Skavio Flow: define and reuse fields without copying previous values
Skavio Flow lets teams reuse custom extraction fields and instructions through saved company workflows. Treat that saved configuration as your field template: reuse the questions, not a completed document’s answers. Here is how to define the fields, save the recipe and check each new result against its own source.
1. Define what each field means—not what it contained last time
Start with the information your handoff needs. In Flow’s “Fields to extract,” use stable names that remain meaningful across documents. The following is an illustrative invoice field set, not a built-in template. Decide the boundaries before saving it: for example, whether total_amount means the invoice’s stated total including tax rather than its subtotal. Published field rules require unique names that start with a letter and contain only letters, numbers or underscores. Each name can have up to 64 characters, with a maximum of 30 fields. Do not use reserved names, which include items, warnings, evidence, review_required and human_review.
- supplier_name — the supplier identified on the current invoice, not the buyer.
- invoice_number — the invoice identifier, not a purchase-order reference.
- invoice_date — the stated invoice date, not the delivery or due date.
- currency — the currency explicitly identified in the source.
- total_amount — the stated invoice total, using the definition agreed for this workflow.
2. Write source-based instructions, not reusable answers
Instructions should explain how to find a value and distinguish it from nearby information. A useful example is: “Extract the invoice number from the current document; do not substitute an order number or invent a missing value.” Keep document-specific answers out of reusable instructions. “Extract the supplier’s name” is a rule; “The supplier is Example Company” is an answer that could be inappropriate for the next file. The same applies to sample dates, invoice references, currencies and amounts. Do not assume that saving a workflow removes or neutralizes those literal values. The documentation states that missing extraction values are null. Preserve missingness rather than filling a gap with a previous invoice’s answer. Instructions express the intended behavior, but they do not guarantee that every extraction will follow it correctly.
3. Save the fields and instructions as a company workflow
Flow’s workspace exposes “Saved workflows” and a “Workflow” selector. Its save form contains “Workflow name,” “Fields,” “Instructions” and “Save workflow.” Use these controls to save the extraction recipe rather than treating a completed spreadsheet as the template. Choose a descriptive name such as “Supplier invoice headers.” Before using “Save workflow,” read the fields and instructions once more for embedded answers from the document used during setup. For a fresh document, select the relevant saved workflow through “Workflow” and verify that its saved fields and instructions are appropriate for the task. Reuse is appropriate when the meaning of the fields stays the same. If you move from supplier invoices to purchase orders, reconsider the definitions instead of assuming similar-looking reference numbers mean the same thing.
4. Run a two-document check before routine use
Test the workflow with two fictional invoices. Give the first invoice the number TEST-101 and an explicit EUR currency label. Give the second the number TEST-202 and deliberately omit currency labels and symbols. Keep these sample values in the test documents, not in the saved instructions. Process the first document, then reuse the saved workflow for the second. This is a suggested check for stale answers and missing-value handling—not a completed product test or proof that incorrect carry-over can never happen.
- Confirm that each result uses its own document’s invoice number.
- Check that the second document’s missing currency is not filled with EUR from the first.
- Check how the missing field is represented in the result and chosen export. The documentation specifies null for missing extraction values; do not assume a spreadsheet will display the literal word null.
- If a value appears without source support, investigate the saved instructions and the extraction result before continuing.
5. Review each new result before export
A familiar field set can make a new result look ready before it has been checked. Use Flow’s source evidence and review warnings to compare extracted values with the current document. Verify invoice identifiers, dates, currency, totals and any line items. Treat missing or ambiguous information as a review issue, not an invitation to reuse an earlier answer. Flow supports XLSX, CSV and JSON exports. XLSX output separates document rows and line items into worksheets. Choose the format your receiving process needs, then inspect the reviewed output before downstream import. Consistent field names make the request repeatable; they do not establish that the resulting values are correct.