Python Receipt OCR

Overview

This guide will help you extract data from Receipts using Butler's OCR APIs in Python. In 15 minutes you'll be ready to add Python Receipt OCR into your product or workflow!

Before getting started, you'll want to make sure to do the following:

  1. Signup for a free Butler account at https://app.butlerlabs.ai
  2. Write down your Butler API key from the Settings menu. Follow the Getting Started guide for more details about how to do that.

Get your API ID

Sign into the Butler product, go to the Library and search for the Receipts model:

2880

Click on the Receipts card, then press the Create button to create a new Receipt model:

2880

Once on the model details page, go to the APIs tab:

1152

Copy the API ID (also known as the Queue ID) and write it down. We'll use it in our code below.

Sample Python Receipt OCR Code

You can copy and paste the following Python sample code to process documents with OCR using the API.

# Ensure it's installed in your environment with pip install butler-sdk
from butler import Client

# Get API Key from https://docs.butlerlabs.ai/reference/uploading-documents-to-the-rest-api#get-your-api-key
api_key = '<api-key>'
# Get Queue ID from https://docs.butlerlabs.ai/reference/uploading-documents-to-the-rest-api#go-to-the-model-details-page
queue_id = '<queue_id>'

# Response is a strongly typed object
response = Client(api_key).extract_document(queue_id, 'receipt_2.png')
# Convert to a dictionary for printing
print(response.to_dict())

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In-Product Sample Code

You can also copy the sample code directly from the product. This code will have your API ID and API Key already pre-populated for you!

Extracted Receipt Fields

Here is an example of what a Receipt JSON response looks like:

{
  "documentId": "cccffe8e-d621-455a-9f2f-f977db21a215",
  "documentStatus": "Completed",
  "fileName": "receipt_2.png",
  "mimeType": "image/png",
  "documentType": "Receipt",
  "confidenceScore": "High",
  "formFields": [
    {
      "fieldName": "Merchant Name",
      "value": "OSCAR'S MEXICAN SEAFOOD",
      "confidenceScore": "High"
    },
    {
      "fieldName": "Merchant Address",
      "value": "927 J Street San Diego, Ca. 92101",
      "confidenceScore": "High"
    },
    {
      "fieldName": "Merchant Phone Number",
      "value": "619-564-6007",
      "confidenceScore": "High"
    },
    {
      "fieldName": "Transaction Date",
      "value": "6/05/18",
      "confidenceScore": "High"
    },
    {
      "fieldName": "Transaction Time",
      "value": "12:42pm",
      "confidenceScore": "High"
    },
    {
      "fieldName": "Subtotal",
      "value": "10.55",
      "confidenceScore": "High"
    },
    {
      "fieldName": "Tax",
      "value": "0.82",
      "confidenceScore": "High"
    },
    {
      "fieldName": "Total",
      "value": "11.37",
      "confidenceScore": "High"
    }
  ],
  "tables": [
    {
      "tableName": "Items",
      "confidenceScore": "Low",
      "rows": [
        {
          "cells": [
            {
              "columnName": "Item Name",
              "confidenceScore": "High",
              "value": "Bottle Water"
            },
            {
              "columnName": "Quantity",
              "confidenceScore": "High",
              "value": "1"
            },
            {
              "columnName": "Total Price",
              "confidenceScore": "High",
              "value": "1.25"
            }
          ]
        },
      ]
    }
  ]
}

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Full Receipt API Response

The above JSON does not include all of the values that can be extracted from Receipts. For full details, see the Receipt page.