You switched to freee to save time, yet you find yourself manually typing data from PDF invoices every month-end. Or maybe you’re endlessly correcting OCR errors in the Filebox.
It’s not your fault. You just haven’t optimized the “input gateway”.
This comprehensive guide compares 3 ways to get data into freee and reveals how to eliminate transcription entirely.
The Problem with freee Invoice Entry
The Promise
| Expected | Reality |
|---|
| ”Cloud = automatic” | Still manual entry |
| ”Paperless = easy” | PDFs need transcription |
| ”Efficient = fast” | Hours of typing |
Why the Gap?
| Source | Challenge |
|---|
| PDF invoices | Need to extract data |
| Email orders | Need to interpret |
| Paper receipts | Need to digitize |
The data exists, but it’s not in a format freee can directly consume.
Method 1: Manual Entry (Obsolete)
Opening a PDF on the left and freee on the right, typing away. This is the worst option.
The Process
| Step | Action | Time |
|---|
| 1 | Open invoice PDF | 5 sec |
| 2 | Switch to freee | 2 sec |
| 3 | Type vendor name | 15 sec |
| 4 | Type items | 60 sec |
| 5 | Type amounts | 30 sec |
| 6 | Type dates | 10 sec |
| 7 | Verify | 30 sec |
| Total | Per invoice | ~2.5 min |
The Math
| Volume | Time per Invoice | Total Time |
|---|
| 50 invoices | 2.5 min | 2 hours |
| 100 invoices | 2.5 min | 4 hours |
| 200 invoices | 2.5 min | 8 hours |
The Problems
| Issue | Impact |
|---|
| Time cost | Hours of manual work |
| Error risk | Typos, wrong dates |
| Mental cost | Fatigue from repetition |
| Opportunity cost | Time lost for analysis |
Humans shouldn’t be doing this anymore.
Method 2: OCR (Filebox)
Using freee’s built-in Filebox or other AI-OCR tools.
How It Works
| Step | Action |
|---|
| 1 | Upload invoice image/PDF |
| 2 | OCR extracts text |
| 3 | Creates draft transaction |
| 4 | You verify and approve |
Pros
| Advantage | Benefit |
|---|
| Great for paper | Digitizes documents |
| Drag-and-drop | Easy interface |
| Built into freee | No extra tools |
| Faster than manual | Some time savings |
Cons (The Reality)
| Issue | Example |
|---|
| Not 100% accurate | Confuses ‘l’ and ‘1’ |
| Still needs checking | Every field |
| Line item issues | Can’t extract details |
| Lump sum fallback | Lose item granularity |
The Hidden Time Cost
| Task | Time |
|---|
| Upload document | 10 sec |
| Wait for OCR | 10 sec |
| Verify each field | 60 sec |
| Correct errors | 30 sec |
| Approve | 5 sec |
| Total | ~2 min (still significant) |
OCR is great for paper, but inefficient for digital data sources like order emails.
Method 3: AI Agent “Generation”
The “Third Option”. Not Reading (OCR), but Generating.
The Key Difference
| OCR | AI Generation |
|---|
| Reads image → Text | Reads source → Creates entry |
| Error-prone extraction | Meaning-based creation |
| Still needs verification | High accuracy |
How It Works
When you receive an order via COREC or Email:
| Step | What Happens |
|---|
| 1 | AI receives order data |
| 2 | AI understands content |
| 3 | AI calls freee API |
| 4 | Invoice draft appears |
| 5 | You approve |
Source: Order email from COREC
↓
AI: Understands client, items, price.
↓
Action: Calls freee API to create invoice draft.
Benefits
| Benefit | Description |
|---|
| Zero errors | No copy-pasting |
| Fully automated | Drafts created automatically |
| Verify only | Just click “Approve” |
| Time savings | 90%+ reduction |
Method Comparison
| Aspect | Manual | OCR | AI Agent |
|---|
| Effort | High | Medium | Zero |
| Accuracy | Low | Medium | High |
| Speed | Slow | Medium | Instant |
| Error rate | High | Medium | Low |
| Best for | Nothing | Paper receipts | Digital orders |
Time Comparison (100 invoices)
| Method | Time per Invoice | Total | Savings |
|---|
| Manual | 2.5 min | 4 hours | — |
| OCR | 2 min | 3.3 hours | 17% |
| AI Agent | 10 sec | 17 min | 93% |
The Power of Totsugo
Totsugo provides this “Third Option”.
The Integration
| Source | → | Totsugo | → | freee |
|---|
| COREC order | AI reads | Understands | Creates | Invoice draft |
| Email order | AI reads | Understands | Creates | Invoice draft |
Simply forward your COREC order emails to Totsugo, and seconds later, an invoice draft appears in freee.
Key Features
| Feature | Benefit |
|---|
| No master data needed | AI learns from history |
| Zero setup cost | Start immediately |
| Continuous learning | Improves over time |
| Error detection | Flags anomalies |
The Workflow
| Step | Action | Your Effort |
|---|
| 1 | Order arrives in COREC | None |
| 2 | Totsugo receives notification | None |
| 3 | AI processes order | None |
| 4 | Draft created in freee | None |
| 5 | You review and approve | 10 seconds |
Implementation Guide
Week 1: Setup
| Step | Action | Time |
|---|
| 1 | Connect COREC | 5 min |
| 2 | Connect freee | 5 min |
| 3 | Forward test order | 2 min |
| 4 | Verify draft in freee | 5 min |
Week 2: Pilot
| Step | Action |
|---|
| 1 | Process real orders |
| 2 | Measure time savings |
| 3 | Check accuracy |
Week 3+: Full Deployment
| Step | Action |
|---|
| 1 | Route all orders through Totsugo |
| 2 | Monitor and adjust |
| 3 | Expand to other sources |
ROI Calculation
For 100 invoices per month
| Metric | Manual | AI Agent |
|---|
| Time | 4 hours | 17 min |
| Labor cost (@$30/hr) | $120 | $8.50 |
| Error rate | 2% | <0.1% |
| Error cost | Variable | Minimal |
Annual Savings
| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Time saved | 46 hours |
| Cost saved | $1,340 |
| Errors avoided | ~24 |
Frequently Asked Questions
A. AI adapts automatically. No manual reconfiguration needed.
Q. Can it handle multiple freee accounts?
A. Yes. Route different orders to different accounts.
Q. What about orders not from COREC?
A. Email orders from any source can be processed.
Q. Is my data secure?
A. Data is encrypted and processed locally or deleted after creation.
Summary
| Method | When to Use |
|---|
| Manual | Never (obsolete) |
| OCR | Paper receipts only |
| AI Agent | All digital orders |
Don’t just make transcription easier. Eliminate the concept of transcription altogether.
👉 Try Zero-Transcription with Totsugo
