The purchase invoice scanning service enables the electronic receipt of invoices into the Netvisor system. The guide covers the service activation, pricing, receiving invoices via email and post, handling of original material, and information recognized during scanning. Additionally, the guide provides instructions for handling scanning errors and closing the scanning service.


CONTENTS

If a receipt confirmation has not been received in the sender’s email for an invoice sent to the scanning service’s email address, and the invoice has not arrived in Netvisor within 48 hours, it must be resent for scanning and the conditions required for the message and attachment should be checked through this guide page. If no sent message is received, the email settings should be checked by the company’s IT department or the person who has access to the company’s email server and its settings. Instructions for this can be found further down on this page.

Service activation

The purchase invoice scanning service enables the electronic receipt of invoices into the Netvisor Purchases section's Open purchase invoices section when the invoice supplier does not have the ability to send e-invoices. Invoices can be sent for scanning in two ways:

  • In PDF format via email
  • As a paper invoice via post

The scanning service is ready for use when:

  • The company has activated the Netvisor Purchases section
  • The Maventa connection that forwards scanned materials is connected and the account has reception enabled. 

Pricing

A transaction fee is charged for scanning and recognizing invoice information. If multiple pages are scanned from an invoice, additional pages are charged based on the number of pages. Material that is not recognized as a purchase invoice is also scanned and charged the normal transaction fee. The pricing of scanned invoices is based on the volume class, which is based on the number of sales and purchase invoices. Transaction fees are charged according to the current price list.

Receiving invoices via email

Each Netvisor customer company has its own unique receipt address for purchase invoices and it is in the form of the company's id without the trailing hyphen@scan.netvisor.fi, e.g. 76543212@scan.netvisor.fi. The address can be found on the company's billing address page.

Purchase invoices can be sent to a company using Netvisor under the following conditions:

  • The company to which the invoice is sent must have Netvisor's purchase ledger in use
  • You can send several invoices in one e-mail message, as long as each invoice with attachments is in the e-mail as a separate PDF file.
  • All files must have a different name.
  • The maximum size of one email is 10Mb.
  • PDF files must be genuine PDF documents (PDF version 1.3 or later).
  • PDF files must not be locked or password protected.
  • The outer dimension of the document can be a maximum of 210 x 297 mm.
  • Allowed characters for the attachment name are standard letters, a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and underscores/spaces. Please don't use other special characters to name attachments. If you do, the invoice will not be delivered.  
  • One e-mail message can contain several invoice files, but a maximum of one hundred (100) files
  • The message field of the e-mail can be empty, it will not be attached to the invoice
  • Empty files (0KB) are deleted
  • Invoices must be sent from an address to which possible error messages can be sent as a reply message
  • E-mail messages arriving at the scanning service must reach the scanning service as new messages, i.e. in practice the automatic routing of e-mails from one's own e-mail to the scanning service does not work
  • The scanning takes place on the weekday when the e-mail arrives at the scanning service, and according to the service promise, the material must be in Netvisor within two weekdays, i.e. 48 hours, after the scan.
  • If the message sent for scanning contains non-permitted attachments, these are not scanned. But if there is a valid PDF file included, it will be scanned.
  • Only invoice attachments in PDF format can be sent to the scan-to-email address. A confirmation message cannot be sent to this address. If any email sender requires address confirmation before sending the message, this will not work.

The sender of the email will be informed with an error message in the following cases:

  • The receiving address is incorrect
  • An email invoice has more than one receiving address (recipients can be in the copy field, but no receipt or error confirmation is sent to those addresses)
  • An automatic signature image file at the end of the email, such as the company logo as a .bmp image or similar format (does not match the pdf or tif requirement)
  • The e-mail invoice attachment is incorrect:
    • The file format is incorrect
    • The file is too large
    • The attachment is password protected
    • The attachment is corrupt (attachment won't open)

If the invoice sender has mistakenly scanned several invoices into the same file, the invoices cannot be recognized from each other during the scanning process. In these situations, the invoices arrive in the purchase ledger with the information of the first invoice in the invoice bundle.

If the exact same invoice is sent several times to the scanning address, the invoice may not arrive in Netvisor due to the duplicate check used in the email of the scanning service. The purpose of the duplicate check is to remove duplicate invoices from incoming e-mail invoices. However, if the same invoice is sent more than once and the invoice passes the duplicate filter, all the sending times create an invoice and each invoice generates a transaction fee. The duplicate filter most often includes monthly rent bills that are exactly identical to each other and the bill does not have a clear due date, but a list of due dates. The only way to receive such invoices would be to send them as individual invoices with the exact due date, in which case they would not be identical. Alternatively, you can send the rent invoices as paper to the scanning service, so that they would not be caught in the duplicate filter.

All PDF files sent to the scan-to-email address are routed to the company's purchasing ledger. If the files are not invoices, they are treated as material not included in the scan. A transaction fee is also incurred for materials not included in the scan.

Email settings

To ensure your email invoices reach their recipients without being marked as spam, it’s important to implement specific email authentication methods. You do not need to manage this directly, but you should request your IT department to verify and apply the following settings which are crucial for both email deliverability and security:


1. SPF (Sender Policy Framework): SPF helps to verify that the emails sent from your domain are authorized by listing the mail servers that are approved to send emails on your domain’s behalf. This prevents unauthorized use of your domain, reducing the chances of your emails being marked as spam.

2. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails, which confirms the email was indeed sent from your domain and that its contents haven't been altered in transit. This authentication process is key to maintaining a good sender reputation and ensuring emails are delivered successfully.

3. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): DMARC provides instructions to email providers on how to handle emails that don’t pass SPF or DKIM checks. It helps in controlling the handling of such emails, enhancing security by ensuring only authenticated emails are delivered.

These mechanisms are essential to safeguard your email communication from being flagged as spam and protect against phishing and other email-based threats. By instructing your IT department to ensure these settings are properly in place, you can achieve a higher level of trust and security in your email communications, thereby improving deliverability to your customers and their clients.

You can check the status of your sender domain with MX Toolbox.

Receiving invoices via post

The scanning address for a company using the scanning service can be found on the company's billing address page. It is advisable to send only invoice material to the scanning address. If the materials sent to the scanning service are not invoices, they are treated as material not included in the scan. A transaction fee is also incurred for materials not included in the scan. The material sent to the scanning service must be at least A5 size. Paper invoices are received and scanned in Joensuu. 

Each invoice sent to the scanning service must have the scanning address: it is not enough that the address is on the envelope containing the invoices. When the invoices are removed from the envelopes for scanning, the invoice can no longer be assigned to the correct company without the complete scanning service address.

The postal address of the scanning service is in the form:

Company Oy Ab [Company name]
76543212 [company id without the trailing hyphen]
PO Box 100
80020 Kollektor Scan

The previously used scanning service addresses in Netvisor (PO Box 72, 00521 Helsinki and PO Box 10, 57090 VISMA SCAN) are still operational, but for logistical reasons, purchase invoices sent to the new address arrive faster at the customer's purchase ledger. When using the old format scanning service address PO Box 72, 00521 Helsinki, it is especially important to consider how the address is placed in the envelope's address window. The PO Box information must be on its own line and must be visible from the envelope window. If the information is not visible, the invoice goes to address clarification by the post office, and the invoice's travel time to the scanning service is extended by a few days.

Handling original material

All scanned material is archived for 3 months and then destroyed. Advertisements and similar materials are sent to paper recycling. The material sent to the scanning service must be at least A5 size. Smaller materials, as well as those that are not suitable for scanning due to security reasons or physical properties, are forwarded once a week and this is chargeable. Package deliveries arriving at the scanning service address are not accepted at all, but the Post returns them to the sender.

Information recognized during scanning

The following titles are interpreted as invoices during scanning:

  • Invoice
  • Payment term invoice
  • Customs period breakdown
  • Vehicle tax slip
  • Payment form
  • Bank transfer 
  • Summary invoice
  • Receivable to intermediary account
  • Payment plan
  • Expense receipt
  • Consumption invoice
  • Funeral assistance
  • Payment breakdown
  • Expense invoice
  • Payment installment invoice
  • Payment
  • Payments
  • Infrastructure fee
  • Congestion tax
  • Proforma invoice
  • Invoice
  • Commercial Invoice
  • Arve
  • Rechnung
  • Räkning
  • Debit memo
  • TAX Invoice
  • Proforma Invoice
  • Travel Expense
  • Expense


The following titles are recognized as credit invoices:

  • Credit invoice
  • Warranty credit invoice
  • Credit memo
  • Credit note
  • Credit memo
  • Kreditnota
  • Kredit note
  • Kredit nota
  • Gutschrift
  • Kreeditaviis


The amount of an invoice recognized as a credit invoice is scanned as negative, even if it is presented as positive on the invoice.

The following information is recognized from invoices:

  • supplier
  • supplier's id
  • bank account number
  • invoice number
  • invoice date
  • due date
  • bank reference number
  • total amount
  • currency

Information is recognized from invoices in Finnish, Swedish, English, German, and Estonian.

Handling payment terms during scanning

Payment terms are not recognized from scanned invoices. If the invoice has a payment term marked without a due date, the due date on the invoice will be the date the invoice is brought into Netvisor.

Other bank account information

The scanning service does not extract Swift/Bic codes (or similar, e.g., clearing codes) from invoices, and the user must always add them to the supplier's bank account information.

Reference number

If the invoice has a reference number in text form in the invoice reference number field, it is not scanned. Only numeric reference numbers are scanned onto the invoice. The message in the invoice message field is also not scanned, and the user must add this to the invoice manually.

Invoice total

A single invoice line is created from the invoice total, with the supplier's default tax rate (25.5% for new suppliers). All other information is only transmitted in the scanned image of the invoice.

Our reference and your reference field

The value of the your reference field is read in the scanning service. The our reference field is not read. 

Recognizing information for international payments

The id and reference number are not read from international payments. The scanning service does not extract Swift/Bic codes (or similar, e.g., clearing codes) from invoices, and the user must always add them to the supplier's bank account information. The message in the reference number field is also not scanned onto the invoice. The currency is determined based on the invoice's account number if the invoice material does not mention the currency.

Handling material not included in scanning

If the material sent for scanning is not recognized as an invoice, it is read into the purchase ledger as material not included in scanning. Material interpreted as not included in scanning includes:

  • Orders
  • Contracts
  • Payment reminders
  • Payment requests
  • Payment notices
  • Collection letters
  • Invoices arriving under the name of account statement
  • Direct debit invoices and direct debit advance notifications

Material classified as not included in scanning is routed to the company's purchase ledger and also to the email address marked as the scanning service return address on the Billing Addresses page. The scanning service return address should be set to an email that someone can read. Do not set the company's scanning service address as the scanning service return address, as this creates an endless loop for material not included in scanning. A transaction fee is charged for material not included in scanning.

The following information is attempted to be recognized from material not included in scanning:

  • Supplier's id
  • Supplier's account number
  • Invoice currency

The invoice date and due date are set to the invoice's arrival date, and the invoice is brought into the ledger as zero-sum. The invoice number is recorded as NOT_FOUND, and if the id and account number cannot be recognized, the supplier is recorded as UNKNOWN_VENDOR. If the id/account number is recognized, but no supplier is found in the supplier register with these details, a supplier is created with these details named "No supplier". If material not included in scanning is deemed relevant, the invoice handler must check the invoice image for other details and add them to the invoice manually.

Travel and expense invoices and receipts

For importing travel and expense invoices and creating these receipts in Netvisor, we recommend the Visma Scanner mobile application.

User guide: Visma Scanner mobile application

Visma Scanner can automatically create travel and expense invoices and their receipts for accounting. Travel invoices can be sent to the income register as a payroll information notification.

The scanning service can recognize travel invoice-like information in some form, but with the Visma Scanner mobile application, travel and expense invoices can be reliably created in the Netvisor Travel section when all necessary additional information is provided during preprocessing.

  • Travel expense
  • Expense receipt
  • Travel invoice
  • Travel and expense invoice

To process travel invoices, the company must have Travel and Expense Invoices selected as an additional service. 

User guide: Netvisor Store

This way, the employee does not need to be established as a supplier. 

Invoice assignment to supplier

Invoice assignment is done using the id, name, and supplier code. This is explained in more detail on its own guide page.

To ensure assignment to the correct supplier and prevent the creation of an existing supplier again, we recommend adding all the information provided by each supplier, including bank accounts, and filling in the supplier's information as comprehensively as possible.

Scheduling scanning

The schedule for transporting and processing material is as follows:

Day 1: The customer posts the letter. If the letter makes it to the same day's transport, it will be at the scanning service the next business day. If it doesn't make it, one business day is added to the schedule.

Days 2-3: The letter arrives at the bulk mail address "80020 Kollektor Scan".

Days 2-4: The letter is transported to the scanning service, where purchase invoices are removed from envelopes, scanned, and interpreted. The scanning takes place on the business day the letter arrives at the scanning service, and according to the service promise, the material must be in Netvisor within two business days, i.e., 48 hours, after scanning.

Days 4-5: Invoices are transferred to Netvisor. If the recipient has been automatically identified, the material is directly transferred to the recipient's purchase ledger. Otherwise, the invoice remains in manual assignment in Netvisor, which occurs the next business day.

If everything goes smoothly, the invoice is scanned and available to the customer by the fifth business day after sending the invoice. Please note that the invoice date is not necessarily the date the invoice was physically sent. The invoice may be dated in the past or future.

Factors affecting processing time:

  • Weekends and other holidays when mail does not move
  • Correctness and clarity of address markings both in letters and actual invoices 
  • Each invoice must have a complete scanning address, not just on the envelope.
  • Using the old address (PO Box 72, 00521 Helsinki) results in longer processing time due to logistical reasons.

Reporting and handling scanning errors

If the supplier is Finnish or a foreign supplier with the ability to use the Peppol network, we recommend ordering the invoice as an e-invoice from the supplier in the future. Using the Peppol network requires that the company has the readiness to receive e-invoices through Maventa. 

Please note that compensation claims are only processed if the damage is reported collectively via email within 3 months of the occurrence and their total amount exceeds €50. You can find more information below.

An incorrect supplier name can be reported to Netvisor using the system's built-in functionality, i.e., the service can be used to report if the supplier name has been replaced by, for example, the id or bank account number. Reporting errors in supplier names is done in the invoice view using the "Purchase invoice functions > Scanning error" function. Please note the points above regarding invoice assignment to the supplier.

 

Complaints and compensation for scanning

Errors occur in the scanning service during both optical recognition and manual inspection, and the final responsibility for the correctness of the material and its inspection lies with the approver of purchase invoices. Please note that Netvisor Helpdesk does not make modifications to incorrectly scanned information, but the user or the user's accountant corrects the material.

Due to the nature of the service, Visma Solutions Oy is not responsible for other direct or indirect costs caused by scanning errors other than compensating the scanning cost in error situations. Visma Solutions Oy compensates the invoice transaction if the complaint is justified and if the damages are reported collectively via email to tuki.netvisor@visma.com within 3 months of the occurrence and if the total amount of scanning costs exceeds €50. The email must include the company name and id, as well as as detailed descriptions of the errors and invoice numbers as possible.

Please note that if the reason for missing information is one of the following, we do not compensate the invoice transaction:

  • Payment terms are not recognized from scanned invoices. If the invoice has a payment term marked without a due date, the due date on the invoice will be the date the invoice is brought into Netvisor.
  • Payment requests are read in the scanning service as empty invoices, which only contain
    • Recipient information
    • Supplier information 
    • name
    • id
    • Invoice information 
    • currency
  • The invoice amount is not scanned from direct debits.
  • The id or reference number is not scanned from international payments
  • The scanning service does not extract Swift/Bic codes (or similar, e.g., clearing codes) from invoices, and the user must always add them to the supplier's bank account information.
  • A single invoice line is created from the invoice total, with the supplier's default tax rate (25.5% for new suppliers). All other information is only transmitted in the scanned image of the invoice.

Closing the scanning service

If the Netvisor scanning service is closed, material is still sent to the company for 60 days from the closing of the scan account. If the scanning service is closed via Netvisor Store, it closes the reception and scanning service from the Maventa account completely, not just the connection to Netvisor. If you want to leave the reception open to another system, please contact Netvisor support to close the connection to Netvisor.


Keywords: scanning service, purchase invoices, receipt 



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