Using a Connect to Outlook configuration, you can import and process e-invoices sent as email attachments in a way that supports legal and regulatory compliance. To configure this, you need two components:
Processing configuration:
Created in DocuWare Configurations > Document Processing. The configuration reads the embedded XML in the e-invoice and returns the extracted values to the import job to populate the index fields. Link this processing configuration to the Connect to Outlook import.Import configuration:
Set up in DocuWare Configurations > Outlook email. The configuration connects DocuWare to the mailbox, defines index fields, and sets the target file cabinet and storage options. Emails with attached e-invoices stored by this configuration are passed to the linked processing configuration.
In all DocuWare on‑premises versions after 7.11, create one Connect to Outlook configuration per processing configuration and select the document processing configuration manually in the import configuration.
Supported XML formats
This article focuses on machine-readable, XML-based e-invoices, including XML-only formats and PDFs with embedded XML. It does not cover invoices sent as ordinary email attachments (e.g., standalone PDFs or JPEGs).
The combined configurations of Document Processing and Outlook email support multiple common e-invoice formats, for example:
ZUGFeRD: PDF/A-3 with embedded XML (CII), used mainly in Germany
Factur-X: PDF/A-3 with embedded XML (CII and UBL), used mainly in France
XRechnung: XML (CII and UBL)
E-invoices structured with PEPPOL: XML (UBL)
What are CII and UBL?
Cross Industry Invoice (CII) and Universal Business Language (UBL) are official standards used for e-invoices. For example, ZUGFeRD uses CII. XRechnung supports both CII and UBL, though UBL is more common. The PEPPOL network also uses the UBL syntax.
DocuWare e-invoice Transformation Service
The Transformation Service converts the incoming eInvoices from their respective, regional XML-format to Universal Business Language (UBL). The Transformation Service is a Java Service displayed in DocuWare Service Control panel (port 5050).
The XML format alignment simplifies the extraction of index data in DocuWare, as different eInvoice formats can all be processed in one configuration. However you might need multiple processing configuration to cover your invoice issuer.
Configuring import and indexing for invoices
1. Create the processing configuration
This article covers settings specific for e-invoicing. For general guidance on creating a processing configuration, see the Document Processing help.
Go to DocuWare Configurations > Capture > Document Processing.
Create a configuration using a sample e-invoice.
2. Link the processing and import configurations
This article covers settings specific for e-invoicing. For general guidance on creating an Outlook configuration, see the Connect to Outlook help.
Go to DocuWare Configurations > Capture > Outlook Εmail.
Select an existing email import configuration or create a new one of the type Manual Store.
Click the More options link and enable enable the checkbox Automatic Document Processing.
Select the document processing configuration created in step 1. Incoming attachments are matched to and processed with this configuration.
Setting up your configuration when you process multiple attachments
When one email contains several attachments and you want to index them with Automatic Document Processing, you have two options:
1. Storing email and attachments individually
Configure the import using the Store email and attachments individually option. DocuWare stores each attachment as a separate document and processes each document separately. This option is recommended.
2. Storing email and all attachments as clipped document
Configure the import using the Store email and all attachments as one clipped document option. DocuWare stores the email and all attachments together as one clipped document. The result depends on the attachment formats:
All attachments are PDFs or e‑invoices (PDF or XML):
The email contains more than one processable file. “Processable” means a PDF or an e‑invoice (PDF or XML). DocuWare cannot run the selected processing configuration on multiple candidates in one clip. When multiple attachments match the selected import configuration, each attachment is processed. The system then selects the attachment with the highest number of extracted index fields and applies its complete set of extracted values to all attachments.The attachments include both processable and non‑processable formats.
DocuWare runs the selected processing configuration on the PDF and/or e‑invoice attachment, then stores the email and all attachments as a single clipped document. The extracted index values are applied to all parts (attachments and email) according to source priority described below.
No attachment is a PDF or an e‑invoice:
The clip is stored with the import settings of Connect to Outlook. The document porcessing configuration cannot read out any data.
Source priority
Extracted values are returned to Connect to Outlook and applied to index fields. If a field is prefilled by one source, that value overrides lower‑priority sources. DocuWare fills these fields by source priority:
Indexing values predefined by the storage location (read‑only), for example by the store dialog of the file cabinet
Indexing values read out by Document Processing
Indexing values defined in the Outlook Email configuration
Importing PDFs without embedded XML
PDFs that do not include an XML-based e-invoice cannot be processed with a Document Processing configuration created for e-invoicing. To handle those emails, create another Document Processing configuration to store non-XML PDFs. Then, set up a dedicated Connect to Outlook configuration for the PDF without XML and link the processing configuration to it.
Current limitations
There are some limitations for importing and processing invoice attachments via the Connect to Outlook configurations.
Email import:
Processing works for one e-invoice per email attachment. If multiple invoices are attached to one email, they must be stored individually.
It is not possible to apply both - automatic document processing and a general email configuration - to one document, which means you cannot index, for example, one part of the index fields of a document with automatic document processing and the other part - like the mail body - with Connect to Outlook import configuration.
The Connect to Outlook configurations always consider the following priority for the handling of the index values:
Predefined read-only index entries of the storage location.
Index values returned from the Document Processing configuration.
Index values as defined in the Connect to Outlook configuration.
Processing Service: Maximum document size is 10MB; XML complexity limits apply.
Transformation Service: Maximum document size is 10MB.
DocuWare: Table fields can only store up to 1000 rows (invoice line items). Large invoices exceeding this limit require special handling.
Field types of e-invoices: DocuWare supports all valid EN 16931 fields in both CII and UBL, with two exceptions for CII format:
SupplyChainTradeTransaction.ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement.SellerTradeParty.ID
SupplyChainTradeTransaction.ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement.AdditionalReferencedDocument.TypeCode
It is generally recommended not to index these particular field types in a file cabinet. Even if they are indexed, the e-invoice would be processed normally, but those specific fields would be empty.
XML properties: When processing e-invoices, the following XML properties have the specified maximum values:
Processing-XmlComplexity-MaxNestingDepth: 60
Processing-XmlComplexity-MaxElementCount: 100.000
Processing-XmlComplexity-MaxCharacterCount: 20.000.000