When a PDF is uploaded to Box, use OCR to extract its content and add it to Google Sheets

■Overview

Manually reviewing PDF files such as invoices and application forms uploaded to Box and entering their contents into Google Sheets one by one is time-consuming. Manual data entry can also lead to human errors, such as typos and omissions. With this workflow, uploading a file to Box triggers OCR to read the text and automatically add the data to Google Sheets, helping you resolve these challenges smoothly.

■Who This Template Is For

• Accounting and sales administration professionals who manually manage documents using Box and Google Sheets
• Anyone who spends too much time manually transcribing information from PDFs and wants to reduce human error
• Team members who want to streamline the digitization of documents received on paper or as PDFs and promote digital transformation

■Benefits of Using This Template

• When a PDF file is added to Box, it is automatically recorded in Google Sheets, reducing the time spent manually transferring data.
• Eliminating manual data entry helps prevent human errors such as typos and missing fields, improving data accuracy.

■Workflow Steps

1. First, connect Box and Google Sheets to Yoom.
2. Next, select Box as the trigger and set the action to “When a file is uploaded to a folder.”
3. Then, set the Box “Download a file” action as an operation to retrieve the file detected by the trigger.
4. Next, select the OCR “Extract text from an image or PDF” action as an operation to extract text data from the downloaded file.
5. Finally, set the Google Sheets “Add a record” action as an operation to add the OCR-extracted data to the specified sheet.

* “Trigger”: An action that starts the workflow. “Operation”: An action that processes data within the workflow after the trigger starts.

■Customization Options

• In the Box trigger settings, specify the folder you want to automate by entering its content ID.
• In the Box file download settings, make sure to specify the content ID of the file retrieved by the trigger.
• With the OCR feature, you can freely configure how to attach the PDF to be read, the fields to extract—such as invoice numbers and amounts—the AI model to use, and the language.
• In the Google Sheets settings, specify the destination sheet or tab and the data table range, then configure which OCR-extracted values should be added to which columns.

■Notes

• Connect both Box and Google Sheets to Yoom.
• You can choose a trigger interval of 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes.
• Note that the shortest available trigger interval varies by plan.
• AI operations for OCR and audio transcription are available only on the Team and Success plans. On the Free and Mini plans, configured workflow bot operations using these features will result in an error.
• Paid plans, including the Team and Success plans, offer a two-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use apps and AI features (operations) that are otherwise subject to plan restrictions.