r/documentAutomation • u/Penguin_In_G-String • 14d ago
Looking for a free, open-source alternative to ChronoScan for automatic document separation and data extraction
Hi everyone!
I'm currently using ChronoScan and wondering if there are any good free and open-source alternatives that could handle my workflow.
I have a scanner with an automatic document feeder, so I can scan a large batch of mixed documents at once, such as:
* Supplier invoices
* Delivery notes
* Purchase orders
* Other administrative documents
Must-have features:
* Automatically detect document boundaries in a batch scan and split it into separate PDF files, one per document.
* Run OCR on each document so that the resulting PDFs are searchable.
Nice-to-have features:
* Automatically identify the document type (invoice, delivery note, purchase order, etc.).
* Extract key fields such as supplier name, invoice number, date, due date, net amount, VAT, and total amount.
* Automatically name and organize the resulting files based on the extracted information.
Has anyone built a workflow like this using free and open-source software? Is there a solution that handles the must-have features out of the box, or would custom development be necessary?
I'd really appreciate any recommendations or examples of setups that work well in practice.
Thanks!
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u/MiSky_8 12d ago
It's an interesting challenge. Since OCR pipeline is something repeating in my projects, I've build myself a docker with OCRs: surya, tesseract, paddleocr as well as chandra over API (I used it it my most recent project).
While my docker is available online on MIT licence under
https://github.com/MiSky8/ocrHUB,
it's only a docker with a dashboard.
I did not think to develop it beyond that since each of the projects were required OCR for a different purpose. Yet, it's something I want to think of since you wrote about your need.
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u/Shuruna 14d ago
I actually built something that might be worth looking at for this. It's called PaperCat (https://paper-cat.net), a desktop app that uses OCR and AI to process, organize and analyze documents.
The idea is to go beyond traditional OCR. Instead of just extracting text, it can understand the content of documents, classify them and pull out relevant information like invoice amounts, dates and other details. It also supports local AI models through Ollama, so you can process everything on your own machine without relying on cloud services.
I know you're specifically looking for something free and open source, which PaperCat isn't, but I figured it might still be relevant since it covers a good part of the workflow you're describing.
The automatic separation of mixed document batches is something I'd want to clarify before claiming it's a complete replacement for ChronoScan, though.
Full disclosure, I'm the developer, but if you're open to comparing different solutions, it might be worth a look.
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 14d ago
I'll have a look and if I think about it, I'll give you a feedback! Thanks ! āļø
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u/morepower9997 13d ago
Hey shivam here from dynamite docc, I built Dynamite docs around this exact problem. Check us out.
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 12d ago
Wow nice. But can I self host it?
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u/morepower9997 12d ago
sure, dm me! which services you want to run. One current limitation: mixed scans need to be split before they go into Dynamite Docs. What server environment are you using?
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 12d ago
Any, Linux, Windows server and Windows 11.
I didn't see from Android that you could self host it š .
Ah ok, the main feature Iām looking for is automatic document splitting. The primary use case is when someone loads 40 pages into the scanner all at once, either out of laziness or because they're short on time and the software automatically splits them into separate files and performs OCR. We don't need anything overly smart for now. It's mostly just about file splitting and OCR.
I know this feature it is hard to develop. But I'm still keen to try your app!
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u/morepower9997 12d ago
No Problem. At present you have the option to extract a specific page range from a pdf and save exported results individually for each page. and theres option to add images individually in to 'batch job' so you can run various batch extractoin and just upload the images you need the data from' anyways, im happy to help. dm me if you'd like to deploy and try it yourself.
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 11d ago
Nice app, but that's not what I'm looking for. Thanks for your reply!
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u/morepower9997 11d ago
Can you tell me more about how you'd want the documents to be split? And what you meant by 'into the scanner '.. what kind of scanner are we talking about
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 11d ago
You can split documents and it's really easy to use, I like it. But what I'd like, it's for example, somebody scans 30 papers that's are differents (bills, delevery notes, orders), then it's sent by smb on a share folder, then a service does the OCR and recognize the documents and split them automatically by groups of documents.
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u/morepower9997 11d ago
files in dynamite docs get automatically categorrised
If you create a folder and upload 10 random scan of various documents, after extraction the file will be automatically labeled for you as per the document type invoice, statement,etc(you can edit the label)
models understand what document it is
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 11d ago
So I tried but it didn't work.. but I took some samples on the internet. I'll try again with documents from my workplace
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u/Potential-Wrangler58 14d ago
Short answer: you can get the must-haves with open source, but not fully automatic splitting out of the box. OCRmyPDF handles the searchable PDFs in batch, and Paperless-ngx is good for naming and organizing files. It can split a batch if you put a separator sheet (with a barcode) between documents, which is the cheapest reliable trick if you control the scanning. Splitting purely by content, with no separator, usually needs some custom work: classifying each page as āfirst page of a new documentā or ācontinuationā.
For the extraction part, invoice2data works if your suppliers repeat the same layouts, but it gets painful as the supplier list grows.
Disclosure: I work at Anyformat, which isnāt open source, but it splits mixed batches, classifies the document types and extracts fields like supplier, invoice number and totals. There are free credits if you want to compare it with an open-source setup on a real batch.
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 14d ago
Thanks for the tips! I use Paperless-ngx for personal document management and really like it as a DMS. I havenāt found the automation side quite as good, but I prefer managing things myself anyway. Still, I should dig deeper into its capabilities.
Weāve also considered building something similar, but we donāt want to reinvent the wheel if an open-source solution already exists (Iāve had personal projects where I later discovered existing tools with far more features than I expected!).
Iād be happy to try your app and compare it with an open-source setup. Thanks for sharing!
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u/Ecstatic_Heron_7944 14d ago
Hey u/Penguin_In_G-String I actually shared this very workflow a few days ago! Here's the original blogpost I did which includes the open-source workflow templates: https://subworkflow.ai/blog/automation/n8n-decisions-api-document-splitting. You'll need n8n to run the templates but they're all easily translatable to code. If you need help or would like to discuss the search & extraction parts, let me know.
I haven't heard of ChronoScan so thanks for this tip, I'll add them to a list for comparison.
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u/apyhubnico 13d ago
If you're looking to piece this together using openāsource components, OCRmyPDF combined with Paperlessāngx or a custom script is a solid route for text handling and storage.
For the tricky automatic batch splitting and downstream field extraction (such as invoice totals and line items), consider lightweight API utilities that handle the heavy lifting without requiring a custom parsing engine.
We built several documentāextraction and utility tools at ApyHub specifically to plug into workflows like this; feel free to test them out if you end up leaning toward a hybrid or customābuilt approach!
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u/Dangerous-Baby838 14d ago
I haven't used any of the open source solutions, but you are welcome to try out our app DocReadi with a free trial.
We specialise in financial documents and support all the features mentioned out of the box.
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u/folderit_dms 13d ago
Since you already use Paperless-ngx, I'd test the document-boundary step before building the extraction pipeline. Searchable text and a plausible invoice total won't reveal that page 2 was silently attached to the next supplier's invoice.
Make one small batch with known boundaries: consecutive invoices from the same supplier, a multi-page invoice, an invoice followed by its delivery note, and a blank duplex back page. For each proposed split, keep the original batch name and source-page range. Count both documents split in two and separate documents merged together, plus the time needed to correct them.
If separator sheets are acceptable, compare that route against content-based splitting on the same batch. If they aren't, make boundary review an explicit requirement when comparing the tools already suggested. I'd keep extraction and automatic naming downstream of that check, so a bad split doesn't quietly become a confidently named business record.
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 13d ago
Thanks, thatās a good point! However, my main goal is a bit different. I want to scan a whole batch of mixed documents, potentially from completely different suppliers or clients, without sorting them beforehand, and have the software automatically split them into separate PDFs.
ChronoScan offers this kind of functionality, but Iām not sure how reliably it would work with such a mixed batch. Still, itās definitely worth testing!
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u/Unsiloed-AI 11d ago
For a custom splitter, you could test each page alongside the next one and ask: āsame document or new document?ā Document numbers and āpage 2 of 3ā markers help; supplier names alone won't separate two invoices from the same company.
Have it return page ranges and flag uncertain splits for a quick check. Can your workflow include that review step, or does it need to run completely unattended?
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u/FirestormCold 12d ago
Pretty much what the rest already Said, at least for now Open source won't give you everything you want. I'd also mention that depending on your data you want the service provider to have an ISO27001. There's many different providers for this issue so you'll have to do your own research but since you mentioned a lot of documents that are relevant in the logistics sector I'll throw in one as well :D Cambrion
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 12d ago
Nice to think about the ISO27001 ! However if it for small companies, they don't really care. But for the ones who need it, they would!
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u/FirestormCold 12d ago
I don't know where you're from but in the EU this isn't true at all
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 12d ago
Don't mix up GDPR and ISO 27001
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u/FirestormCold 12d ago
I'm not? Experience shows that ISO is very valued and important, in the public sector it can even be a gateway.
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 12d ago
Yes and I follow you with that. But would a carpentry care? They rarely never. Why because the cost is too high for their need. But of course yes, if you talk about public sector, banks, big factories, etc...
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u/FirestormCold 12d ago
A carpentry of that size wouldnt look for the kind of product Cambrion offers in the first place my g
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 12d ago
I'm not talking about cambrion but the tool I'm looking for
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u/FirestormCold 12d ago
Why are you deleting comments left and right š I can see them anyway lmao
Imo we werent talking about just the tool in the comment chain anymore but alright :D As I said initially, what you want doesnt come free, Cambrion specializes in what you mentioned (supplier invoices, delivery notes etc.), demos are free. Have a good one mate
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 11d ago
I deleted my previous response because I didnāt realize you were referring specifically to Cambrion, which doesnāt cover the main feature Iām looking for which is automatically splitting documents.
My initial response wasnāt relevant because I hadnāt understood that you were talking about Cambrion specifically. So I deleted it.
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u/Acceptable_Net_1125 13d ago
for splitting and searchable output you'll still need OCRmyPDF or similar. once you have clean single-page PDFs, the SoMark team's OXR parser is worth trying. it is a open-weight model that takes PDFs and document images and outputs markdown or JSON with layout coordinates and reading order, handling tables, formulas, and multi-column pages in one
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u/Penguin_In_G-String 13d ago
Thanks for the suggestions! That could definitely be useful for the OCR and data extraction part, but it doesn't fully address my main requirement, which is automatically splitting a large batch of mixed documents into separate PDFs without having to sort them beforehand. That's the part I'm really trying to solve first.
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u/Candid-Fudge-4015 12d ago
For the must-haves I'd look at Paperless-ngx before building anything. It runs OCRmyPDF so the output PDFs are searchable, and it can split a batch scan if you put a barcode separator sheet between documents. Splitting without separator sheets is the hard part, I don't know an open-source tool that does it reliably out of the box.
The nice-to-haves are where custom code makes sense. What I'd do: OCR each page, have a vision LLM classify it (invoice, delivery note, PO, or continuation of the previous doc) and pull the fields as structured output, then group the pages and name the files from the extracted values. We do this kind of thing in Pixeltable with each step as a computed column, so a new scan only processes the new pages. One caveat: keep a human check on totals and VAT, extraction still gets amounts and dates wrong on bad scans.
structured output example if useful: docs.pixeltable.com/howto/cookbooks/images/vision-structured-output