How to add document OCR to Deltek Costpoint
Short answer
Run scanned and PDF documents through OCR and a layout-aware extraction model, score confidence per field, code the result using Costpoint PO, subcontract and project data, and stage it for review before it enters through the standard import path. Costpoint is the system of record; OCR only prepares drafts.
Costpoint customers receive paper-like documents of many shapes: supplier invoices, packing slips, certificates of conformance, subcontractor pay applications, travel receipts, and timesheet backups from sites without good connectivity. Each one has to be tied to a project, task and account, and many are audited years later.
Basic OCR reads characters. The harder work is understanding which number is the invoice total, which line belongs to which PO line, and whether the unit of measure matches. That is where layout-aware models help, and where thresholds and review queues matter more than headline accuracy numbers.
This page assumes the documents are already in hand, as files, scans or mobile photos. Email routing is covered separately; here the focus is extraction, validation against Costpoint, and storage.
What teams use it for
Packing slip to receiving
Read the packing slip, find the PO, and prefill a receipt for the receiving clerk to confirm quantities and flag shortages.
Certificate of conformance filing
Extract part number, lot, heat and date from C of C and mill certs, link them to the PO line and receipt, and flag missing certs before inspection.
Invoice line capture
Extract header and line items and match to open PO or subcontract lines, with price and quantity variance flags.
Expense receipts
Read receipts, suggest category and reimbursable status, and prompt the traveler for project and task if missing.
Subcontractor pay applications
Extract billed-to-date, current period, retainage and percent complete, and compare with the subcontract value and prior billings.
Legacy paper backfill
Digitize archived project files into searchable storage linked by contract and project ID, without altering Costpoint transactions.
Deltek Costpoint integration surface
- Costpoint document attachment features: the supported way to link source files to vouchers, POs and receipts; confirm per module in your release.
- Voucher and receiving imports: standard paths for staging captured data into Accounts Payable and Inventory or Purchasing.
- Purchase order, subcontract and vendor master data via reporting views or web services, used for matching and validation.
- Project structure (project, task, organization, account): required coding targets; OCR should propose, not invent, these values.
- On-prem SQL Server access or cloud-supported export for reference data; avoid writing to Costpoint tables directly.
How it works
- 1
Define document types and required fields
For each type (invoice, packing slip, C of C), list required fields and which are mandatory to proceed.
- 2
Preprocess images
Deskew, denoise and split multi-document PDFs. Reject low-resolution phone photos with a prompt to retake.
- 3
OCR and extraction
Use OCR plus a layout-aware model or a vision language model. Return per-field confidence and the source region for review highlighting.
- 4
Validate against Costpoint
Check vendor, PO, unit of measure, price tolerance and totals math. Fail soft: show the mismatch and let a person decide.
- 5
Review queue
Low-confidence or mismatched fields go to a person with the image beside the form. Corrections feed back as training data.
- 6
Release and archive
Submit via the supported path, attach the original, and store the extraction JSON and reviewer ID for audit.
Example flows
Packing slip receiving
Trigger: Dock clerk scans a packing slip on receipt.
- Image is sent to the capture service and OCRed.
- PO number is read and open lines are fetched.
- Quantities are matched; an overshipment is flagged.
- Clerk confirms on the screen and the receipt is staged for posting.
Result: Receiving is faster and discrepancies surface at the dock, not at invoice time.
Missing certification catch
Trigger: A receipt is staged for a PO line flagged as requiring a C of C.
- System checks for an attached and extracted certification for the lot.
- If none, receipt stays in hold with a note to quality.
- When the cert arrives, OCR extracts lot and part and releases the hold.
Result: Required paperwork is verified before material reaches the shop.
Keeping data on-prem
OCR for contracts and drawings is a good fit for local processing. Open-source OCR engines and open-weight vision language models can run on your own GPUs under vLLM or similar, with documents never leaving the network. That matters for subcontract pricing, CUI-marked documents and export-controlled drawings. Keep the images, extraction output and review audit in your environment, and send only the final structured record to Costpoint through a supported interface.
Security checklist
- Store originals in an access-controlled share with retention rules that match contract record requirements.
- Do not send controlled documents to a public OCR API; use local models for anything marked CUI or export controlled.
- Log reviewer corrections so there is a record of who changed an extracted value.
- Block macros and active content in uploaded files; scan for malware.
- Restrict access to the review queue by project, matching Costpoint security.
Ways to get it done
Off-the-shelf capture product
Effort: Weeks, plus license; verify connector support for your version.
Invoice-heavy workflows with a vendor-supported Costpoint connector.
Cloud document AI plus custom glue
Effort: 4 to 8 weeks.
Non-sensitive documents and teams comfortable with cloud processing.
On-prem pipeline built with Netray
Effort: Pilot per document type in weeks.
Sensitive documents, mixed types such as C of C and drawings, and strict review rules.
Pitfalls
- !Trusting a single overall confidence score instead of per-field thresholds.
- !Misreading units of measure and decimal separators, which silently scale prices.
- !Auto-coding accounts from past patterns that include unallowable costs.
- !Dropping the original image, leaving no audit evidence.
- !Processing multi-page PDFs as one document and mixing invoices.
Frequently asked questions
Does Costpoint include OCR?
Costpoint is not primarily a document capture tool. Deltek and partners may offer capture options, but they vary by release. Most teams add an external OCR or document AI layer that stages data into Costpoint through imports or supported interfaces.
How accurate is OCR on invoices?
For clean PDFs from repeat vendors, header fields are usually very reliable and line items less so. Scans, handwriting and unusual layouts need review. Measure per field on your own documents before deciding what can be auto-accepted.
Can OCR handle certificates of conformance?
Yes for key fields such as part number, lot and date, but formats vary widely. Treat extraction as a draft, match against the PO and quality requirements, and keep the original as the record.
Can this run fully on-prem?
Yes. Open OCR engines and open-weight vision models run on local GPUs. Expect somewhat more tuning than a cloud service, but documents stay inside your network, which is often required for controlled work.
Where should the extracted data be stored?
Keep the original and extraction JSON in your document store, and only the validated result in Costpoint. Link them by voucher or receipt number so an auditor can move from the transaction to the source document.
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ERP fixes and how-tos
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- Deltek Costpoint Contract Management Module and Project Setup ChecklistA practical checklist for setting up a new contract and project in Deltek Costpoint: structure, funding, rates, billing, labor access and controls, in order.
- Costpoint Cloud or On-Prem for a Contractor Handling CUI?Deciding between Deltek Costpoint cloud and self-hosted for a defense contractor with CUI: scope, shared responsibility, cost, control, what to verify.
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Guides
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- Building an AI Document Processing Pipeline: OCR to ValidationHow to build an AI document processing pipeline: OCR quality, LLM extraction, schema validation, and the human review layer that catches what slips through.
AI on your ERP
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- AI for Deltek Costpoint Project Accounting and Billing: Funding, Rates and Invoice QuestionsPrivate AI on Deltek Costpoint project accounting and billing: variance, funding, indirect rates and invoice prep questions answered, read-only, on your servers.
Integrations
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Software
- Deltek CostpointWhat Deltek Costpoint is, how its project accounting, manufacturing and indirect cost modules serve government contractors, and which ERP alternatives to compare.
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