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Configuring Document Ingestion via Email

How to set up and use organization-specific email addresses to submit documents to Docupath

Email ingestion enables organizations to submit documents to Docupath by sending them to organization email addresses that you configure. This capability streamlines document entry for high-volume workflows, allowing users to route documents to specific sub-organizations through intelligent email parsing.

Understanding email configuration and sub-organization assignment logic is critical for multi-tenant deployments.

How It Works

When you create an organization in Docupath, you set up the email address(es) used for document ingestion. (These addresses are configured by you; they are not generated automatically by the system.) Documents can be submitted to a Main Organization address or directly to a Sub Organization address.

Each organization has two ingestion email addresses, and the address you send to determines how the email's attachments are handled:

  • Single Primary Document with Optional Attachments: The email is processed as one primary document. Any other files attached to the email are kept as optional supporting attachments on that single primary document, rather than being treated as separate documents.

  • Multiple Primary Documents: Each attachment in the email is processed as its own independent primary document, with separate extraction, status tracking, and audit trail.

Email Submission Process

  1. Email Sending

    • User sends email to one of the organization's ingestion email addresses

    • The address chosen determines how attachments are handled (single primary document with optional attachments, or multiple primary documents)

    • Subject and body are optional; note that on the Single Primary Document address, the body is processed as the document when the email has no valid business-document attachment

  2. Attachment Processing

    • Multiple Primary Documents address: Each attachment is processed as a separate primary document, extracted and queued independently, with no cross-document dependencies or batch grouping

    • Single Primary Document with Optional Attachments address: The email produces one primary document, and the remaining attachments are stored as supporting attachments on that document

  3. Sub-Organization Assignment

    • Docupath loads all sub-organization configurations under the receiving Main Organization

    • If the Main Organization has exactly one sub-organization, the document is routed to that sub-organization

    • Otherwise, checks if the Primary Party (extracted from the document) matches any sub org's override trading party, and routes to the matching sub org if a single match is found

    • If no single override match is found, checks whether the sender (the email's From address, matched to a Docupath user account) is assigned to exactly one sub-organization under this Main Organization, and routes there if so

    • Records "No sub organization detected" when none of the above resolves a single sub-organization

  4. Status Updates

    • Processed documents appear in assigned organization's inbox

    • Email activity is recorded in the audit trail

    • Failed attachments logged with specific error details

Example Sub-Organization Routing

Scenario: Three Sub-Organizations with Override Parties

This example uses the Multiple Primary Documents address, so each attachment is treated as a separate document and routed on its own.

Main Org Email: financedocs-tenantname@docupath.app
Sub Organization 1 (US Finance)
  Override Trading Party: "Apple Inc."
Sub Organization 2 (EU Finance)
  Override Trading Party: "Siemens AG"
Sub Organization 3 (APAC Finance)
  Override Trading Party: "Sony Corporation"

Email Received with Attachments:

  • Invoice from Apple Inc. routed to US Finance (override trading party match)

  • PO from Siemens AG routed to EU Finance (override trading party match)

  • Receipt from Sony Corporation routed to APAC Finance (override trading party match)

  • Payment from an unknown party: if the sender is a Docupath user assigned to exactly one of these sub-organizations, it is routed there; otherwise it is recorded as "No sub organization detected"

Note: If a Main Organization has only one sub-organization, every document sent to its address routes to that sub-organization automatically, without needing an override trading party match or a sender lookup.

Supported Configurations and Options

Email Address Configuration

Configuration Level

Email Address

Scope

Main Organization

Two ingestion addresses you configure (Single Primary Document with Optional Attachments; Multiple Primary Documents)

Documents submitted to the main organization; can route to sub-organizations by primary party matching

Sub Organization

Organization-specific address(es) you configure

Documents submitted directly to that sub-organization

Attachment Processing Rules

Supported File Types

  • PDF documents

  • Image files (JPG, PNG, TIFF, etc.)

  • Structured documents (XML, JSON where applicable)

Attachment Limits

  • Maximum 10 attachments per email

  • Total email size limit: per organization policy

  • Oversized emails: rejected with notification

Per-Attachment Processing

  • On the Multiple Primary Documents address, each attachment receives a unique document ID, runs through an independent extraction pipeline, and has separate status tracking and audit trail, with no grouping or batching

  • On the Single Primary Document with Optional Attachments address, the attachments are grouped under one primary document as supporting files

Sub-Organization Assignment Logic

When a document is sent to a Main Organization address, Docupath resolves the sub-organization in the following order of precedence and stops at the first rule that identifies a single sub-organization:

  1. Single sub-organization. If the Main Organization has exactly one sub-organization, the document is routed to it. No further checks are performed.

  2. Override trading party match. The Primary Party extracted from the document is compared against each sub-organization's override trading party. If exactly one sub-organization matches, the document is routed to it.

  3. Sender membership. If no single override match is found, Docupath identifies the sender by matching the email's From address to a Docupath user account. If that user is assigned to exactly one sub-organization under this Main Organization, the document is routed to it.

  4. No match. If none of the above resolves a single sub-organization, the document is recorded as "No sub organization detected."

Ambiguity and safeguards

  • Multiple override trading party matches record "No sub organization detected" (ambiguity safeguard)

  • A sender assigned to multiple sub-organizations under the Main Organization does not resolve a routing decision, and the document records "No sub organization detected"

  • A sender who is not a Docupath user, or is assigned to no sub-organization under this Main Organization, does not affect routing

Override Trading Party Configuration

  • Defined at sub organization level

  • Typically represents vendor/supplier identifier

  • Must be unique across sub organizations (no overlaps)

  • Can be updated without re-submitting documents

Document Retention Per Sub Org

  • Documents remain in assigned sub org inbox

  • Cannot be moved between sub orgs post-assignment

  • Original routing decision is immutable

Other Technical Specifications

Email Processing Architecture

  • Type: asynchronous processor

  • Trigger: email received at organization address

  • Processing: documents are queued and processed after receipt

  • Retry Logic: automatic retry on transient failures

Subject and Body Handling

  • Subject line: optional metadata, not parsed for routing (use for human reference only)

  • Body text: not used for routing. On the Single Primary Document address, the email body is processed as the document when the email has no valid business-document attachment; when a valid document is present, the body is kept as a read-only reference and is not parsed. See Processing the Email Body as a Document.

Primary Party Extraction

  • Source: document content (invoice, PO, receipt, etc.)

  • Method: AI-powered entity extraction

  • Fallback: "Unknown Party" if extraction fails

Email Address Configuration

  • Addresses are configured by the organization (not auto-generated) on the docupath.app domain

  • Aliases: additional email addresses can forward to a primary address

Audit Trail

  • Email metadata logged: sender, recipient, timestamp, attachment count

  • Document-level log: routing decision, extracted party, assigned sub org

  • Retention: per organization policy

Notes

Multiple Matching Parties

  • If document lists multiple parties, only primary party used for routing

  • Secondary parties ignored for sub-organization assignment

  • Scenario: invoice lists "Sold By: Apple Inc., Billed To: Acme Corp"

  • Behavior: routes based on "Sold By" (primary); Acme assignment ignored

  • Mitigation: ensure primary party is unambiguous in document

No Sub Organization Match

  • Document receives "No sub organization detected" status and remains in the Main Organization inbox for manual review

  • Unmatched documents are visible to parent/admin users for triage; sub-organization users do not see them until they are assigned

  • A reviewer can assign the correct sub-organization from the organization selector (which lists the document's Main Organization and its sub-organizations) and reprocess the document

  • Does NOT default to any sub-organization beyond the assignment rules above

  • Best Practice: investigate and classify unmatched documents

Party Extraction Failure

  • If Docupath cannot identify a Primary Party, it defaults to "Unknown Party"

  • Without a Primary Party, the override trading party match cannot apply, but the single sub-organization rule and the sender membership rule can still route the document

  • If no rule resolves a single sub-organization, the document falls back to the Main Org inbox as "No sub organization detected"

  • Recovery: manually assign the organization and reprocess, or re-submit with a clearer document

Attachment Order

  • On the Multiple Primary Documents address, attachments are processed in the order received, with no dependencies between them

  • If one fails, others continue processing (partial success is possible: 9 succeed, 1 fails)

Email Duplicate Submissions

  • No deduplication on re-sent emails

  • Sending same email twice creates duplicate documents

  • Mitigation: unique document IDs prevent confusion; operators must deduplicate manually

Override Party Changes

  • Changing a sub org's override party does NOT affect already-routed documents

  • New routing rules apply only to future emails

  • Existing documents locked to original assignment

  • Workaround: manual re-assignment if necessary

Subject Line Ambiguity

  • Subject lines are NOT parsed for routing information

  • Even if subject contains org name or party, ignored for assignment

  • Document content only determines routing

  • Prevention: rely on document content, not email metadata

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