How document checks work

When a customer adds a file, it is checked within seconds against the item it was uploaded for. The customer sees the result on the same page, so a wrong or unreadable file gets fixed while they still have the document in hand.

What is checked

The model is given your checklist (each document item's label, What should it be?, How recent?, conditions and example) and asked to decide:

• What the document or photo is, and whether it is readable and complete.
• Whether it matches the item it was uploaded for.
• Whether it is recent enough, when the item has a How recent? setting. The date on the document is compared with today.
• Whether it meets each condition under It must: Shows the customer's name (compared with the name you entered), Not expired, Front and back, Every page, Signed.
• For a returned PDF form, whether it is your form, filled in rather than blank, and signed when required.

If anything fails, the file is flagged. The model also writes a short label such as "Payslip · August 2026" and reads up to six key facts. Full ID, account and card numbers are masked to the last four characters before anything is stored.

Which files are checked

• Photos. Before upload, the browser downscales large photos to JPEG (longest edge 2,200 pixels), which also converts HEIC where the browser can read it. Photos still over 8 MB, or a HEIC that could not be converted, are stored without a check.
• PDFs with a text layer; the first 12,000 characters are read. A scanned PDF with no text layer is labeled "Scanned PDF · N pages" and not checked.
• Spreadsheets (Excel or CSV) on items set to PDF or spreadsheet. The first rows are read.
• Videos are never sent to the AI. The audio track is transcribed and the transcript is checked against What should it be? and the on-camera questions, with up to three quotes picked out.
• Word and Excel forms that come back are labeled "Form received" and not checked. Signed releases are labeled "Release signed".

Dates and amounts from statements and receipts

Items whose label or What should it be? mentions a statement get a second pass that reads typed values: bank, account (last four digits), statement period, opening and closing balance. Items mentioning a receipt, invoice or bill get vendor, date, total, tax, currency and document number. Only confident values are kept. They appear under Details on the file in the request page and in the evidence index.

Statuses

• Passed: the file counts toward its item. The customer sees the label, the size and a green check mark.
• Needs attention: something failed. The customer sees one sentence saying what to fix, and the item shows a Needs attention badge. The file stays in the request but does not count toward the item; the customer can remove it and upload a better one. The agent's follow-ups list these files under "Redo".
• Unchecked: the file was stored without a model check. It counts toward the item so the request can complete, and the label says why: "Received", "Received · AI check off", "Form received", "Scanned PDF · 3 pages".

Asking for changes yourself

On the request page, hover over a file, click Ask for changes, type a note (up to 500 characters) and click Send. The file is marked as needing attention with your note, the customer is emailed when the request has an address, and the agent chases the new version.

Switching checks off

• AI document checks, the card near the top of the editor, is the master switch. Off means no file or answer from that checklist is sent to an AI provider. Files are marked "Received", the summary is rule-based, and the agent's emails use plain templates.
• AI check on a single document item. Switch it off for sensitive items such as ID documents. Those files are labeled "Received · AI check off". Any It must conditions are still shown to the customer, just not checked.

Files that arrive by email reply without a matching item are only sent to the AI if no item has opted out.

Monthly limits

Each model call counts as one AI check. Free includes 50 a month; Pro includes 5,000 a month as a fair-use ceiling. Only files that actually reach a model count. The count resets each calendar month and shows under AI checks this month on the Billing page.

When the limit is reached, uploads keep working. Each new file is stored as "Received" without a check and counts toward its item. Nothing is emailed to you when this happens; the Billing page is where to look.

FAQ

Does a flagged file block the request?

It does not count toward its item, so a required item with only flagged files stays incomplete. The file is still stored and you can download it.

Why was a photo stored as "Received" with no check?

Most likely it was over 8 MB after upload, a HEIC the browser could not convert, or the monthly limit was reached.