---
title: "Odoo OCR чи Mail2ERP: що краще для email-замовлень"
url: https://bots4.me/uk/odoo-document-digitization-vs-mail2erp/
canonical: https://bots4.me/uk/odoo-document-digitization-vs-mail2erp/
language: uk
updated: 2026-10-30
---

# Odoo OCR чи Mail2ERP: що краще для email-замовлень

Порівняння вбудованого OCR Odoo та бота BOTS4.me Mail2ERP для автоматизації створення замовлень з листів. Перший місяць безкоштовно.

# Odoo's AI Document Digitization vs Mail2ERP

Written by [Adam Petras](https://bots4.me/about-us/), Founder & CEO, TreeLab OÜ · Published 2026-10-29 · Updated 2026-10-29

Built-in Odoo features and an email order bot compared for Odoo 17, 18 and 19, as of October 2026

Odoo has its own OCR and AI features, and many Odoo users reasonably ask whether they already cover emailed customer orders. The short answer is that Odoo's built-in digitization is designed mainly for vendor bills, while Odoo's Sales app can turn uploaded order files into quotations, with a person doing the upload. BOTS4.me's **Mail2ERP** is built for a narrower job: reading customer orders and RFQs straight from your mailbox and creating the quotation or sales order without anyone opening the email.

This page compares them neutrally, based on Odoo's official documentation as of October 2026. Odoo adds features with every release, so check the documentation of your version before deciding.

    🤖 The bot in this comparison Mail2ERP - Import Emails Into ERP with AI First month free · No card needed   [🚀 Start your free Discovery month](https://bots4.me/bots/) [Mail2ERP product page](https://bots4.me/product/mail2erp/)

## 🏢 What Odoo Offers Built In (as of October 2026)

### Document Digitization in Accounting

Odoo's Document Digitization uses OCR and AI to read documents and create records with their details filled in. According to Odoo's documentation, it mainly targets vendor bills and refunds, and with adjusted settings it can also be used for customer invoices. You drag files into a purchase journal or click Upload, or you send them to the journal's email alias, by default an address starting with vendor-bills@. Each PDF attached to such an email becomes a new draft vendor bill; only PDF and XML files are processed through a journal alias.

- **What it reads:** the vendor, bill reference, bill date, due date, bank account, currency and the invoice lines with description, quantity, price and taxes.
- **Review:** a person checks the extracted data, edits fields if needed and confirms. Bills can be posted automatically per vendor once the setting is on.
- **Purchase link:** when OCR finds a matching open purchase order, the bill can be matched to its lines.
- **How it is offered:** digitization is one of Odoo's In-App Purchase services; XML e-invoices are read directly, without OCR.

### Upload in the Sales app

Odoo's documentation on purchase-to-sales order import describes an **Upload** button in the Sales app: you upload a purchase order file, or drag it into the Quotations dashboard, and Odoo generates a sales order with the customer filled in as the buyer and the product lines, quantities and prices pre-filled. That workflow is built on XML files in the UBL format exported from another Odoo database. The same page mentions that a PDF request for quotation received by email can also be uploaded in the Sales dashboard, but it does not describe how the lines of such a PDF are read.

### Email aliases and the AI app

Odoo's mail gateway creates records from incoming email, for example a lead from a message to a sales alias. The incoming email and its attachments are logged on the record; reading order lines out of the attachment is not part of that step. Odoo 19's AI app adds Ask AI, AI agents, AI fields, AI document sort and AI server actions; its documentation notes that the standard Ask AI agent cannot change database records. Odoo's Sales documentation for version 19 has no article on digitizing customer purchase orders.

### 🧩 Third-party apps

Several apps on the Odoo Apps store add AI or OCR digitization of sales orders for Odoo 17, 18 and 19, usually started from an upload on the quotation. They differ in licence, dependencies and whether an AI provider is involved, so read each listing carefully.

## 🤖 What Mail2ERP Does in Odoo

    📧

Customer email arrives

  →  🤖

Mail2ERP extracts & validates

  →  💾

Quotation or order in Odoo

  →  ✅

Email filed to PROCESSED

Mail2ERP starts in the mailbox, not in Odoo. Nobody opens the email or uploads a file: it reads your sales mailbox on a schedule within your operating hours, decides for each email whether it is a request for quotation, a firm order or neither, and reads the product lines from the email text and from PDF, Excel, Word, CSV, HTML, image and scanned attachments, in any layout and language, with no templates.

- **RFQ → quotation, order → confirmed sales order.** A reply that quotes one of your quotation numbers can turn that quotation into an order when RFQ Detection is switched on.
- **Your catalog decides:** codes are matched against your Odoo products, and from the Team plan also by vendor codes, barcodes, manufacturer part numbers and customer references (Smart Multi-Code Matching).
- **Your prices decide:** Odoo's pricelist and tax rules set the prices; the price in the email is only a fallback.
- **Only real customers:** Mail2ERP imports only from senders who are customers in Odoo, and it never creates products.
- **Guard rails:** a line whose quantity cannot be read confidently is skipped rather than guessed, price lists that match suspiciously many products are dropped, and the same order sent twice is imported once.

Mail2ERP connects to Odoo 13 through 19: Community and Enterprise on-premise, Odoo.sh and Odoo Online. On Odoo.sh and on-premise you install the free BOTS4.me Connect module and connect in one click; Odoo Online does not allow custom Python, so you create an API key there instead, which needs Odoo's Custom plan for API access.

## 📊 Side by Side

| Criterion | Odoo Document Digitization | Odoo Sales upload | Mail2ERP |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Main documents | Vendor bills and refunds; customer invoices with adjusted settings | Customer purchase orders (UBL XML; PDF upload mentioned) | Customer orders and requests for quotation |
| How documents arrive | Upload, or email to the journal alias | A person uploads or drags the file | Read automatically from your mailbox, or forwarded to the BOTS4.me Mailbox |
| File types | PDF and XML through the alias; images through the Documents app | UBL XML from another Odoo database; PDF | Email text, PDF, Excel, Word, CSV, HTML, images, scans |
| Result in Odoo | Draft vendor bill to review and confirm | Pre-filled sales order | Quotation or confirmed sales order |
| Order vs RFQ decision | Not applicable | Made by the person uploading | Made for every email; correctable with folders |
| Odoo versions | As documented per version | As documented per version | Odoo 13 to 19, including Odoo Online and Odoo.sh |
| Try before use | Test use for Enterprise subscribers | Part of the Sales app | Demo Mode on your real emails, then LIVE |

## ✅ When Odoo's Built-in Tools Are Enough

- **Your problem is vendor bills, not customer orders.** Odoo's Document Digitization was built for exactly that, inside Accounting, with matching to your purchase orders. Mail2ERP does not read vendor bills.
- **Your customers run Odoo too** and can send you their purchase orders as UBL XML, which the Sales app turns into pre-filled sales orders.
- **You receive a few orders a week** and someone is happy to upload each one, review it and confirm it.
- **You exchange e-invoices or other XML documents,** which Odoo reads directly.

## 🔧 When Mail2ERP Fits Better

- **Orders arrive by the dozen or the hundred** and nobody should have to open, download and upload each one. One Mail2ERP customer, IMP Kontakt, receives thousands of RFQs and orders a month by email.
- **Orders and RFQs are mixed** in one mailbox and every email needs a decision before a document can be created.
- **Your customers send Excel, Word or scanned files,** each in their own layout and language.
- **You are on Odoo Online, Odoo.sh or an older version from 13 upwards** and want the same behaviour everywhere.
- **You want the next steps too:** tag an imported order AutoERP and AutoERP confirms, ships and invoices it; Pay2ERP and AutoCASH handle payments and reminders.

## ⚙️ Setup, Demo Mode and Unclear Emails

- **Step 1:** sign in at [bots4.me/bots](https://bots4.me/bots/) and click **Start free Discovery month** on the Mail2ERP card. No card is needed.
- **Step 2:** connect your mailbox with Secure Quick Connect (Gmail, Microsoft 365) or IMAP, or add the BOTS4.me Mailbox and forward orders to mail2erp@bots4.me. See [Getting Connected](https://bots4.me/guide-getting-connected/).
- **Step 3:** connect Odoo with the free BOTS4.me Connect module, or with an API key on Odoo Online. The [connector install guide](https://bots4.me/odoo-connector-install-guide/) walks through both.
- **Step 4:** Mail2ERP starts in Demo Mode and emails you what it would import, writing nothing to Odoo. Set Mode to LIVE on the Control tab when the reports look right.

Emails Mail2ERP cannot import stay unread in your INBOX, and the Logs tab and the _Mail2ERP/LOGS folder say why, for example a product that is missing in Odoo. Fix the cause and drag the email into _Mail2ERP/QUOTATION or _Mail2ERP/ORDERS to retry it, or into _Mail2ERP/SKIP to skip that kind of email in future.

### 📅 After the Discovery month

Mail2ERP continues on the free plan by itself with a small monthly allowance. When it is used, new items wait until next month or until you choose a plan on the [Mail2ERP product page](https://bots4.me/product/mail2erp/).

## ❓ Frequently Asked Questions

### Does Odoo have built-in OCR for sales orders?

As of October 2026, Odoo's documented Document Digitization service reads vendor bills and refunds with OCR and AI, and can be set up for customer invoices. For sales, Odoo's documentation describes an Upload button in the Sales app that turns a UBL XML order from another Odoo database into a pre-filled sales order, and mentions that a PDF request for quotation can be uploaded in the Sales dashboard. It does not describe automatic sales-order creation straight from your mailbox.

### Can Odoo's email alias read the order lines from a PDF attachment?

Odoo's email aliases create records from incoming email, such as leads, and the Accounting journal alias turns PDF attachments into draft vendor bills. A sales order still needs its lines; Mail2ERP adds that step for customer emails by reading the attachment and creating the complete quotation or sales order.

### Do I still need Odoo's digitization if I use Mail2ERP?

Possibly, yes. They do different jobs. Odoo's digitization handles vendor bills in Accounting. Mail2ERP handles customer orders and RFQs in Sales. Many companies will use both.

### Which Odoo versions and hostings does Mail2ERP support?

Odoo 13 through 19, Community and Enterprise on-premise, Odoo.sh and Odoo Online. On Odoo.sh and on-premise you install the free BOTS4.me Connect module; on Odoo Online you connect with an API key, which needs Odoo's Custom plan for API access.

### What does Mail2ERP create in Odoo?

A quotation for a request for quotation and a confirmed sales order for a firm order. Odoo's pricelist and tax rules decide the prices; the price in the email is only a fallback. A reply that quotes one of your quotation numbers can turn that quotation into an order when RFQ Detection is on.

### Can third-party Odoo apps do the same?

Several apps on the Odoo Apps store offer AI digitization of sales orders from uploaded documents for Odoo 17, 18 and 19. Check each app's supported version, licence and dependencies, and whether it reads from your mailbox automatically or works from a manual upload.

### What happens after the free Discovery month?

Mail2ERP continues on the free plan by itself with a small monthly allowance of about five orders or RFQs a month, reading email text, PDF, CSV and HTML. Scanned PDFs, images, Excel and Word need a plan. Nothing imported is undone.

## 📚 Related Reading

- **Step by step:** [How to Import Email Orders and RFQs into Odoo Automatically](https://bots4.me/import-email-orders-into-odoo/).
- **After the import:** [How to Automate Order Confirmation, Delivery and Invoicing in Odoo](https://bots4.me/automate-odoo-order-processing/).
- **Which hosting can you automate:** [Odoo Online vs Odoo.sh vs On-Premise](https://bots4.me/odoo-automation-hosting-comparison/).
- **The big picture:** [How to Automate Odoo End-to-End](https://bots4.me/how-to-automate-odoo/).
- **Product and guide:** [Mail2ERP product page](https://bots4.me/product/mail2erp/) and [Mail2ERP Guide](https://bots4.me/mail2erp-guide/).
- **Other comparisons:** [Mail2ERP vs Business Central's Sales Order Agent](https://bots4.me/mail2erp-vs-business-central-sales-order-agent/) and [Parseur, Docparser or Nanonets vs Mail2ERP](https://bots4.me/email-order-parsers-vs-erp-automation/).

## 🔗 Sources

Facts about Odoo are taken from Odoo's official documentation as it read on 29 October 2026. External links open in a new tab.

- [Odoo 18 documentation — Document digitization](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/18.0/applications/finance/accounting/vendor_bills/invoice_digitization.html)
- [Odoo 18 documentation — EDI purchase-to-sales order import](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/18.0/applications/inventory_and_mrp/purchase/advanced/edi.html)
- [Odoo 19 documentation — Sales](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/sales/sales.html)
- [Odoo 19 documentation — AI](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/productivity/ai.html)

## Let Your Mailbox Feed Odoo's Sales App

Connect your mailbox and Odoo in five minutes, keep Odoo's own digitization for your vendor bills, and let Mail2ERP handle customer orders in Demo Mode first. The first month is a free Discovery month, with no card needed.

  [🚀 Start your free Discovery month](https://bots4.me/bots/) [📖 Mail2ERP product page](https://bots4.me/product/mail2erp/) [💬 Talk to us](https://bots4.me/contact/)

More than one process to automate, or an ERP that is not on our list? [We build it for you: book a free call →](https://bots4.me/custom-solutions/)

## Поширені запитання

### чи може Odoo автоматично створювати замовлення клієнтів з PDF-файлів у пошті?

Odoo не підтримує автоматичне формування замовлень клієнтів з PDF-файлів у пошті. Його вбудована функція OCR працює лише з рахунками постачальників, а для замовлень потрібно вручну завантажувати файли в додаток Продажі через кнопку Upload, але без автоматичного читання даних з PDF.

### який формат файлів підтримує Odoo для автоматичного створення рахунків постачальників?

Odoo підтримує PDF та XML-файли для автоматичного створення чернеток рахунків постачальників через функцію Document Digitization. XML-файли електронних рахунків обробляються без OCR, на відміну від PDF.

### чи може BOTS4.me Mail2ERP працювати з Odoo 17, 18 і 19?

Так, BOTS4.me Mail2ERP підтримує автоматизацію замовлень для Odoo 13–19 включно, незалежно від того, чи це Odoo.sh, on-premise чи Odoo Online. Він читає замовлення клієнтів та запити котирувань з пошти та формує пропозиції чи замовлення без ручного втручання.

### чи потрібно вручну перевіряти дані після оцифровки документів у Odoo?

Так, після оцифровки документів у Odoo потрібна ручна перевірка даних. Наприклад, для рахунків постачальників система створює чернетку, але користувач має редагувати поля за потреби та підтверджувати запис. Автоматичне підтвердження можливе лише для окремих постачальників за налаштуваннями.