Overview
In SmartVendor – AP Invoices, exceptions are any invoice documents that:
Cannot be written to the System of Record (SoR)
Fail validation checks or matching rules
Are intentionally removed from processing by the AP team
Exception handling is done primarily in the Documents tab and is supported by:
Clear statuses (e.g., Failed to Reconcile, Total doesn’t match line items)
Hover‑over error messages for write failures
Recovery actions (edit, re‑write, re‑classify, re‑match vendor/PO, or dismiss)
This section describes what happens to documents in exception scenarios and how AP analysts can resolve or formally close them out.
Where Exceptions Appear
Exceptions surface in the SmartVendor → Documents section:
Active Data tab – All documents that are currently in process and not yet written to SoR or dismissed
Written to SoR tab – Documents successfully written to SoR (for reference and reporting)
Dismissed Documents tab – Documents intentionally removed from processing by the AP team
Each document displays:
Status – Current processing state (e.g., Upload in progress, Failed to Reconcile, Total doesn’t match line items)
Doc Classification – Invoice, Credit Memo, Other, or Manual Vendor Bill
Vendor, Amount, Received Date, tags, and other tracking fields
Key Exception Statuses
1. Failed to Reconcile
When it appears
After a Write to SoR attempt (manual or autonomous) fails because:
A mandatory SoR field is missing or invalid
A PO or contract constraint is violated (e.g., closed PO, no remaining balance, invalid vendor/PO combination)
Totals, tax, or decimal precision do not meet SoR requirements
Integration errors occur (e.g., ERP connection, API rejection)
Other SoR‑specific validation rules are not met
How it is shown
In the Documents → Active Data tab, the Status column shows Failed to Reconcile.
Hovering over the status displays an error message describing why the document failed to reconcile.
How to recover
Open the document (click the file icon next to Doc Classification).
Review the error message by hovering over the status in the Documents tab or on the document header.
Correct the underlying issue:
Fix missing or invalid header/line fields
Correct PO or contract references
Adjust amounts, dates, tax codes, or vendor assignment
Click Write to SoR again.
If the correction is successful, the document will be written to SoR and appear in the Written to SoR tab; the status in Active Data is cleared by the move.
2. Total Doesn’t Match Line Items
When it appears
After SmartBot processing, if the sum of all line items does not equal the extracted total amount on the document.
Behavior
The document’s Status is set to Total doesn’t match line items on the Active Data tab.
If autonomous write to SoR is enabled:
Documents with this status are not eligible for autonomous write.
They require human review and manual correction.
How to recover
Open the document; check header total vs line‑level amounts.
Adjust line items (add, remove, or correct amounts) or the header total so they match.
Save the document.
If all other validation checks pass, initiate Write to SoR (or it may then qualify for autonomous write, depending on configuration).
3. Other Validation‑Driven Statuses
AP Invoices includes a universal validation checklist (AP Invoices Checklists) that runs on every document:
Documents that fail any configured checks receive specific statuses (e.g., invalid vendor, missing required field, failed tax check).
These statuses appear in the Documents tab and help analysts quickly identify what needs attention.
When Autonomous write is enabled:
Only documents that pass all validation checks can be written to SoR automatically.
Documents with any failing status remain in Active Data and must be handled manually.
Dismissing Documents
Sometimes the correct exception handling action is to remove a document from further processing (for example, non‑invoice supporting documents, spam, or duplicates you do not wish to write to SoR).
What Happens When an AP Analyst Dismisses a Document
The document is removed from the Active Data tab.
It is recorded under Dismissed Documents (with a Dismissed Date and status for historical visibility).
The document cannot be written to SoR or further edited in the normal invoice flow.
Your existing behavior (summarized):
If a user no longer wants to write an invoice document (or supporting docs like statements, expense reports, or POs) to the SoR, they can dismiss it.
Once dismissed, the record is not available for action in Documents.
If the analyst later decides it should be processed:
They must resend the email with attachments so SmartBot can re‑ingest the file as a new document.
Because of this, analysts should be cautious when dismissing documents and only do so when they are confident the record should never go to SoR.
How to Dismiss a Document
You can dismiss from:
Documents → Active Data (bulk or single)
Select one or more documents.
Click Action → Dismiss.
Confirm the action.
The records are moved out of Active Data and into Dismissed Documents.
Document Information page
Open the document (file icon).
Review header, lines, and email thread.
Click Dismiss (top right).
Confirm the action.
The document is removed from Active Data and moved to Dismissed.
Exception Recovery Paths
SmartVendor provides multiple recovery paths to handle common exceptions. These are already described in your AP Invoices doc; below is a consolidated, structured version.
1. Vendor Not Tagged or Incorrect Vendor
Symptoms
SmartBot did not tag a vendor (Unknown Vendor), or
SmartBot tagged the invoice to the wrong vendor.
Recovery
Go to Documents → Active Data and open the document.
Click Match with a Vendor next to the vendor field.
In the dropdown:
Search and select the correct vendor from all active vendors in the SoR.
Save the document and proceed to validate header and line data.
Then perform Write to SoR.
If the vendor is unenrolled, a pop‑up will guide you to enroll it for AP Invoices before it can be tagged to the bill.
2. Incorrect Document Classification (Invoice vs Other)
Symptoms
SmartBot classified a non‑invoice document as an Invoice, or
SmartBot classified a true invoice as Other.
Recovery – Invoice → Other
Open the document.
If it is not actually a vendor bill, click Not a Vendor Bill.
Confirm the pop‑up that warns the document will be dismissed.
The document classification changes to Other, and it is dismissed (removed from Active Data).
Recovery – Other → Invoice
Open the document.
If it is actually an invoice, click Change to a Vendor Bill.
The classification is updated to Invoice, and the analyst can then:
Edit header and lines
Validate PO/contract as needed
Write to SoR
3. Vendor Unenrolled
Symptoms
Vendor exists in SoR but is not enrolled for AP Invoices (Vendor Invoice Data Extraction).
Recovery Options
From Vendors tab
Navigate to Vendors.
Filter and select one or more vendors (from All or Unenrolled).
Click Enroll/Unenroll.
Choose Vendor Invoice Data Extraction and apply.
The vendors become enrolled for AP Invoices.
From Document Information page
While matching a vendor on an invoice, if the vendor is unenrolled, a pop‑up indicates that.
Click Enroll Now to enroll the vendor immediately and tag it to the invoice.
4. Multiple Invoices in One PDF (Missed Invoice)
Symptoms
One attachment contains two or more invoices, but SmartBot only extracted and created one invoice.
Recovery
Open the first invoice that SmartBot created from that PDF.
Click Create New Bill (top left of the invoice preview).
SmartVendor creates a new manual vendor bill using the same email and attachment.
The new document’s status is Manual Vendor Bill, with most fields blank.
Scroll to the email thread and open the original PDF.
Manually fill in header and line details for the second invoice.
Save and Write to SoR when ready.
Use Create New Bill whenever a single attachment contains multiple invoices that were not fully extracted by SmartBot.
Interaction with Dismissed and Written to SoR Tabs
Written to SoR
Contains invoices successfully posted to ERP.
Used mainly for reference and reporting (including email activity reports, SmartBot Activity Report, and Invoice Activity Report export).
Dismissed Documents
Contains documents that were intentionally removed from processing.
Supports:
Tagging (from Release 25.12.1; tags persist across status changes)
Historical analysis (for example, counts of dismissed documents in dashboard queries)
If a dismissed document is later moved back to Active Data (where supported), it will appear according to its original received date (Ref: Release 25.11.1).
Reports and Exception Visibility
Two Email Activity Reports support exception analysis:
SmartBot Activity Report
One record per incoming email.
Shows what the SmartBot did with each supplier email (intent detection, extraction outcomes, transfer errors, etc.).
Does not reflect manual document edits.
Invoice Activity Report
One record per invoice present in emails.
Captures SmartBot actions and downstream status changes (including Dismissed, Failed to Reconcile, etc.).
Users can download these reports from the Documents → Export button for reconciliation and audit.
Best Practices for Exception Handling
Treat Failed to Reconcile as a work queue:
Use filters and tags to slice by error type, vendor, or date.
Fix root causes in Templates, Checklists, or ERP configuration where patterns are recurring.
Use statuses and validation messages rather than email digging:
AP Invoices status labels and hover messages are the first stop for understanding failures.
Avoid over‑using Dismiss:
Dismiss only documents that should never go to SoR (e.g., spam, irrelevant attachments).
For anything that might be needed later, correct and write instead.
Leverage SmartBot Activity and Invoice Activity reports:
Identify systemic issues (e.g., frequent PO mismatches, recurring vendor hints gaps, repeated total vs line mismatches).