Microsoft Support — Keeping leading zeros and large numbers

Skavio Flow combines custom extraction fields and saved company workflows with source evidence, review warnings and spreadsheet exports. For a bookkeeping team handling supplier documents, the useful distinction is between extracting a value and accepting it: define what the team needs, check the results against the source, then export the reviewed data.

Make the field definitions reusable—not the assumptions

Consider an illustrative bookkeeping workflow for supplier invoices. The team needs the same business information from documents whose wording and layout may differ. Flow supports custom extraction fields and saved company workflows, so those requirements can be reused rather than defined afresh for each document. Before processing, decide what each requested field means. “Total,” for example, is ambiguous unless the team specifies whether it wants a net amount, tax-inclusive total or amount due. The following fields are examples of a team’s requirements, not verified Flow presets:

Invoice number: the supplier’s invoice identifier, kept distinct from other references.
Purchase-order reference: the order reference shown on the invoice, rather than the invoice number.
Currency: the currency stated in the document.
Total: the particular total the team needs, with its meaning defined before extraction.

Use evidence to check the result, not just the spreadsheet row

Flow reads embedded PDF text locally, uses OCR for scans and uses the configured OpenAI model for structured extraction. Its outputs include source evidence and review warnings alongside the extracted data. Use those outputs as part of the review. A plausible-looking invoice number or total still needs checking against the source. Review warnings can guide attention, but they are not a substitute for examining the document. Keep dates, totals and line items explicitly within human review. A reusable field definition establishes what to request; it does not establish that every returned value is correct.

Correct a value before export

Flow’s acceptance test on 1 October 2026 extracted and exported two synthetic PDF invoices. A scalar correction—a change to a single value—then regenerated the results without a second job. That is a specific, verified correction path, not a broad accuracy benchmark. In this illustrative bookkeeping workflow, the reviewer would compare an extracted value with the invoice, correct it where needed and check the regenerated result before export. The test does not establish editable line-item tables or automatic learning from corrections.

Choose the export format—and protect the identifiers

Flow supports CSV, JSON and XLSX exports. Its XLSX output includes document and line-item worksheets, making the workbook structure relevant when both levels of information are needed. CSV should not be treated as an equivalent multi-worksheet workbook. Microsoft documents that saving an Excel workbook as CSV retains only the active worksheet and removes formatting. That describes Excel’s behaviour; it does not establish how Flow packages its CSV output. There is also a second review point after export: how the receiving application interprets the data. Excel can remove leading zeros or alter long numeric identifiers through automatic conversion. Microsoft recommends importing relevant columns as Text through From Text/CSV to preserve their representation. Apply that precaution to numeric-looking invoice references and product codes: an identifier such as “000184” should remain an identifier, not become a quantity.

Start with documents your team can verify

For an initial evaluation, use supplier documents whose dates, totals and line items can be checked by someone familiar with them. Define the required fields, save the company workflow, inspect the evidence and warnings, and test the scalar-correction and export path against those known documents. Flow extraction costs 100 company credits per page, with a minimum of 200 credits per document, including OCR and export. The company trial provides 1,000 credits with no card required. Use that trial to assess the workflow against your own documents—not to assume accuracy across every supplier layout.

A saved workflow defines what to extract. Human review decides what is ready to export.

Sources

Skavio Flow — supplied verified product snapshot and credit policy, 1–2 October 2026 — The supplied Skavio knowledge verifies custom extraction fields, saved company workflows, source evidence, review warnings, CSV/JSON/XLSX outputs, the bounded synthetic-invoice scalar-correction test, and company-credit pricing and trial terms. The URL is the product destination; the verification basis is the supplied snapshot and policy.
Microsoft Support — Save a workbook to text format (.txt or .csv) — Saving an Excel workbook as CSV retains only the active worksheet and removes formatting; this does not establish Flow’s CSV packaging.
Microsoft Support — Keeping leading zeros and large numbers — Excel automatic conversion can alter numeric-looking identifiers. Importing relevant columns as Text through From Text/CSV can preserve their original representation.

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