You import documents into the workbook you have open. Blast Audit reads each one (OCR) so you can snip values, match and extract from it. You need to be signed in: read-only mode cannot import.
Import files or a folder
- On the Blast Audit tab, click Documents.
- Click Import to pick files. To pick a whole folder, open the arrow next to Import and choose Import folder. You can also drag files or a folder onto the pane.
- The first time, Blast Audit shows Before you import documents. Click Continue if you can keep Excel open until processing finishes.
- Wait while Adding your documents… moves through Uploading files, Preparing analysis and Reading documents.
A folder keeps its subfolders. Two files with the same name are kept side by side, the second renamed for example report (2).pdf.
Keep Excel open and stay on the Documents page until processing finishes. If you leave, OCR may stop and you will have to run it again.
What each status means
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Queued | Waiting for its turn. |
| Processing | Being read. |
| n snips | Ready. The number counts the snips already made on it. |
| PDF text | Ready. The text was read straight from the PDF. |
| OCR failed | Reading failed. Click Re-run OCR on the document. |
| Not Started | OCR has not run. Open the document and click Start OCR. |
If a PDF text document gives wrong or missing values when you snip, click Run visual OCR on it to read the page images instead.
Formats you can import
| Type | Extensions |
|---|---|
| Images | .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif, .tiff, .bmp, .jfif |
| Word and text | .doc, .docx, .docm, .odt, .rtf, .txt |
| Excel | .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .csv |
| Emails | .msg, .eml |
| Archives | .zip |
| Other | .xml, .html, .xhtml, .xps, .emf |
Files that are not PDFs are converted to PDF first. An email becomes one PDF with its body and attachments. A ZIP file becomes one PDF made of the files it contains; files that cannot be converted are skipped.
PowerPoint files and .gif, .webp or .heic images cannot be imported. Save them as PDF first. Supported file formats explains how each format is converted, and the cases that are refused.
Size limits: 25 MB per file (10 MB for an Excel file). A ZIP can hold up to 200 files and 100 MB once unzipped. A converted document can have up to 2,000 pages.
Where the documents are kept
Imported documents are saved inside the workbook file, with a sheet named Blast Audit that lists them. Save the workbook to keep them. Anyone you send the workbook to gets the documents with it.
Practise first
To try the steps without client files, download the starter pack. It contains two invoices and a bank statement made up for testing, plus a CSV and a workbook to snip and match against.