PDFParsingDevToolsAutomation

PDFLens - Field-consistent parser

Define fields once, get same JSON from all invoice/receipt PDFs

Problem
Developers often extract data from many invoice PDFs, but each vendor's layout differs, requiring rewritten parsing rules. Users need a 'define fields once, adapt to all PDFs' tool.
Solution
An API or desktop tool where users define desired fields with example values. It uses layout-aware models to locate fields in new PDFs and output structured JSON without templates.
Users
Financial automation developers, RPA engineers, SME ops staff processing purchase orders in bulk.
MVP
Upload PDF and annotate field examples; extract similar fields using text coordinates and layout features; output JSON with manual correction; batch process 10 PDFs; simple REST API.
Revenue
Usage-based: first 100 pages free, then $0.01/page; or $29/month for 5000 pages.
Why now
Vision-language models understand PDF layouts but cloud APIs are costly and privacy-sensitive; small local models + coordinate matching can solve it cheaply, ideal for indie devs.

Source discussions · 2

  1. Hacker NewsShow HN: An App that names each cell in a spreadsheet1↑ 0
  2. Hacker NewsShow HN: Parse - define the fields once, get the same JSON from every PDF1↑ 0
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