Ways to Teach Tofie
Tofie is Tofu’s built-in AI that learns how to extract data from your invoices. The more you teach it, the more accurate and efficient it becomes. There are three ways to teach Tofie:
1. Self Prompt
Use this method during your initial setup or when adding a new contact/entity with historical transaction data.
If your entity is connected to a supported accounting integration (such as Xero, QuickBooks Online, freee, Sage, or Zoho Books):
Tofie will automatically pull past transactions from your accounting software.
It analyzes these documents and builds the knowledge base for future extractions.
You can also upload a CSV or Excel file as an alternative data source — this is now available regardless of whether your entity has an integration connected.
If your entity is not integrated to any accounting system:
You can upload a CSV or Excel file to provide historical transaction data.
Tofie will use this data to learn coding patterns and build the knowledge base.
Self Prompt is supported for all four entry types: AP Bills, AR Invoices, Direct Expenses, and Bank Statements.
To Run Self Prompt
Go to Entity Settings → Knowledge Base.
Select the extraction type you want to train: AP Bills, AR Invoices, or Direct Expenses.
Click Self-Prompt.
Choose your data source:
Generate with Integration Only — Tofie learns directly from your historical Zoho Books data.
Upload CSV/Excel — Use your own transaction file instead of integration data.
Select your preferred Output language.
Click Generate with Integration Only or Upload and generate to start.
📕 Note: Self Prompt can take some time, especially if there are many historical documents. No need to wait around. You can come back once it’s done.
After Self Prompt is complete, review the knowledge base entries to ensure they look accurate. You can edit or delete any rules as needed.
💡 Best for: First-time setup
2. Tofie Icon
Click the Tofie icon at the top right of the screen when you're reviewing an extraction.
This lets you create or update rules based on the current extraction
Tell Tofie how to handle documents from a specific contact/entity or document format directly from the document view.
💡 Best for: Teaching on the fly while reviewing invoices
3. Knowledge Base
The Knowledge Base allows you to review, edit, and manage Tofie’s learned rules. To access:
Go to Settings → Knowledge Base
From here, you can:
Add or edit rules manually
View existing learned knowledge
Delete or adjust rules
Use templates for faster setup
Knowledge is applied based on the selected entry type.
💡 Important:
Always select the correct entry type (AP Bills, AR Invoices, Direct Expenses, or Bank Statements). Knowledge is tied to the selected type and ensures rules apply to the correct documents.
💡 Best for: Reviewing or editing extraction rules in detail
Contacts and Entry-Type–Specific Knowledge
The Contacts section stores contact-specific knowledge and is filtered based on the selected entry type.
AP Bills / Direct Expenses: supplier or vendor knowledge
AR Invoices: customer knowledge
When you change the entry type dropdown, the Contacts list refreshes automatically to show only relevant knowledge. Any active contact search is cleared to avoid confusion.
Teaching Tofie Your Contact Code Format
When Tofie creates a new contact for a non-integrated entity, it auto-generates a contact code. You can now teach Tofie your preferred naming convention so that generated codes match your accounting workflow.
To set a contact code format:
Click Add Rule or select an existing contact rule
Instruct Tofie on your preferred format.
For example:
"Contact codes should always be uppercase with no spaces, using the first 3 letters of the supplier name followed by a 3-digit number, e.g. ABC001."Click Save
💡 Tip: This is especially useful when you plan to export contacts into an accounting system that enforces specific code formats. Consistent codes help avoid mismatches during import.
Tofie Learns From Tax Amount Corrections
Some suppliers state a tax amount on their documents that differs slightly from the calculated value, usually because of rounding. If you correct the tax amount on a line item during extraction review, Tofie now learns from that correction.
Going forward, Tofie will read the tax amount directly from that supplier's documents instead of calculating it, so you will not have to make the same fix twice.
💡 Tip: You do not need to do anything special. Just correct the tax amount as part of your normal review and verify the extraction. The learning happens automatically at the contact level.
Templates by Entry Type
Knowledge Base templates are organized by entry type.
When you switch the entry type, the template list updates automatically to show only templates relevant to that workflow (for example, AP Bills, AR Invoices, or Direct Expenses).
This makes it easier to apply the correct templates for each extraction type.
Ways to Teach Tofie
1. Introduction to Teaching Tofie
Understand the process from document review to extraction review.
Learn how to enhance Tofie, the AI assistant, for better data extraction.
2. Starting a Conversation with Tofie
Access Tofie from the invoice review view by clicking the Tofie icon.
Begin a dialogue with Tofie to provide instructions.
3. Providing Instructions to Tofie
Enter instructions in your own words.
Example: Request to aggregate all line items into a single description.
💡 Before giving instructions, make sure the correct entry type is selected (AP Bills, AR Invoices, Direct Expenses, or Bank Statements). This ensures Tofie applies your instructions to the right type of document.
💡 Instructions can be entered in any language.
4. Generating Valid Prompts
Understand that complex requests may require multiple prompts.
Ask Tofie to generate a valid prompt for your instruction.
5. Saving Instructions
Review the generated prompt to ensure it meets your needs.
Save the prompt and confirm successful knowledge appending.
6. Accessing the Knowledge Base
Recall the knowledge base from settings to input instructions directly.
Note that knowledge can also be added directly through Tofie.
7. Using Templates for Instructions
Access templates for easier guideline addition.
Choose relevant templates (e.g., GST and VAT) and edit as necessary.
8. Inserting Edited Prompts into Knowledge Base
After editing, insert the prompt into the knowledge base.
The knowledge base is automatically updated.
9. Reattempting Data Extraction 2:43
Return to the extraction and reattempt the extraction process.
Verify that the input instructions are working correctly.
Request help when prompts still aren’t working
If you’ve tried re-extracting a few times or made several Knowledge Base updates and the result still isn’t right, you can request help directly from the extraction review.
Open the extraction you’re working on.
Hover over the Extract button and click Request help.
Tofu pre-fills the message with the extraction link. Add your notes and send.
10. Conclusion
Review the results of the extraction to ensure it meets expectations.