Invoice Parser API

v1.0

Transform any invoice PDF into structured JSON data in seconds using AI.

Overview

Stop manually copying invoice data. The Invoice Parser API uses frontier AI models to accurately extract invoice information and return clean, structured JSON, ready for your accounting software, database, or automation workflow.

🤖 AI-Powered

Advanced AI for high-accuracy extraction from any invoice format

📦 Line Items

Full itemized invoice support with quantities, units, and prices

📸 Auto OCR

Handles scanned PDFs automatically

💡 Perfect For

• Accounting automation (QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks)
• Expense management and reporting
• AP automation workflows
• ERP integration (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite)
• Audit & compliance data archiving

Quick Start

Base URL

https://api.cparse.com/invoice/v1

Authentication

http

X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY

Get your API key from the dashboard. New accounts include free credit — no credit card required.

Quick Example

Extract all fields from an invoice (default behavior):

cURL

bash

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.cparse.com/invoice/v1/extract-invoice \
  --header 'X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --form 'file=@invoice.pdf'

Custom Field Selection

Extract only specific fields for faster responses:

bash

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.cparse.com/invoice/v1/extract-invoice?fields=invoice_number&fields=total_amount&fields=vendor_name' \
  --header 'X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --form 'file=@invoice.pdf'

Endpoints

GET/fields

Get list of all available fields that can be extracted.

Response

json

{
  "invoice_fields": [
    "invoice_number", "date", "due_date", "vendor_name",
    "vendor_address", "buyer_name", "buyer_address",
    "subtotal", "total_amount", "currency", "tax_amount",
    "discount", "payment_terms", "po_number", "items"
  ],
  "item_fields": [
    "description", "quantity", "unit", "price",
    "amount", "sku", "tax_rate"
  ]
}

GET/health

Health check endpoint. Returns service status.

Response

json

{ "status": "ok", "service": "invoice-parser", "version": "0.1.0" }

POST/extract-invoice

Extract structured data from an invoice PDF.

Request

Content-Type: multipart/form-data
file (required): PDF invoice file
fields (optional): Array of invoice fields to extract. Omit for all fields.
item_fields (optional): Array of line item fields to extract when items is included.

Response

json

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "invoice_number": "INV-2024-001",
    "date": "2024-03-15",
    "due_date": "2024-04-15",
    "vendor_name": "Acme Corporation",
    "vendor_address": "123 Main St, NYC, NY 10001",
    "buyer_name": "John Smith LLC",
    "buyer_address": "456 Oak Ave, LA, CA 90001",
    "subtotal": 1000.00,
    "total_amount": 1250.00,
    "currency": "USD",
    "tax_amount": 80.00,
    "discount": 50.00,
    "payment_terms": "Net 30",
    "po_number": "PO-12345",
    "items": [
      {
        "description": "Consulting Services",
        "quantity": 10,
        "unit": "hours",
        "price": 125.00,
        "amount": 1250.00,
        "sku": "SVC-001",
        "tax_rate": 20.0
      }
    ]
  }
}

Available Fields

Invoice Fields

Field	Description	Example
`invoice_number`	Unique invoice ID	"INV-2024-001"
`date`	Invoice date (ISO format)	"2024-03-15"
`due_date`	Payment due date	"2024-04-15"
`vendor_name`	Seller/vendor name	"Acme Corp"
`vendor_address`	Vendor full address	"123 Main St, NYC"
`buyer_name`	Buyer/customer name	"John Smith LLC"
`buyer_address`	Buyer full address	"456 Oak Ave, LA"
`subtotal`	Amount before tax and discounts	1000.00
`total_amount`	Final total	1080.00
`currency`	3-letter ISO currency code	"USD"
`tax_amount`	Total tax charged	80.00
`discount`	Discount amount (if present)	50.00
`payment_terms`	Payment terms	"Net 30"
`po_number`	Purchase order number	"PO-12345"
`items`	Line items array	See below

Line Item Fields

Field	Description	Example
`description`	Item description	"Consulting Services"
`quantity`	Quantity	10
`unit`	Unit of measure	"hours"
`price`	Unit price	125.00
`amount`	Line total	1250.00
`sku`	Product code	"SVC-001"
`tax_rate`	Tax rate applied (%)	20.0

Error Handling

Status	Error	Solution
400	`invalid_file_type`	Ensure file is a PDF
400	`no_text_content`	Scanned PDF detected — use a text-based PDF or enable OCR
401	`Authentication required`	Pass X-API-Key header with a valid key
413	`file_too_large`	Reduce the file size and retry
429	`rate_limit_exceeded`	Wait before retrying
500	`internal_error`	Unexpected server error — retry or contact support

Tips

📌 Best Practices

Text-based PDFs work best. For scanned invoices, ensure the PDF has selectable text, or use an OCR pre-processing step before uploading.
Select only needed fields. Passing ?fields=invoice_number&fields=total_amount gives faster, leaner responses.
Check the /fields endpoint. Use it to discover all available extraction options before building your integration.

🔒 Security & Privacy

✅ PDFs are processed in memory and never stored
✅ All requests over HTTPS
✅ API key authentication required on every request
✅ No invoice data is logged or retained

Code Examples

Python

python

import requests

url = "https://api.cparse.com/invoice/v1/extract-invoice"
headers = {"X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}

with open("invoice.pdf", "rb") as f:
    response = requests.post(url, files={"file": f}, headers=headers)

print(response.json())

# Extract specific fields only
with open("invoice.pdf", "rb") as f:
    response = requests.post(
        url,
        files={"file": f},
        params={"fields": ["invoice_number", "total_amount", "vendor_name"]},
        headers=headers,
    )

print(response.json())

JavaScript (Node.js)

javascript

import FormData from 'form-data';
import fs from 'fs';
import axios from 'axios';

const form = new FormData();
form.append('file', fs.createReadStream('invoice.pdf'));

const response = await axios.post(
  'https://api.cparse.com/invoice/v1/extract-invoice',
  form,
  {
    headers: {
      ...form.getHeaders(),
      'X-API-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    },
  }
);

console.log(response.data);