Bill of Lading to Excel, Without Retyping Ports, Containers, and Charges
Upload an ocean bill of lading or an LTL BOL from any carrier. Type the fields you need, and get a clean spreadsheet in 5–10 seconds per page with no per-carrier setup. Handling an air waybill instead? Use the Air Waybill OCR tool.
Up to 99% accuracy on printed BOLs · No per-carrier setup · Files not stored after processing
What You Can Extract from a Bill of Lading
Skip retyping the B/L by hand. Type the column names you need once, and the AI finds each value by what it means rather than where it sits on the page. A Maersk B/L, a Hapag-Lloyd B/L, and an LTL carrier's form all read into the same columns.
Why BOL Extraction Is Tricky, and How the AI Handles It
An ocean bill of lading is among the most format-variable documents in logistics. The same fields, from shipper and consignee to cargo and charges, sit in a different position on every carrier's form. Converting a bill of lading to Excel is only hard when the tool depends on those positions.
Where Traditional OCR Runs Into Trouble
Layout varies by carrier. Maersk, FedEx Freight, and UPS Freight format their BOLs differently. Template-based OCR needs a separate configuration per carrier, and breaks whenever a carrier updates its form.
Multi-zone structure on a single page. A BOL packs a shipper block, consignee block, commodity table, charges section, and signature zones together. Line-by-line OCR mixes content across sections, so a weight in the charges block gets confused with a weight in the cargo table.
Mixed content: print, handwriting, stamps. Handwritten weight corrections, rubber stamps, and barcodes frequently appear alongside printed fields. Basic OCR treats all of these as one undifferentiated text stream.
How Column-Name Extraction Works
You define the columns you need. Type BOL Number | Shipper | Consignee | Port of Discharge | Container Number and the AI finds each value anywhere on the page by understanding what it means, not by reading a fixed pixel position.
Section-aware reading. The AI reads the document the way a logistics professional would. It understands that "Consignee" is the receiving party's address block, not just any line containing a company name, and that commodity table rows are separate from the charges summary.
One column setup, any carrier. Upload BOLs from 20 different carriers in a single batch. The same column definitions apply to all of them, so the output is one unified Excel file, one row per BOL, regardless of format differences.
From BOL Stack to Structured Spreadsheet
If you're a freight broker, 3PL team, customs broker, or importer processing shipment documents for freight audit, customs filing, or letter-of-credit paperwork, here is what the workflow looks like end to end.
Upload your BOL documents
Drop in a batch of BOL PDFs, scanned images, or dock photos from any carrier. Digital PDFs from carrier portals and scanned paper BOLs can be mixed in the same upload. Processing runs at 5–10 seconds per page.
Type the columns you need
Enter field names that match your workflow, from ocean B/L ones like Vessel | Voyage | Port of Loading | Port of Discharge | Container Number to LTL ones like Freight Class | NMFC Code | PRO Number. You can also define a computed column like Total Charges (Freight + Accessorial) and the AI calculates it while it extracts.
Download the Excel output
Export to XLSX, CSV, or JSON. Every BOL becomes one row in the output table, ready for TMS import, freight audit, carrier reconciliation, or paste into your tracking spreadsheet. Google Sheets users can use the sidebar add-on to extract results directly into an active sheet without leaving Sheets.
When It Works Best, and When to Review Results
Accuracy is high for standard BOL documents. A few specific conditions affect results, and they are worth knowing before processing a large batch.
When it works best
Digital PDFs from carrier portals. Machine-generated BOLs from TMS systems or carrier websites produce near-perfect extraction accuracy.
Scanned paper BOLs, first copy. Standard office scans at 300 dpi or higher extract reliably, including handwritten weight entries and shipper notes.
Mixed carrier batches. BOLs from different shipping lines can be uploaded together and processed with one column setup, with no per-carrier configuration required.
Worth a spot-check
3rd or 4th carbon copies. Later-generation carbons have faded ink that reduces character recognition. Where possible, scan the original or first copy instead.
Dense stamp overlays on printed fields. Text directly covered by a rubber stamp may extract with lower confidence. The AI flags uncertain values, so review these before importing to your TMS.
Irregular handwriting or pencil marks. Common handwriting in shipper and weight fields is handled well. Heavy cursive or light pencil in driver notation areas may need manual verification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I extract commodity line items from a single bill of lading?
Yes. Add columns like Cargo Description, Quantity, Weight, and Freight Class to your extraction setup. The AI reads the commodity table on the B/L and returns each line item as a separate row, so a B/L with four commodity lines produces four rows, each carrying the full set of columns you defined.
Can it extract a master B/L and a house B/L separately?
Yes. Add Master B/L Number and House B/L Number as their own columns and the AI fills each from the right document. The two bills share the same vessel, container, and cargo details but list different shipper, consignee, and notify party blocks, so keep those party fields as separate columns when both appear in one batch.
Does it work on BOLs from different shipping lines without per-carrier setup?
Yes. You type the field names you need, such as Shipper, Port of Discharge, and Container Number, and the AI finds each value by what it means rather than where it sits on the page. A Maersk B/L and a Hapag-Lloyd B/L produce the same structured output from the same column list, even in a mixed batch.
How accurate is extraction on photographed BOLs or faded carbon copies?
Printed text on clean scans reaches up to 99% accuracy, and smartphone photos taken in good dock lighting extract standard fields reliably. Faded carbon copies (3rd or 4th generation) and heavy stamp overlays lower confidence, so review those values before using them downstream.
Can I process a large batch of BOLs for freight audit or carrier reconciliation?
Yes. Upload multiple BOL files at once and the tool processes all of them with the same column definitions, merging the results into one Excel file with one row per document. For BOLs that arrive from carriers, drivers, or field staff, the Collection Link feature creates a shareable upload link so others can submit documents straight to your processing queue without an account.
Does it work on LTL BOLs with NMFC codes and freight class?
Yes. LTL fields such as Freight Class, NMFC Code, Handling Units, and PRO Number are supported. Add them as column names and the AI locates them in the document, whether the B/L is from FedEx Freight, Old Dominion, XPO, Estes, or any other LTL carrier.