How to Extract Data from Purchase Orders: Automate PO Processing with AI

Purchase orders (POs) are essential documents for businesses of all sizes. They authorize purchases, track orders, and provide a formal record between buyers and suppliers. But for most teams, processing these documents is still a manual and time-consuming task.

Whether you're a finance team entering POs into your ERP, a procurement manager matching POs against invoices, or an operations lead reconciling inventory, manual PO data entry slows you down. The documents often come in different formats — PDFs, Excel, scanned images — and the layout varies by supplier.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to automate purchase order processing using AI-powered document parsing. You’ll learn how to extract key data fields from POs and send them straight into your spreadsheets, databases, or tools — no manual work required.

Why Purchase Orders Are Hard to Parse Manually

A typical purchase order contains a variety of structured and semi-structured data:

• Header fields: PO number, issue date, vendor name, billing and shipping address
• Line items: product names, SKUs, quantities, prices, totals, taxes
• Other info: payment terms, shipping methods, notes, and approval signatures

The challenge is that no two POs look the same. One supplier may send a neatly formatted PDF; another might attach a scanned paper copy or an Excel sheet with merged cells and custom formatting.

This inconsistency makes rule-based tools brittle and hard to maintain. Even traditional OCR systems struggle with multi-column layouts, long item descriptions, and poor-quality scans.

That’s why many businesses still rely on human data entry — slow, expensive, and prone to errors.

How AI Can Automate Purchase Order Extraction

Modern AI-based tools like Airparser make it easy to extract data from POs — no matter their format, layout, or language. Unlike rule-based parsers, Airparser uses large language models (LLMs) and vision-based document understanding to detect, extract, and structure key information automatically.

Here's how it works:

• You upload or forward purchase orders to Airparser.
• The platform analyzes the layout and content using AI.
• You define the fields you want (e.g. PO number, vendor, items).
• Airparser returns clean, structured data — ready to use.

Benefits of using Airparser:

• Works with PDFs, Word, Excel, scanned images, and more
• No template or layout mapping required
• Handles tables, multiline fields, and even handwritten notes (via OCR + Vision LLM)
• Supports automation via email, API, Zapier, or Make

🔗 Related: Automating Invoice Processing: AI vs. Traditional OCR

Step-by-Step: Automating PO Parsing with Airparser

Let’s walk through how to set up automated purchase order parsing with Airparser.

Step 1: Upload a Sample Purchase Order

Start by creating a new parser in your Airparser dashboard.

• Choose the Text engine for digital PDFs and Excel files
• Choose the Vision engine for scanned POs, image-based formats, or complex tables
• Upload a representative sample of your POs — ideally from multiple vendors

Airparser will analyze the document and prepare to extract the relevant fields.

Step 2: Define the Fields You Want to Extract

Using a simple interface, you can specify the fields to extract from your POs, such as:

• PO Number
• Vendor Name
• Issue Date
• Item Description
• Quantity
• Unit Price
• Total Amount
• Shipping Address

You don’t need to write prompts or code — just name the fields, and Airparser will do the rest. You can review and adjust the results in real time.

Step 3: Send POs Automatically to Airparser

To automate the flow of purchase orders into Airparser, you have several options:

• Email forwarding: Send POs via email to your unique Airparser inbox
• Zapier or Make: Trigger parsing when a new file is added to Gmail, Outlook, Dropbox, etc.
• API: Integrate directly with your PO submission or procurement system

Airparser will extract data from each new PO as it arrives — whether it’s a PDF, Excel, Word doc, or scanned image.

Step 4: Export to Your System of Record

Once parsed, your PO data can be exported in various formats:

• CSV or Excel
• Google Sheets (native integration)
• JSON via Webhook or API
• Connected to ERPs, inventory systems, CRMs, or accounting software

This allows you to power downstream workflows like inventory updates, invoice matching, or budget forecasting.

Examples: How Businesses Use PO Parsing in Practice

AI-powered PO parsing isn’t just about efficiency — it enables smarter workflows across industries. Here are a few real-world examples:

🏭 Manufacturing

• Parse incoming POs from parts suppliers
• Automatically update inventory and reorder points
• Sync data with ERP like NetSuite or SAP

🛒 Wholesale & Retail

• Process customer POs received via email or portals
• Automate sales order creation and invoicing
• Eliminate manual entry into order management systems

🚛 Logistics

• Extract shipping info and SKUs from POs
• Match POs to shipping manifests or delivery notes
• Improve 3-way matching and compliance

🛍️ E-commerce

• Extract order details from supplier POs
• Track product costs and delivery schedules
• Send alerts if pricing or quantities change

Bonus: Automate Your PO Workflow with Zapier or Make

Using Zapier or Make, you can fully automate your purchase order pipeline. For example:

• New email with PO attached → Parse with Airparser
• → Add structured data to Google Sheets
• → Create draft bill in Xero or QuickBooks
• → Notify the procurement team in Slack

You can also build custom logic:

• Flag discrepancies between PO and vendor invoice
• Auto-approve low-value POs
• Trigger reorder workflows

🔗 Learn more: Advanced Automations with Airparser + Zapier or Make

Security and Accuracy Matter

POs are legally binding financial documents, so accuracy and security are non-negotiable.

Airparser is built with enterprise-grade safeguards:

• Data is encrypted at rest and in transit
• Documents are never used to train models
• You can set automatic retention policies or delete documents manually
• GDPR-compliant and safe for finance, healthcare, and legal documents

Final Thoughts: Streamline PO Processing with AI

Manual PO processing is slow, error-prone, and unsustainable as your business scales. By switching to AI-powered PO extraction, you can:

• Save hours of manual work per week
• Improve data accuracy and audit readiness
• Enable real-time procurement, accounting, and inventory updates
• Eliminate the need for rigid templates or rule-based systems

Airparser makes it easy to get started — upload a few sample purchase orders, define your fields, and automate your flow.

👉 Try Airparser for free and see how quickly you can parse and automate purchase orders with AI.