Creating Documents from PDF

Overview

The e-invoice.be API allows you to create documents directly from PDF files using AI-powered data extraction. This is useful when:

You have existing PDF invoices you want to send via Peppol
Your system generates PDF invoices but not structured data
You want to digitize paper invoices
You’re migrating from traditional PDF invoicing to e-invoicing

How It Works

Upload a PDF invoice and the API automatically extracts invoice data and attempts to generate a valid UBL document. If the ubl_document field is present in the response, sufficient details were extracted to create a Peppol-compliant document ready for sending. The API provides two processing modes:

Synchronous - Immediate processing with instant results (recommended for most cases)
Asynchronous - Long-running conversions with task polling (for complex PDFs)

Method 1: Synchronous PDF Upload

Upload a PDF file and receive immediate extraction results.

Basic Upload

curl -X POST "https://api.e-invoice.be/api/documents/pdf" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
     -F "file=@invoice.pdf"

Upload with Tax IDs (Recommended)

Providing tax IDs improves extraction accuracy:

curl -X POST "https://api.e-invoice.be/api/documents/pdf?vendor_tax_id=BE1018265814&customer_tax_id=BE0848934496" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
     -F "file=@invoice.pdf"

Response

The response contains extracted invoice data and, if successful, a UBL document ready for sending:

{
  "success": true,
  "document_type": "INVOICE",
  "state": "DRAFT",
  "direction": "OUTBOUND",
  "invoice_id": "INV-2024-001",
  "invoice_date": "2024-10-24",
  "invoice_total": "1210.00",
  "currency": "EUR",
  "vendor_name": "E-INVOICE BV",
  "vendor_tax_id": "BE1018265814",
  "customer_name": "OpenPeppol VZW",
  "customer_tax_id": "BE0848934496",
  "items": [
    {
      "description": "Professional Services",
      "quantity": "10.0",
      "unit_price": "100.00",
      "tax_rate": "21.00",
      "amount": "1000.00"
    }
  ],
  "ubl_document": "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?><Invoice>...</Invoice>"
}

If the ubl_document field is present in the response, the PDF contained sufficient information to generate a valid UBL document. You can then create a document from this UBL and send it via Peppol.

Creating a Document from Extracted UBL

If the response contains a ubl_document, create and send it:

# Step 1: Create document from the extracted UBL
# /api/documents/ubl takes multipart/form-data with a "file" field — not a raw XML body
curl -X POST "https://api.e-invoice.be/api/documents/ubl" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
     -F "file=@extracted_invoice.xml"

# Step 2: Send via Peppol
curl -X POST "https://api.e-invoice.be/api/documents/doc_abc123/send" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Method 2: Asynchronous PDF Upload

For complex PDFs or when immediate processing isn’t required, use the asynchronous endpoint.

Step 1: Initiate Conversion

curl -X POST "https://api.e-invoice.be/api/conversion/pdf" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
     -F "file=@invoice.pdf"

Response:

{
  "task_id": "task_abc123",
  "status": "pending"
}

Step 2: Check Status

curl -X GET "https://api.e-invoice.be/api/conversion/pdf/task_abc123" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Response:

{
  "task_id": "task_abc123",
  "status": "completed"
}

Status values: pending, completed, failed

Step 3: Retrieve Result

curl -X GET "https://api.e-invoice.be/api/conversion/pdf/task_abc123/result" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Response contains the same structure as the synchronous endpoint.

Code Examples

Node.js - Synchronous Upload

const axios = require('axios');
const FormData = require('form-data');
const fs = require('fs');

async function uploadPDFInvoice(pdfPath, vendorTaxId, customerTaxId) {
  const formData = new FormData();
  formData.append('file', fs.createReadStream(pdfPath));

  // Build URL with optional tax IDs
  let url = 'https://api.e-invoice.be/api/documents/pdf';
  const params = new URLSearchParams();
  if (vendorTaxId) params.append('vendor_tax_id', vendorTaxId);
  if (customerTaxId) params.append('customer_tax_id', customerTaxId);
  if (params.toString()) url += `?${params.toString()}`;

  try {
    const response = await axios.post(url, formData, {
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.E_INVOICE_API_KEY}`,
        ...formData.getHeaders()
      }
    });

    console.log('PDF processed successfully');
    console.log('Invoice ID:', response.data.invoice_id);
    console.log('Invoice total:', response.data.invoice_total);

    if (response.data.ubl_document) {
      console.log('✓ UBL document generated - ready to send');
      return response.data;
    } else {
      console.log('⚠ Could not generate UBL - manual review required');
      console.log('Extracted data:', response.data);
      return null;
    }

  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error:', error.response?.data || error.message);
  }
}

// Usage
uploadPDFInvoice('./invoice.pdf', 'BE1018265814', 'BE0848934496');

Python - Synchronous Upload

import requests
import os

API_KEY = os.environ.get('E_INVOICE_API_KEY')
BASE_URL = 'https://api.e-invoice.be'

def upload_pdf_invoice(pdf_path, vendor_tax_id=None, customer_tax_id=None):
    headers = {
        'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}'
    }

    files = {
        'file': open(pdf_path, 'rb')
    }

    params = {}
    if vendor_tax_id:
        params['vendor_tax_id'] = vendor_tax_id
    if customer_tax_id:
        params['customer_tax_id'] = customer_tax_id

    try:
        response = requests.post(
            f'{BASE_URL}/api/documents/pdf',
            headers=headers,
            files=files,
            params=params
        )

        response.raise_for_status()
        data = response.json()

        print('PDF processed successfully')
        print(f'Invoice ID: {data.get("invoice_id")}')
        print(f'Invoice total: {data.get("invoice_total")}')

        if data.get('ubl_document'):
            print('✓ UBL document generated - ready to send')
            return data
        else:
            print('⚠ Could not generate UBL - manual review required')
            print(f'Extracted data: {data}')
            return None

    except Exception as error:
        print(f'Error: {error}')

# Usage
upload_pdf_invoice('./invoice.pdf', 'BE1018265814', 'BE0848934496')

Node.js - Asynchronous Upload with Polling

const axios = require('axios');
const FormData = require('form-data');
const fs = require('fs');

const api = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://api.e-invoice.be',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.E_INVOICE_API_KEY}`
  }
});

async function uploadPDFAsync(pdfPath) {
  // Step 1: Initiate conversion
  const formData = new FormData();
  formData.append('file', fs.createReadStream(pdfPath));

  const taskResponse = await api.post('/api/conversion/pdf', formData, {
    headers: formData.getHeaders()
  });

  const taskId = taskResponse.data.task_id;
  console.log('Conversion started:', taskId);

  // Step 2: Poll for completion
  while (true) {
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 2000)); // Wait 2 seconds

    const statusResponse = await api.get(`/api/conversion/pdf/${taskId}`);
    const status = statusResponse.data.status;

    console.log('Status:', status);

    if (status === 'completed') {
      // Step 3: Get result
      const resultResponse = await api.get(`/api/conversion/pdf/${taskId}/result`);
      console.log('Conversion complete');
      return resultResponse.data;
    } else if (status === 'failed') {
      throw new Error('Conversion failed');
    }
  }
}

// Usage
uploadPDFAsync('./invoice.pdf')
  .then(result => console.log('Result:', result))
  .catch(error => console.error('Error:', error));

Complete Workflow Example

Here’s a complete example that extracts data from a PDF and sends it via Peppol:

const axios = require('axios');
const FormData = require('form-data');
const fs = require('fs');

const api = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://api.e-invoice.be',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.E_INVOICE_API_KEY}`
  }
});

async function processAndSendPDFInvoice(pdfPath, vendorTaxId, customerTaxId) {
  try {
    // Step 1: Upload PDF and extract data
    console.log('Processing PDF invoice...');
    const formData = new FormData();
    formData.append('file', fs.createReadStream(pdfPath));

    const params = new URLSearchParams();
    if (vendorTaxId) params.append('vendor_tax_id', vendorTaxId);
    if (customerTaxId) params.append('customer_tax_id', customerTaxId);

    const extractResponse = await api.post(
      `/api/documents/pdf?${params.toString()}`,
      formData,
      { headers: formData.getHeaders() }
    );

    const extracted = extractResponse.data;

    console.log('✓ PDF processed');
    console.log(`  Invoice: ${extracted.invoice_id}`);
    console.log(`  Amount: ${extracted.currency} ${extracted.invoice_total}`);

    // Step 2: Check if UBL was generated
    if (!extracted.ubl_document) {
      console.error('✗ Could not generate UBL document');
      console.log('Extracted data:', extracted);
      console.log('Please review and create document manually');
      return null;
    }

    console.log('✓ UBL document generated');

    // Step 3: Save UBL to file
    const ublPath = './extracted_invoice.xml';
    fs.writeFileSync(ublPath, extracted.ubl_document);

    // Step 4: Create document from UBL
    // /api/documents/ubl takes multipart/form-data with a "file" field
    console.log('Creating document...');
    const ublForm = new FormData();
    ublForm.append('file', fs.createReadStream(ublPath));
    const documentResponse = await api.post(
      '/api/documents/ubl',
      ublForm,
      { headers: ublForm.getHeaders() }
    );

    const documentId = documentResponse.data.id;
    console.log('✓ Document created:', documentId);

    // Step 5: Send via Peppol
    console.log('Sending document...');
    const sendResponse = await api.post(`/api/documents/${documentId}/send`);
    console.log('✓ Document sent:', sendResponse.data.state);

    return {
      extracted,
      documentId,
      state: sendResponse.data.state
    };

  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error:', error.response?.data || error.message);
    throw error;
  }
}

// Usage
processAndSendPDFInvoice('./invoice.pdf', 'BE1018265814', 'BE0848934496')
  .then(result => console.log('Complete:', result))
  .catch(error => console.error('Failed:', error));

PDF Requirements

File Format

Format: PDF (Portable Document Format)
Content: Must be valid and non-empty
Text extraction: PDFs with readable text produce better results

Text-based PDFs generated from software (not scanned documents) produce the most accurate extraction results. Providing vendor and customer tax IDs as query parameters significantly improves extraction accuracy.

Best Practices for PDFs

Use text-based PDFs: Generated from software rather than scanned images
Clear layout: Structured format with clear sections for vendor, customer, line items
Readable fonts: Standard fonts with good contrast
Complete information: All required invoice fields clearly visible
Single invoice per PDF: Don’t combine multiple invoices in one file
Provide tax IDs: Include vendor_tax_id and customer_tax_id query parameters

Common Issues

Invalid or Empty PDF

Status Code: 415 Unsupported Media Type Solution:

Ensure the file is a valid PDF document
Check the file is not corrupted
Verify the file is not empty

No UBL Document Generated

Issue: Response contains extracted data but no ubl_document field Cause: The PDF didn’t contain sufficient information to generate a complete UBL document Solution:

Review the extracted data in the response
Provide vendor_tax_id and customer_tax_id query parameters
Use a more detailed PDF with complete invoice information
Manually create the document using the JSON API with the extracted data as a starting point

Extraction Inaccuracies

Issue: Extracted amounts, dates, or tax IDs are incorrect Solution:

Always provide vendor_tax_id and customer_tax_id as query parameters
Use text-based PDFs rather than scanned images
Ensure the PDF has a clear, structured layout
Review extracted data before creating documents

Authentication Errors

Status Code: 401 Unauthorized Solution:

Verify your API key is correct
Ensure the Authorization header is properly formatted: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Check your API key has not expired

Best Practices

Always Provide Tax IDs

Include vendor and customer tax IDs as query parameters for better extraction:

// ✓ Good: Provide tax IDs
const url = `/api/documents/pdf?vendor_tax_id=BE1018265814&customer_tax_id=BE0848934496`;
await api.post(url, formData);

// ✗ Less accurate: No tax IDs
await api.post('/api/documents/pdf', formData);

Verify UBL Generation

Always check if a UBL document was generated before proceeding:

const result = await api.post('/api/documents/pdf', formData);

if (!result.data.ubl_document) {
  console.warn('Manual review required - incomplete extraction');
  // Handle manually or notify user
}

Use Asynchronous Processing for Large Batches

For processing multiple PDFs, use the async endpoint to avoid timeouts:

const tasks = await Promise.all(
  pdfFiles.map(file => initiateConversion(file))
);

// Poll for results separately
const results = await waitForResults(tasks);

Keep Original PDFs

Store original PDFs for audit and compliance purposes:

const backup = `./backup/${invoiceNumber}.pdf`;
fs.copyFileSync(pdfPath, backup);

Validate Extracted Data

Review extracted data before sending, especially for critical fields:

const extracted = response.data;

// Check critical fields
if (!extracted.invoice_id || !extracted.invoice_total) {
  console.error('Missing critical data');
  return;
}

// Validate tax IDs are in correct format
if (extracted.vendor_tax_id && !extracted.vendor_tax_id.match(/^BE\d{10}$/)) {
  console.warn('Invalid vendor tax ID format');
}

Next Steps

Creating Invoices

Learn standard JSON invoice creation

UBL Documents

Create from UBL XML files

Validation Guide

Test invoice data

API Reference

Explore all endpoints

Getting started

Core guides

Alternative formats

Integration

Partners

Creating Documents from PDF

Overview

How It Works

Method 1: Synchronous PDF Upload

Basic Upload

Upload with Tax IDs (Recommended)

Response

Creating a Document from Extracted UBL

Method 2: Asynchronous PDF Upload

Step 1: Initiate Conversion

Step 2: Check Status

Step 3: Retrieve Result

Code Examples

Node.js - Synchronous Upload

Python - Synchronous Upload

Node.js - Asynchronous Upload with Polling

Complete Workflow Example

PDF Requirements

File Format

Best Practices for PDFs

Common Issues

Invalid or Empty PDF

No UBL Document Generated

Extraction Inaccuracies

Authentication Errors

Best Practices

Next Steps

Creating Invoices

UBL Documents

Validation Guide

API Reference

​Overview

​How It Works

​Method 1: Synchronous PDF Upload

​Basic Upload

​Upload with Tax IDs (Recommended)

​Response

​Creating a Document from Extracted UBL

​Method 2: Asynchronous PDF Upload

​Step 1: Initiate Conversion

​Step 2: Check Status

​Step 3: Retrieve Result

​Code Examples

​Node.js - Synchronous Upload

​Python - Synchronous Upload

​Node.js - Asynchronous Upload with Polling

​Complete Workflow Example

​PDF Requirements

​File Format

​Best Practices for PDFs

​Common Issues

​Invalid or Empty PDF

​No UBL Document Generated

​Extraction Inaccuracies

​Authentication Errors

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Creating Invoices

UBL Documents

Validation Guide

API Reference

Overview

How It Works

Method 1: Synchronous PDF Upload

Basic Upload

Upload with Tax IDs (Recommended)

Response

Creating a Document from Extracted UBL

Method 2: Asynchronous PDF Upload

Step 1: Initiate Conversion

Step 2: Check Status

Step 3: Retrieve Result

Code Examples

Node.js - Synchronous Upload

Python - Synchronous Upload

Node.js - Asynchronous Upload with Polling

Complete Workflow Example

PDF Requirements

File Format

Best Practices for PDFs

Common Issues

Invalid or Empty PDF

No UBL Document Generated

Extraction Inaccuracies

Authentication Errors

Best Practices

Next Steps