Order entry automation — Orders go into your system as they arrive, ready to approve
Order entry automation reads incoming orders in whatever form they arrive and creates the order in your system. It matches the customer, the items and the prices, and flags anything that doesn't match. A person approves the order before it goes to production or the warehouse.
By Julia Ja, Owner
Order read from a restaurant PDF
Received 6:30 am| Their item | Matched SKU | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| romaine 4 cs | 2 pack sizes fit | 4 cs |
| tomato 5x6 | TOM-56-25 | 3 cs |
| yellow onion 50# | ONY-50 | 2 bags |
| lemons 115ct | LEM-115 | 1 cs |
Priced from this customer's list. The romaine line is flagged for the office to pick a pack size.
Approve and send to pickingWhy it matters
The problem it solves
Orders rarely arrive in one clean format. One customer emails a PDF, another texts a photo of a handwritten list, and a third types items into a chat. Office staff retype every line.
Each retyped line can go wrong. A wrong item code or quantity is often found on the shop floor or at delivery, when it's hardest to fix. Meanwhile customers wait to hear their order was received.
Example · illustrative
A food distributor's early orders
- At 6:30 am a restaurant emails its weekly order as a PDF, using its own item names.
- The lines are read and matched to the distributor's SKUs and that customer's price list.
- One line says "romaine 4 cs" and fits two pack sizes, so it's flagged.
- At 7:15 the office checks the flagged line, picks the pack size the restaurant usually buys, and approves the order.
- The restaurant gets a confirmation, and the order appears on the pick list.
How it works
How order entry automation works
- Starts whenAn order arrives by email, PDF, WhatsApp, web form or photo
- 1Step 1Read the orderCustomer, items, quantities, sizes and dates are pulled from the message or attachment.
- 2Step 2Match to your recordsThe customer is matched to their account, and each line is matched to your item codes and price list.
- 3Step 3Flag problemsUnknown items, prices that differ from the price list and impossible sizes are marked for review.
- A person decidesApprove the orderStaff check the draft order against the original and approve it or fix it.
- 5Step 5Confirm and releaseThe order is saved in your system, the customer gets a confirmation, and the job goes to production or picking.
Before · by hand
- Orders come in by email, chat, phone photos and PDFs, all in different formats.
- Office staff retype each line into the order or accounting system.
- Wrong item codes or quantities are found on the shop floor or at delivery.
- Customers wait for a confirmation until someone gets to their order.
With order entry automation
- Draft orders are ready for review shortly after they arrive.
- Items and prices are matched to your own lists.
- Mismatches are flagged before the job starts.
- Customers get a confirmation once the order is approved.
What we build
The parts of order entry automation
Your systems
- QuickBooks Online
- NetSuite
- Xero
- Shopify
- Airtable
- Gmail and Outlook
What we build
1Order channel connections
Watches the email addresses, chat channels and web forms where orders arrive today.
2Order reading
Pulls the customer, items, quantities, sizes, dates and notes from messages, PDFs and photos.
3Catalog matching
Matches each line to your item codes and the customer's prices, using a list of each customer's usual names and shorthand.
4Problem rules
Flags unknown items, price differences, impossible sizes, duplicate orders and missing dates.
5Approval screen
Shows the draft order next to the original message so staff can fix and approve it.
6Order creation and confirmation
Writes the approved order into your order or accounting system and sends the customer a confirmation.
Your team decides
- Staff approve each order before it goes to production or the warehouse.
- A manager decides on price changes and special terms.
- A person calls the customer when an order is unclear.
Industries it fits
What order entry automation looks like in each industry
Glass processing & fabrication
Sizes, thickness and processing are read from customer photos and messages into a priced order. The director or office approves it before it goes to cutting.
Everything for glass processing & fabricationYour industry isn’t listed, or works differently? Describe it and get an answer in a minute.
Getting started
What you need first
We go through these with you in the audit, before anything is built.
Before we start
4 things to have ready- A current item list with codes, and price lists by customer if prices differ.
- Access to the order or accounting system, through an API or an import that orders can go through.
- Recent sample orders from your main customers, in the forms they really send.
- A person who approves orders, and rules for what is always checked, such as price changes or rush dates.
How a rollout runs
- 1Gather orders and listsWe collect recent orders from each channel, your item and price lists, and the shorthand your customers use.
- 2Match and scoreWe run the sample orders through reading and matching, and compare each line with how your staff entered it.
- 3Connect the order systemWe connect the order channels and your order system, and test creating, approving and confirming orders end to end.
- 4Run alongside staffFor a period, drafts are built while staff still enter orders, so we can compare and fix mismatches.
- 5Switch to approvalStaff move to approving drafts, and the shorthand list and rules grow from their corrections.
What to measure
How to know it's working
Weekly report · order entry automation
IllustrationLines matched without correction
Shows how well matching knows your items and your customers' names for them.
Orders flagged, by reason
Shows which rules fire most, and whether they catch real problems or just add work.
Time from order received to confirmation
Customers notice this most. It shows whether approvals keep up with incoming orders.
Order errors found after release
These are the ones caught on the floor or at delivery. They show whether checks and approval work.
Orders still entered by hand
Shows which channels or customers the system doesn't handle yet.
We measure the baseline before building, so the change can be compared afterwards.
When it’s not a fit
- If most orders come by phone call, there's little to read. A web order form or a phone agent may be the better first step.
- Matching depends on your item list. If codes are duplicated or out of date, clean the list first.
- Turning off approval too early is the common mistake. Keep a person approving until corrections are rare on your own orders.
- Complex custom jobs may need a quote and a conversation, not just order entry.
Tool or custom build
Do you need a custom build?
Option A · a ready-made tool
An off-the-shelf tool may be enough
Order automation tools like Conexiom, and the email-to-order features in some ERPs, handle structured PDF orders well. They suit distributors whose large customers send orders in a consistent format.
Option B · built around your systems
When a custom build is worth it
A custom build makes sense when orders come as photos, chat messages or handwriting, or in several languages. It also fits orders that need trade checks, like glass sizes or part revisions.
Not sure which fits?
What it typically costs
Typical ranges as of October 2026. Not a quote.
Ready-made tool, set up by us
An existing platform on your own account, configured for your business.
- Setup, one timepaid to Lorryn
- $1,000–$2,000
- Tool subscriptionpaid to the provider
- $25–$100 / month
Fits when your process matches what the platform already does.
Custom build
Built around how you work, with no platform subscription. You own it.
- Build, one timebasic version to full version
- $2,000–$9,000
- Running costshosting and usage, on your accounts
- ~$10–$40 / month
Fits when your systems, rules or exceptions don't match a ready tool.
Optional Automation Care: $125 · $250 · $375 / month
1, 2 or 3 hours of support a month, with monitoring and alerts included. Without it, you run it yourself after handover.
Typically works with QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Xero, Shopify.
Booking into or writing to your field-service, practice or shop software adds up to $500 to the ready-made tool (often a built-in feature) and $500–$1,500 to a custom build.
Your price depends on volume, the systems involved and how many exceptions need a person. Our team confirms a fixed price before any work starts.
Proof and who stays in charge
From our results · Glass processing plantLiveAt a glass processing plant, office time per order goes from 48 minutes to 5 (an estimate still being confirmed).Read the case studyWho does what
The automation does the routine steps. A person makes the call.
- 1Read the orderAutomated
- 2Match to your recordsAutomated
- 3Flag problemsAutomated
- 4Approve the orderA person
- 5Confirm and releaseAutomated
FAQ
Questions about order entry automation
Most systems with an API or import, like QuickBooks Online, NetSuite or Shopify, can receive orders directly. If yours is older, we look at what it accepts on a free call.
The line is flagged as unknown, and a person decides whether to add it, swap it or ask the customer.
Usually, yes. It learns your customers' common shorthand over time, and anything it can't read is marked for review.
Not unless you want them to. Most businesses keep a person approving every order, at least at the start.
Yes. Orders can be read in many languages and shown to staff in the language they work in. We test with your real orders first.
Likely duplicates are flagged by customer, items and date, so staff can merge or drop them before anything is entered.
Yes. Staff can turn it off for one customer, one channel or everything, and orders go back to the usual inbox.
Related use cases
Often built together
- Intake & documentsDocument data extractionReads invoices, forms, photos and handwritten notes and turns them into clean data for your systems.
- Calls & leadsQuote & proposal builderBuilds a draft quote from the request, your price list and your rules, for a person to review and send.
- Inventory & operationsProduction tracking boardA live board of every order's stage, with a view for each role and updates from the floor.
Want order entry automation for your business?
Pick the step that suits you. Every path starts with how the work runs today, and we'll say honestly whether it's worth automating.
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