Do you have a lot of business data trapped in PDF files? This could be invoices, sales orders, payroll documents, etc. It must be stressful to enter all that information manually when you have other critical tasks waiting to be done. So, think about this: how much time and effort would you save if you could extract data from PDF to Excel quickly and without inaccuracies? Surely the productivity gains would be massive for you and your business.
Thankfully, you don’t have to spend hours copying and pasting data from new documents. You just need a specialized tool that can pull data from your PDFs and turn it into an organized Excel spreadsheet. Well, that’s what we’re here to help you with. Follow this simple guide to learn how to extract data from PDF to Excel efficiently using Mailparser, the leading email parsing solution. Let’s begin.
Extract Data from PDF to Excel
Save countless hours of tedious data entry and streamline your workflows.
No credit card required.
How to Extract Data from PDF to Excel Using Mailparser
To extract data from PDF to Excel using Mailparser, follow the steps shown in this short video tutorial:
For a more detailed explanation of this process, follow this step-by-step guide:
1. Create your Mailparser inbox
To get started, sign up for a free trial account. Once you do, click on the button ‘Create Your First Inbox’.
Type a name for your inbox and you will get an email address.
2. Send a PDF to your Mailparser address
Now, forward an email to your Mailparser address with your PDF attached to it. For this guide, we’re using a sales order issued by a home furniture retailer.
Once Mailparser receives the email, you will see this message:
Select ‘Add Parsing Rules to Extract Data from Email Attachment’ and then click on the button ‘Select & Continue to Setup Parsing Rules’.
3. Create parsing rules
Mailparser has an Automatic Setup that can identify simple data fields on its own. In the screenshot below, we can see that most data fields in the sales order have been extracted:
Each data field has a parsing rule assigned to it. So without doing anything, most of the data in our PDF has been parsed successfully. Click on the button ‘Start with this template’ to save your rule set.
Create a custom rule
Before moving on to the last step, let’s take a minute to show you how to create a custom parsing rule. In this case, we want to extract the table that details line items. To do this, go to the Rules section in your dashboard and click on the button ‘+ New Parsing Rule’ at the top center of the screen.
Select ‘Attachment’ as the data source. Then, scroll down a little bit and click on the dropdown list called ‘Parse attachment’. Select the option ‘File content (Table Cells)’. Here is the extracted table:
Add filters to your rule
From here, you can add filters to refine the parsing results. To add a filter, click on the button ‘Add Table Filter’ to the right and select one of the customization options. Let’s review a quick example of adding a filter to remove the first row (since the line items start at the second row). Add a filter, move your cursor to ‘Remove, Select & Insert’, and then select the option ‘Remove Rows’. The filter will remove the first row by default, but you can set the range of rows you want to remove.
See how easy that was? You can keep adding more filters as needed, like one to the column headers. Feel free to explore the various filter options to customize your parsing rules as much as you like. When you’re done, scroll down to the final result and click on the button ‘OK, looks good!’. Be sure to write a name for this parsing rule (e.g. ‘line items’) and click on ‘Save & Validate’. Your custom rule is up and running!
So to summarize, the Automatic Setup can take care of most of the data fields in your PDF, and you can add custom rules in just a few clicks to extract and format the remaining data you need.
4. Download or export your data
Now that your data has been parsed successfully, all that is left to do is to download it as an Excel file. To do this, head over to the Downloads section and click on ‘Create New Download Link’.
There are four download formats available: XLS, CSV, JSON, and XML. Select the XLS format and write a name for your file. Tweak the download settings if needed and click on ‘Save’.
Mailparser will generate a download link for you — click on it and save your file. Here is what our Excel spreadsheet looks like:
And that’s your Excel file! If you send multiple emails to Mailparser, you will be able to consolidate all the data from multiple PDF files into one Excel spreadsheet, making data processing and management easy.
Another option is to export your table data to a cloud application like Google Sheets. You can even go one step further and use Zapier in tandem with Google Sheets to build an automated workflow that adds new data from Mailparser as new rows in a sheet.
Extract Data from PDF to Excel
Save countless hours of tedious data entry and streamline your workflows.
No credit card required.
Here’s Why You’ll Love Mailparser
1. It’s easy to use
One of the main reasons our users love Mailparser is how easy it is to jump in and start parsing emails. You don’t need to download and install software on your computer — you just log in from your web browser and start parsing PDF attachments.
As seen in our tutorial, Mailparser has a simple point-and-click UI where you can set up your PDF to Excel parser in a few minutes. So there is no need to write code or learn complex Excel functions. Anyone in your organization can quickly learn how to use Mailparser to get the data they need.
2. You get accurate data by customizing parsing rules
Manual data entry is known for having high error rates on top of being time-consuming. But even online converters can struggle with data accuracy, leaving you to edit your converted file manually. Mailparser, on the other hand, is built to be thoroughly customizable for maximum accuracy.
When building your rules, you get a preview of the parsing result at each step of the process. So you can make the necessary changes to get your data exactly how you want it to be. By chaining up filters, you can thoroughly customize how tables are extracted, cleaned, and organized. As a result, you get all the data you need the way it should be, so you can use it right away instead of wasting time hunting for inaccuracies.
3. Automate workflows with seamless integrations
Extracting data from PDFs is just the first step — true efficiency comes from integrating that data directly into your existing systems. With Mailparser, you can automate workflows by seamlessly connecting extracted data to Excel, Google Sheets, your accounting software, CRM platforms, and more. Instead of manually transferring information between tools, Mailparser ensures that your data flows effortlessly where it’s needed.
Here is an example of an automated invoice processing workflow:
- Incoming invoice PDFs are automatically forwarded to Mailparser via email;
- Mailparser extracts key details (vendor, amount, due date, line items);
- Data is sent to QuickBooks, Xero, or FreshBooks for automatic record-keeping;
- A payment reminder is triggered in Slack or email if the due date is approaching.
4. Save time and resources for higher-value work
Hundreds if not thousands of hours are spent every year inputting data manually. Thanks to automation, all of that time can be redirected towards more productive endeavors, like:
- Building stronger relationships with customers;
- Analyzing data;
- Developing new marketing campaigns, branding strategies, and product innovations.
Mailparser users also report significant improvements in data accuracy. This means the extra time and costs associated with rectifying data entry errors can be greatly reduced and even eliminated.
3 Use Cases of Extracting Data from PDF Attachments
1. Extract invoice details from email notifications
Extracting invoice details — such as vendor name, invoice date, line items, and total amount — is a common use case for Mailparser users. In industries like retail, eCommerce, construction, and others, companies receive a lot of invoices from vendors, suppliers, and service providers. But legacy systems make invoice processing slow and cumbersome, so automation brings a welcome relief for accounts payable departments.
By moving invoice data from PDFs to Excel or platforms like QuickBooks or Xero, businesses save time, reduce approval times, and prevent bottlenecks as well as data entry errors. As a result, they can process more invoices without encountering issues.
2. Extract transaction details from bank statements
Having transaction details available in Excel format is often required for performing reconciliation, analyzing bank statements, and tracking cash flow. Mailparser comes in handy to automate the data entry process.
For example, an accounting firm managing multiple clients’ financials can use Mailparser to extract transactions into spreadsheets. The accountants can then categorize them automatically to match deposits, withdrawals, and payments with corresponding records in their accounting software. As a result, they can easily detect discrepancies, monitor spending trends, and ensure compliance with financial reporting standards.
3. Streamline payroll and HR record management
HR departments process large volumes of documents, including employee timesheets, payroll summaries, and tax forms. Extracting that information helps streamline payroll calculations, benefits tracking, and compliance reporting.
For example, a company receiving timesheets in PDF format can extract employee hours, overtime, and deductions into an Excel sheet, which can then be synced with payroll software like Rippling or Gusto. This ensures accurate salary calculations, reduces administrative workload, and minimizes compliance risks. Automating HR record management also makes it easier to track employee leave, benefits, and tax filings, improving overall efficiency in workforce administration.
Mailparser FAQ
You can parse email attachments in the following formats: PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, CSV, TXT, and XML.
In addition to email attachments, you can also parse an email’s subject line, recipient, sender, and body.
In that case, we recommend that you use Docparser, our sister app that uses zonal OCR, AI, and other technologies to identify and extract data from scanned images.
Yes, you can try Mailparser for 30 days for free. Your free trial gives you 30 credits and access to all core features without requiring your credit card details.
Get Started With Mailparser
Using a PDF-to-Excel converter may work fine for an occasional need, but when you receive new PDF files every week or every day, you need a tool that’s reliable, efficient, and scalable. As we saw in this blog post, Mailparser is a great match for your regular data extraction needs. You simply email your PDF files to your Mailparser address, send them to the parsing queue, and download your Excel file. Unlike other tools, you have the freedom to customize how data is extracted as well as how your spreadsheet is structured. Or you can send your data to a cloud application you use. Either way, Mailparser handles data entry for you and fits neatly within your business system.
Interested? Try Mailparser for free and extract data from PDF to Excel. Discover the efficiency enabled by automation and streamline your business workflows for more success!
Extract Data from PDF to Excel
Save countless hours of tedious data entry and streamline your workflows.
No credit card required.
