Master Data Matching is a new feature within the DocuWare IDP pipeline that helps organizations reliably compare, link and unify data from the extracted documents and the customer's master data. This is especially valuable for processes such as invoice verification, supplier verification or customer maintenance, as corrected extracted business objects from the documents reduce errors, speed up workflows and enable informed decision-making.
The official release is scheduled for DocuWorld on April 22 and 23.
The feature provides an intuitive interface designed for both experts and non-experts. With Master Data Matching, companies can significantly improve extraction data quality and streamline processing, since master data matching can take care of the manual verification step that a human previously performed. This works not only faster and more cost-effectively, but it is also less prone to errors. If the confidence of a match is not high enough, the document can still, for example, go through a human-in-the-loop process on the customer side.
Master Data Matching supports both exact matches and similarity-based (fuzzy) matches. Users can set a customizable similarity threshold to define how closely the extracted value (e.g. the document issuer name) must match the record in the customer master data (Creditor list). The fuzzy matching feature scales to tens of thousands of records with minimal latency, making it suitable for typical automation pipelines.
Another highlight is the visual rule editor, which allows complex logic to be built in a simple, understandable way. With nested AND/OR trees, drag-and-drop conditions and collapsible nodes, even advanced rules remain clear and manageable. Additionally, multiple actions can be assigned to each rule, such as overwriting extraction fields, validating documents or adding notes to extraction fields.
Another useful feature is that DocuWare customers can import their Select Lists as master data sources.
An integrated guide provides guidance on matching behavior, field types, best practices and examples, ensuring clear understanding even for inexperienced users.
Testing is built directly into the Master Data Matching page: Users can paste single records or multi-field samples and instantly preview matches and simulated actions. This allows confident validation of rule sets before scaling to production.
Typical use cases demonstrate the real-world benefits of Master Data Matching:
- Three-way invoice matching with supplier resolution: Automatically match supplier, purchase order and goods receipt to approve clean invoices and reduce processing time
- Invoice validation against master data: Validate vendor identity and payment details upfront to prevent fraud and misdirected payments
- Line-level GL account and tax code resolution: Automatically assign accounts and verify tax per line to speed posting and maintain compliance
With Master Data Matching, DocuWare IDP users gain a powerful tool to increase extraction data quality, reduce process cycle times, and maintain high data quality across the organization.