Where your data lives
A module is a table. You will have one for invoices, one for purchase orders, one for suppliers, and so on. They are listed in the sidebar under Records.
- The three things inside a module, and what each is called
- Why Merchaint does not ship you a fixed set of tables
- What people usually build, and which to build first
- Why the word "record" means three different things
01 · Video
Feature walkthrough
02 · Why
Why do we have this?
Reading a document is only half the job. You need to search it, compare it, approve it and send it to your accounting system. That means it has to become a row in a table, with the same columns as every other row.
Why is it set up this way?
Every business calls things something different, so Merchaint doesn't ship you a fixed set of tables. You build the ones you need — either from a template or from scratch — and you choose the columns.
That is also why extraction and records are connected but separate. Extraction reads the document. The module decides where those values land.
What is inside a module
| Thing | What it is |
|---|---|
| Record | One row. One invoice, one supplier, one purchase order. |
| Column | One piece of information on every row. Invoice number, total. |
| Line items | The rows inside a record — the things listed on the invoice. See Line items. |
03 · Use cases
What people usually build
| Module | Holds | Filled by |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices | Supplier invoices | Extraction |
| Purchase Orders | POs you raised | Extraction, or ERP |
| Goods Received Notes | Deliveries | Extraction |
| Suppliers | Your supplier list | You, or ERP |
| Products | Your item list | You, or ERP |
Which do I need first?
Build the lists before the documents. A supplier list is what an invoice gets checked against, so it has to exist first.
04 · How
Find your way around
- Look at the sidebar. Every module in your workspace is under
Records. - Open one. You get the grid — every record as a row. See The record grid.
- Click a row to open the record and see everything on it, including line items.
- Use
Column Managerwhen the columns aren't right. See Manage your columns.
05 · Expected result
You can find any record in a few clicks: pick the module, search or filter, open the row.
06 · Troubleshooting / notes
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| A module you don't recognise | Someone built it. Modules are per workspace, not per person. |
| The module is empty | Nothing has landed in it yet. Check the document inbox. |
| The column you want isn't there | It might be hidden. Try Columns before assuming it's missing. |
07 · FAQ
What is this?
The part of Merchaint where your data lives once it has been read.
What does it do?
Holds your records in tables you control, so you can search them, check them and send them on.
Common questions
No. There is a library of ready-made ones. Most people start there and adjust — see Modules.
They can point at each other. A supplier column on an invoice can look up a row in your Suppliers module. See What Smart Recognition does.