Getting started
Supported order formats
The file types PO Autopilot accepts, the size limits that apply, and what to do with a format that is not on the list.
Updated
PO Autopilot accepts the formats buyers actually send, whether they arrive by upload or by email.
Accepted file types
- PDF (
.pdf) — including PDFs that are scans rather than text. - Excel spreadsheets (
.xlsx). - CSV (
.csv). - Plain text (
.txt). - Images (
.jpg,.jpeg,.png) — photographs and scans of paper orders.
Scanned PDFs and images go through text recognition first, then are read the same way as any other document. A clear, straight, well-lit scan reads considerably better than a dim photo taken at an angle.
Not accepted
Word documents (.doc, .docx), older Excel files (.xls), and anything else
not in the list above are rejected rather than partially read.
If a buyer sends one of these, the usual fix is to save or print it as a PDF and send that instead.
Size limits
- A single file may be up to 25 MB.
- An email may carry up to 20 supported attachments, up to 50 MB of attachments in total.
Emails over those limits are rejected as a whole rather than partly processed, so nothing arrives half-read.
The filename has to match the file
The file extension must match what the file actually is. A PDF renamed to
order.csv is refused. This is a safety check rather than fussiness — it stops
a file being processed as something it is not.
Two formats without files
Two intake methods do not involve a document at all:
- Describe order lets you type an order in plain language, for phone and counter orders. See Describe an order in plain language.
- Email body orders. If an email arrives with no supported attachment but the message itself reads like an order, the body becomes the order. See How email body orders work.
Which format works best
Any of them will work. If you can influence what your buyers send:
- A text-based PDF or a spreadsheet reads most reliably, because there is no recognition step to get wrong.
- A scan or photo works, but item codes are where recognition errors show up. PO Autopilot allows for this — if a scanned code is nearly one you have mapped before, it applies that mapping and asks you to confirm it rather than treating it as a new, unknown code.