With a crowded market of IDP solutions, selecting the right platform requires looking beyond brand names to evaluate real-world performance. This guide outlines eight essential criteria—from pre-processing capabilities and pre-built extractors to security and mobile capture—to help finance and IT teams find a scalable, high-accuracy solution that eliminates template maintenance.
Businesses evaluating intelligent document processing (IDP) platforms face a crowded market. Whether you are looking to replace a legacy tool, automate AP workflows for the first time, or find a solution that handles messy real-world documents, the selection criteria matter more than brand names.
This guide covers what to evaluate when choosing an IDP platform, with practical benchmarks and considerations for finance, operations, and IT teams.
Intelligent Document Processing uses AI, machine learning, and OCR to automate the extraction, understanding, and management of information from unstructured documents. Unlike basic OCR that simply converts images to text, IDP understands document structure and extracts data as structured key-value pairs ready for use in business systems.
A complete IDP platform combines optical character recognition for text extraction, machine learning for understanding document layouts, and natural language processing for interpreting context and meaning.
Real-world documents are messy. Faded receipts, skewed scans, blurry photos, and mixed handwritten-printed text are the norm, not the exception.
What to look for: Automatic image enhancement, skew correction, noise removal, and quality assessment. Platforms with strong pre-processing handle poor quality inputs without requiring users to rescan documents.
FormX uses proprietary image pre-processing and OCR result post-processing to achieve 92% extraction accuracy, minimizing the need for human intervention.
Configuring templates for every document type is time-consuming and fragile - layouts change, vendors switch invoice formats, and new document types appear constantly.
What to look for: Ready-to-use extractors for common document types that work without template configuration. This dramatically reduces setup time and ongoing maintenance.
FormX includes pre-built extractors for invoices, receipts, bank statements, ID documents, and business certificates that work out of the box.
Accuracy claims vary widely across vendors. The key is understanding what accuracy means in practice for your specific documents.
What to look for: Transparent accuracy metrics with clear definitions. Request an accuracy report on your actual documents rather than relying on marketing benchmarks.
FormX achieves 70%+ field accuracy across all documents. For good quality images, date, time, and amount fields achieve 90%+ accuracy. FormX offers accuracy reports based on your sample documents.
How the platform connects to your existing systems determines whether automation actually works in practice.
What to look for: API-first architecture for developer teams, no-code connectors (Zapier, N8N) for business users, and flexible export formats (JSON, CSV) for compatibility with any system.
FormX offers API-first architecture with Zapier, N8N, and Google Workspace integrations. It can be easily integrated with different systems including accounting and ERP software.
Document processing speed affects both user experience and throughput capacity.
What to look for: Per-document processing time, not just batch throughput. For interactive workflows (customer-facing apps, real-time validation), sub-10-second processing is essential.
FormX typically processes receipts in 4-8 seconds, excluding upload time.
For use cases involving field workers, customers, or anyone capturing documents with a phone, mobile capture quality determines extraction accuracy.
What to look for: Mobile SDKs with guided capture (document detection, blur detection, camera stabilization) rather than basic camera integration.
FormX's mobile SDK includes real-time document detection, live preview, blur detection, camera stabilization, and long receipt stitching.
Financial documents contain sensitive data. How the platform handles your documents matters as much as how accurately it reads them.
What to look for: No document storage (in-memory processing), encryption in transit, clear data retention policies, private deployment options, and explicit opt-in for any AI training on your data.
FormX processes documents in-memory and disposes them after extraction. All API calls are encrypted with HTTPS. FormX is hosted on GCP and Azure, with private cloud deployment available for enterprise plans. Documents are not used for AI model training unless explicitly requested.
IDP pricing models vary: per page, per document, monthly subscription, per field, or custom enterprise quotes. Hidden costs for features, integrations, or support add up quickly.
What to look for: Clear per-page or per-document pricing, free trial for testing, and scalable plans that grow with your volume.
FormX offers 100 free pages for testing, $0.30 per page pay-as-you-go, $299/month for 3,000 pages (Starter), and custom enterprise pricing.
Marketing accuracy claims and real-world accuracy on your specific documents are often different. Teams switch when their current tool underperforms on poor quality scans, handwritten text, or non-standard layouts.
Legacy platforms often require complex middleware or custom development to connect with existing systems. API-first platforms with standard export formats simplify integration significantly.
Template-based systems require ongoing configuration as vendor invoice formats change. Pre-built extractors that adapt to layout variations reduce this maintenance burden.
Some platforms become prohibitively expensive at higher volumes, or charge separately for features that should be standard (pre-processing, multiple document types, API access).
Customer-facing use cases (loyalty programs, expense capture, field documentation) require mobile SDKs. Not all IDP platforms offer this.
Use this checklist when evaluating IDP platforms:
- Test on your actual documents (not just demo samples)
- Verify accuracy on your specific document types and quality levels
- Check integration options for your existing systems (API, Zapier, CSV export)
- Understand the pricing model at your expected volume
- Review security practices (document storage, encryption, data retention)
- Evaluate mobile capture capabilities if needed
- Ask about pre-built extractors vs template configuration
- Understand the onboarding and support model
Pre-processing: Proprietary image pre-processing and OCR post-processing
Pre-built extractors: Invoices, receipts, bank statements, IDs, business certificates
Accuracy: 92% overall, 90%+ on key fields with good images
Integration: API-first, Zapier, N8N, Google Workspace
Processing speed: 4-8 seconds for receipt processing
Mobile SDK: Real-time detection, blur detection, stabilization, receipt stitching
Security: No storage, HTTPS, GCP/Azure, private cloud option
Pricing: 100 free pages, $0.30/page, $299/month starter
AI learning: Continuous improvement with feedback
Free Trial - $0 for 100 pages. Test on your actual documents.
Pay-as-you-go - $0.30 per page with no minimum commitment.
Starter - $299/month for 3,000 pages.
Enterprise - Custom pricing. Includes custom SLA, dedicated account manager, private cloud deployment, fraud detection, and mobile SDKs.
No credit card required to start.
Start Free Trial | Schedule a Demo
Sign up for a free trial at formx.ai. You get 100 free pages to upload your actual documents and evaluate extraction accuracy. No credit card required.
Pre-built extractors for invoices, receipts, bank statements, ID documents, and business certificates. Custom extractors can be configured for additional document types.
FormX's API-first architecture and standard export formats (JSON, CSV) make migration straightforward. The 100-page free trial lets you validate accuracy on your documents before committing.
92% extraction accuracy overall. 70%+ field accuracy across all documents. 90%+ on date, time, and amount fields with good quality images. Request an accuracy report on your specific document samples.
FormX's pre-built extractors use machine learning to adapt to different layouts without manual template configuration. The AI learns from document patterns rather than relying on fixed templates.
Yes. Documents are processed in-memory and disposed after extraction. All API calls encrypted with HTTPS. Hosted on GCP and Azure. Enterprise plans offer private cloud deployment. Documents are not used for AI training unless explicitly requested.
Privacy is important to us, so you have the option of disabling certain types of storage that may not be necessary for the basic functioning of the website. Blocking categories may impact your experience on the website.
