Channel Configuration — Document
In the Document tab of the channel configuration, you define the core processing settings for an individual channel: time zone, automation thresholds, automatic assignment to users, date and number formats, unit conversion, validation checks, document-type-specific options, the filling of missing values, and the sorting out of unsuitable attachments.
The page is organized in topic blocks. Each block has its own Save button. Each of these buttons saves all changes on the page, including those in other blocks. Unsaved changes are only lost when you leave the page.
Prerequisites
- A Workbench account with access to the channel configuration of the relevant channel.
- Clarity about which fields, validations, and document types are relevant for this channel. If you are unsure, ask your contact at Workist — many values are sensibly pre-populated from the moment of setup and do not necessarily need to be adjusted.
The settings apply to this channel only. Where applicable, they override values configured at the customer level (e.g. the time zone). If several channels are to share the same settings, you must maintain them per channel.
Opening the Page
In the Workbench, open the desired channel, click Channel Configuration, and select the Document entry under the Document Processing group. The page shows the topic blocks from top to bottom in the same order in which they are described in this guide.
Step 1 — Localization
In the Localization block, you set the temporal and calendar context of the channel.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Time zone | Time zone of the channel. By default, the time zone specified at the customer level is used. Here you can override it for this channel — relevant for the interpretation and display of date and delivery-time fields. |
| Holiday calendar | Which statutory holiday calendar the Processing rules for the delivery date (header and line item field Delivery date) use, e.g. to count business days. You can choose country, state, and US-state calendars (e.g. Germany - Bavaria or United States - California). |
Click Save once you have entered the desired values.
Leave the time zone and holiday calendar empty if the customer settings are appropriate. Entered values override the default for this channel only — an accidental deviation can lead to incorrect delivery dates.
Step 2 — Automation
In the Automation block, you define whether and above what level of confidence documents are passed fully automatically to the target system without human assistance.
Automation is normally set up and configured together with your contact at Workist. Making your own changes to this switch and to the confidence thresholds is not recommended and is done at your own risk. The following description is intended to help you understand the values.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Automation enabled | Global switch. When off, every document goes into assistance — regardless of the thresholds. |
| Header data confidence threshold (%) | Every header field must reach at least this confidence. There is no average: a single field below it is enough to send the document to assistance. |
| Position lines confidence threshold (%) | Every line item field in every line item must reach at least this confidence. |
If no value is saved, 100 % applies to both thresholds. Optional fields only count if they contain a value. Fields with Field should not block automation when below threshold do not count. Even with both thresholds reached, a document goes to assistance as soon as a validation check fails. The complete rule is described under When is a document automated?.
The two thresholds can be set separately — typically the value for line items is chosen somewhat lower than the one for header data, because a line item is often more ambiguous than, for example, the order number.
Step 3 — User Assignment
In the User assignment block, you define whether Workist automatically assigns incoming documents to a responsible person. The person is stored in your master data, in the extra data (extra_data) of the customer or supplier record or of the matched quote or order.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Assign documents based on master data | Switches automatic assignment on. Default: off. |
| Responsible user source | Where the person comes from: Customer/supplier master data or Matched order/offer data (the quote or order matched via the document number; only for orders, invoices and order confirmations, see Matching). |
| Master data field for responsible user | Name of the field in the extra data that names the person — by email address or full name (first and last name in either order). Default: responsible_user. |
| Default assignee email | Email address of the person who gets the document if the master data names nobody. Empty: such documents stay unassigned. |
Workist looks for the person among the active users of your company. If there is no such user, the document stays unassigned and the check Assigned user not found fails. The document therefore goes to assistance (see Validation checks).
Step 4 — Data Formatting
In the Data formatting block, you set how extracted values are written to the output file.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Date format | How date values are written to the output. Pre-populated options are %d.%m.%Y (e.g. 31.01.2026), %d/%m/%Y, %d-%m-%Y, and %m/%d/%Y. Using Custom... you can enter your own date format. |
| Address format | The order in street details: Street name first (e.g. Main Street 123) or Street number first (e.g. 123 Main Street). |
| Decimal separator | Which character is used as the decimal separator in the output: Comma (567,89) or Dot (567.89). Has no influence on how the document is read — only on the outgoing file. |
Each of these settings shows a small sample output to the right of the selection, using your current values — so you can immediately see how the resulting date or formatted amount will look.
The date and decimal format must match the target system, not the document content. Workist automatically recognizes incoming values in the common notations and only converts them here for the output file. Options such as Allow decimal quantities or Allow invalid IDs are on the individual fields under Line Item Fields.
Step 5 — Unit Conversion
When the unit of measure in the document differs from the order unit of your target system (e.g. piece instead of box of 12), Workist converts using the stored conversion factors. In this block, you determine how this conversion is performed.
A unit conversion can only take place if corresponding Master Data for unit conversion is stored for the channel. Without this Master Data, the configuration in this block has no effect.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Conversion style | How Workist handles non-round results (see below). Three options are available, plus a free field Custom.... |
| Conversion overrides original fields | When active, Workist replaces the original values (quantity and unit from the document) with the converted values. When off, the original values are delivered in addition, alongside the converted values. |
| Best effort conversion | Only applies when Workist finds no conversion factor. On: the converted quantity is prefilled with the original quantity and the converted unit with the article's first sales unit, as a suggestion with confidence 0. Off: the converted fields stay empty. In both cases a user reviews the values in assistance. |
| Partition specific unit conversion | When active, Workist uses conversion factors stored for the recognized customer (its customer number). Helpful when an article has different order units depending on the customer. |
The three options under Conversion style differ in how non-integer results are handled:
- No conversion — the quantity and unit stated in the document are applied 1:1. Use this option if you already receive quantities in a suitable form from external logic.
- Round up converted quantity to next whole value — every non-integer result is rounded up to the next full unit. Useful when the target system does not accept decimal quantities and you would rather deliver slightly too much than too little.
- Round mathematically and lower confidence if rounded quantity differs more than 30% from original quantity — classic commercial rounding. If the result deviates strongly from the initial value, Workist additionally lowers the confidence so that the document is more likely to go into assistance.
When you activate Conversion overrides original fields, the original value is no longer included in the output after processing. Only activate this option if your target system can work with the converted value. If conversion rounds a quantity to 0, the quantity must be corrected in assistance.
Step 6 — Validation
In the Validation block, you set which business checks Workist applies to the document during processing, and you store keywords that send the document to assistance.
Validation Checks
The validation checks are a multiple selection. If an activated check fails, the document goes into assistance and the user sees the hint — even if the check is non-blocking. Blocking checks must also be resolved before completing.
Which checks are available depends on the document type. For new channels, Forgotten line items and Thousand separator in quantities are switched on. What triggers each check, which document types have it, and which checks always or automatically run is described in the reference Validation Checks and Assistance Reasons.
Rules for Min Quantity and Article Status
If you switch on the check Min quantity or Article status, a rule editor appears below it (Min quantity rules or Article status rules). There you define which value from the article master data is checked and whether a violation blocks. The settings are described under Min quantity rules and Article status rules. Without a rule, Workist checks nothing.
Keywords to Assistance
Store terms (each confirmed with Enter) whose occurrence in the document or in the email body always sends the document into assistance — regardless of the confidence. Case and punctuation do not matter; terms made of several words must appear consecutively. Suitable for, e.g., "rush order", "correction", "please follow up".
You do not find this setting here, but as an option on the header field Client (or Supplier, Sender / Supplier, Customer contact) under Header Fields. Workist then ignores every text area that contains such a word.
Only activate the validation checks that are meaningful for your use case. Each additional check increases the number of documents in assistance. After each change, observe whether the hit rate of the respective check justifies the extra effort.
Step 7 — Document Type Specific
This block appears only for channels whose document type brings its own options (in particular orders and invoices). It contains settings that are only meaningful for exactly this document type.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Training examples for variant extraction | Input field for example mappings for variant extraction. As a rule, this is maintained together with your contact at Workist. |
| Default currency | Which currency is used when the document does not explicitly state a currency. Pre-populated options are EUR and USD; you can enter your own codes via Custom.... |
| Country code of document receiver, used as date locale fallback | Used as a fallback for the date locale (e.g. to interpret 07/04/2026 as 4 July instead of 7 April). Set the country in which your supplied location is based. |
| Remove freight cost line items | When active, a language model checks the last line item of a document with at least two line items by its description. If it is a freight cost line item, Workist removes it. The amount is not moved to a header field. |
| Support order forms | When active, Workist also processes classic order forms (templates with checkboxes and quantity columns next to an item list). |
| Read the embedded XML of hybrid PDF/A e-invoices (ZUGFeRD, Factur-X) (invoices only) | Reads the embedded XML data of hybrid PDF/A invoices. Invoices that arrive as a plain XML file (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD CII) are always read from the XML and need no setting. |
Which fields are visible depends on the document type of the channel. If a field documented here is missing for you, it is disabled for your channel type and not relevant. The option to use the header commission number as a fallback is on the line item field Commission no. under Line Item Fields.
Step 8 — Backfilling
When a header field stays empty in the document, Workist can backfill it from the email body of the message with which the document was received.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Backfill with email data | Switches backfilling from the email body on for the channel. |
| Document formats for backfilling | For which documents backfilling runs, depending on the format of the received file: All document types, PDF files, or Excel files. Without a selection: all. |
Only header fields with the field option Backfilling enabled switched on are backfilled. This option appears on the fields under Header Fields as soon as Backfill with email data is active for the channel. Without it, Workist backfills nothing. Values found in the document are never overwritten.
Backfilling from email data is especially useful when your customers regularly state order numbers or delivery dates in the email body. Switch it on for a test, enable Backfilling enabled on the relevant header fields, and observe whether the hit rate increases.
Step 9 — Document Filtering
Workist turns every attachment of an email into a document of its own. With Document Filtering, you decide which attachments should not become a document: Workist classifies each attachment (order, invoice, delivery note, …) and sorts out attachments of another type before processing starts.
In the inactive state, only the toggle in the top right is visible. Click the toggle to activate filtering — two additional fields then appear below it:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sort Out Document Types | List of all document types. Activate the switch per type if attachments of this type are to be sorted out. The channel's own document type (e.g. Order) is permanently disabled. Workist always sorts out attachments that match no document type. |
| Filtering Sensitivity | How certain the classification must be: Strict (95% confidence), Balanced (90%), or Light (80%). An attachment is only sorted out if the certainty is above this value. |
The list of document types comprises:
- Delivery Note
- Invoice
- Offer
- Order
- Order Confirmation
- Price Requests
How filtering works:
- It only applies to emails with several attachments. A single attachment is always processed.
- Sorted-out attachments do not become a document. They do not go through the discard workflow and are not forwarded.
- If no attachment is left, Workist still processes something: for order channels the sorted-out delivery notes, otherwise the sorted-out PDF attachments or, if there are none, the email body.
- If PDF files are among the remaining attachments, Workist processes only those.
The three sensitivity levels differ in how certain the classification must be for an attachment to be sorted out:
- Strict (95% confidence) — only sorts out when Workist is almost certain. Risk: a few unsuitable attachments still slip through.
- Balanced (90% confidence) — the standard recommendation.
- Light (80% confidence) — also sorts out at medium certainty. Risk: occasionally, suitable attachments are sorted out as well.
When you newly activate document filtering, start with Balanced and check over two to three days whether emails with several attachments produce the right documents. Only then decide whether you want to filter more strictly or more lightly. Sorted-out attachments remain available in the original email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to explicitly save after every change? Yes. Click one of the Save buttons; it saves all changes on the page. If you leave the page without saving, your changes are lost.
Why don't I see the "Document Type Specific" block? The block appears only when the document type of your channel brings corresponding options. For some document types (e.g. pure delivery note channels), it is not relevant and is automatically hidden.
Can I set a separate confidence threshold for individual fields? No. The two thresholds apply to every header or line item field. Per field, you can only switch the confidence check off entirely: with Field should not block automation when below threshold under Header Fields or Line Item Fields.
What happens to attachments that were sorted out here? They do not become a document and do not appear in the Workbench overview. The Discard tab only applies to documents that are discarded, not to sorted-out attachments.
Help and Support
If you are unsure which setting is sensible for your channel, or if documents are no longer processed as expected after a change, contact your contact at Workist and have the following information ready:
- the channel name,
- the relevant topic block (Localization, Automation, …),
- the changes made (which value before, which value now),
- a specific example document on which the problem occurs,
- for validation topics: the exact validation check that triggers incorrectly or fails to trigger.