Reviewing multi-rate invoices in Skavio Flow without inventing tax advice
Invoices with several printed tax rates are a document-reconciliation and review problem. Skavio Flow can extract and structure the document, but the reviewer still has to preserve each printed rate label, check the document’s own arithmetic and leave unresolved questions visible. This guide describes a review workflow; it does not determine which tax rate applies or what tax treatment is correct.
Map the invoice before extracting fields
A common risk in a multi-rate invoice is flattening. A supplier may print a tax summary near the header and a different set of rate or tax columns on each line. Treat those as separate evidence. In Flow, use custom fields to describe each printed label rather than one generic “tax rate” field: for example, separate fields for a header-summary rate label and amount, and for a line-level rate label and amount. Preserve exact text as printed, plus net, tax and gross amounts and currency. The goal is document description and review, not interpretation.
- Capture each printed tax-rate label exactly as it appears; do not translate it into a jurisdictional category or treat it as a legal conclusion.
- Keep header tax summaries separate from line-item tax fields, and attach both to the source page.
- Record missing, conflicting or unreadable labels as exceptions instead of filling gaps with a presumed rate.
Reconcile the document’s own arithmetic
Once fields are extracted, a reviewer can run document-internal checks. These are arithmetic and consistency checks against what the invoice prints, not statutory validation or tax calculation. Check line net plus line tax against line gross; where quantity and unit price are printed, check quantity times unit price against line net. Group line-level tax amounts by the printed rate label and compare the groups with the header tax summary. A mismatch is a review exception, not a prompt to rewrite the invoice.
- Compare line net plus line tax with line gross and flag discrepancies for review.
- Group tax amounts by the printed rate label; do not merge different labels just because their amounts look similar.
- Where a printed value is ambiguous, preserve the original text and add a reviewer note rather than silently correcting it.
Use Flow’s structured output as a review surface
Skavio Flow is live and positioned to turn invoices, orders, scans and text into reviewed XLSX, CSV and JSON using custom fields and saved company workflows. Its outputs include XLSX document and line-item worksheets, CSV, JSON, source evidence and review warnings. Embedded PDF text is read locally; scans use Worker Fabric OCR; structured extraction uses the configured OpenAI model. In the 2026-10-01 synthetic acceptance test, two synthetic PDF invoices were extracted and exported, and a scalar correction regenerated results without a second job. Treat that as a limited test of the workflow, not a broad quality claim or a tax determination.
- Use source evidence and review warnings to inspect rate labels, amounts and page references before accepting fields.
- Keep saved workflows and custom field names stable so recurring supplier formats produce comparable review columns.
- When a correction is needed, keep a reviewer note alongside the review file and retain the source page so the change remains traceable.
Export an exception trail, not a tax conclusion
The export should show what was reviewed, what remains unresolved and where the evidence came from. Keep unresolved exceptions visible in the workbook or handoff rather than hiding them in a separate note. In your review process, maintain a reviewer-status column, reviewer note and source-page reference so the handoff is more useful to accounting without pretending the file is an approved ledger entry. Flow can produce XLSX document and line-item worksheets, CSV and JSON; choose the format that fits the handoff, but the same review caveats apply.
- Leave missing, ambiguous or conflicting tax labels in a visible exception column.
- Keep reviewer notes and source references with the reviewed export for corrected or unresolved fields.
- Present the export as a reviewed data handoff; it does not decide which rate applies or approve an accounting entry.