you can create one for free here.
Once you're logged in, create a New File.
Select the Extract Data button at the top of the sheet.
Upload your remittance advices by dragging and dropping them into Lido, or click to browse. You can upload up to 100 files at a time. Each customer can use a different format.
For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be using a sample remittance advice for one check that pays four invoices and applies a credit memo. Enter the columns you want to extract: Customer Name, Check Number, Payment Date, Invoice Number, Invoice Amount, Discount, and Amount Paid.
Next, add extra instructions. We used: "Extract each invoice line as a separate row, including credit memos. Customer Name is the company that sent the payment. Repeat the Customer Name, Check Number, and Payment Date on every row. Format dates as MM/DD/YYYY and amounts as plain numbers, with credit memos as negative amounts."
Keep Extract Multiple Rows per Document checked so every invoice line gets its own row. Once done, click Process All Files.
Review the extracted data against the remittance advice. Lido returned five rows, one for each invoice and one for credit memo CM-3021 at -320, with the check number and payment date on every row.
A quick way to check any remittance advice is to add up the Amount Paid column. Here it comes to 8,544.83, which matches the check amount.
Click Export to Excel to download the payment lines as a spreadsheet file. Rename or reorder the columns to match your ERP's cash application import template.
Open the Email tab in the Extract Data window and copy your Lido email address. Forward remittance emails to it, or set up a rule in Gmail or Outlook, and Lido extracts each remittance advice in about 20 seconds with the same columns. Our guide to automating extraction from email covers the forwarding setup.
Every customer's AP system produces a different remittance advice. These are the cases that cause the most trouble and how to handle them in Lido:
Different labels for the same field: One customer writes "Invoice Number," another writes "Reference," and another writes "Document No." Lido maps them to your Invoice Number column, and you can add an instruction like "Reference Number means Invoice Number" for unusual cases. Carrier invoice processing tools deal with the same label problem on freight bills, where every trucking company names fields differently.
Customer IDs that aren't on the document: Your ERP may need a customer ID that customers never print. Upload your customer master list with + Context Doc and ask Lido to match each customer name to its ID.
Cover pages and extra sections: Some remittance advices include a cover page or a terms page. Use Page Range to skip pages you don't need, or tell Lido which sections to ignore.
Multi-page and two-column layouts: Large customers often send long remittance advices with invoice lines in two columns per page. Lido reads all pages and every column, so each line still becomes its own row.
ERP formatting rules: Your ERP may need dates in a specific format or amounts without commas. Put those rules in Extra Instructions so the export is ready to import.
AR teams also handle remittance advices in a few other ways, each with limits:
Manual keying: Typing each invoice line into your ERP works for a few payments a day. It slows down cash application and leads to errors on long remittance advices.
Template-based OCR: Traditional OCR data extraction tools need a template for each customer's layout, so teams usually build templates only for their largest customers and key the rest by hand.
Bank lockbox files: Lockbox services capture some remittance data from checks, but detail is often missing for payments that arrive by email or ACH.
For a wider comparison, see our list of the best remittance advice processing software and the best accounts receivable automation software.
Now that you know how to extract data from remittance advices, you can apply payments faster without retyping invoice lines.
Upload the remittance advice to Lido, enter the fields you need as columns, and click Process All Files. Lido returns one row per invoice line that you can export to Excel.
Yes. Lido reads every customer's layout and fills the same columns without templates.
Yes. Keep Extract Multiple Rows per Document checked, and Lido returns each invoice and credit memo as its own row.
Yes. Upload your customer master list with + Context Doc, and Lido matches each customer name to its ID.
Yes. Forward remittance emails to your Lido email address, and Lido extracts each one automatically.
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