AI summaries and document reading

When a client sends documents, Cartenda can read them for you. It works out what each one is, checks it against what you asked for, pulls out the figures you need, and writes a short summary of the whole reply. The aim is to let you see in a few seconds whether a reply needs attention today. It never replaces your own review.

What it reads, and what it produces#

Each document goes through three steps:

1. What is it? Each document is sorted into a type, such as an investment statement, bank statement, tax form, photo ID, proof of address, voided check, business formation document or estate document. The date it is for is noted where the page shows one. If the type is not clear, it is left as unknown rather than guessed.
2. What does it say? The figures a firm usually needs are pulled out for that type and listed under the document. Anything that cannot be read with confidence is shown as "not found" rather than filled in. A statement that covers several accounts lists each one on its own line, with the account's last digits and its own value. The statement's overall total is shown separately and is never credited to any one account. Problems such as glare, a cropped edge, a missing page or an expired ID are listed under the document.
3. What arrived? A two- or three-sentence Summary is written from those results. It says what came in and what is still missing from your checklist. Anything that would waste your time if you found it later is listed under Needs a look.

On the submission you may also see a line such as "Asked for a bank statement; this looks like an investment statement", and date checks your form set up, such as a statement being too old. Replies with something to check show a badge like "2 to look at" in The Requests list.

Facts read from a document can be offered as updates under Client profile. They are applied only if you tick them and press Update profile.

Replies in Spanish#

When a client answers in Spanish, their answers are translated into English as they arrive, so anyone at your firm can read them. So are the form's section headings, the names of the documents it asks for, and the names of entries such as "Account 2". The translation sits beside what the client wrote and never replaces it. Press Show original on the Answers card to read their own words. Social Security and account numbers are never sent to be translated. Translating does not count toward your AI checks and is not billed. The summary is always written in English.

What it never does#

• It never accepts, rejects or asks for a document again. Those decisions are yours. See Reviewing a submission.
• It never emails or texts your client, and never changes a request's status. The one thing it says to them is on the form itself: when a document they upload cannot be read, does not look like the document the question asked for, or fails a date check you set, a short note appears under it and again beside Send. They can replace it before sending, or leave it and send. See Requesting documents.
• It never changes a client's record without you.
• It never pulls out a full Social Security number or full account number. At most, it keeps the last four digits.
• It does not invent figures. A value it could not read is left blank.

Treat what it produces as a first read. Check any figure you rely on against the document itself.

Assistants#

Some firms also have two assistants:

• Ask about this reply, on a submission, answers questions about it from what the page shows. See Reviewing a submission.
• Ask about your form, beside a client's form, helps them with their own form.

Both follow the rules above. They never change anything themselves: what they suggest is a button a person presses. Nothing asked of them is kept. They do not add to what your firm is billed.

Where the reading happens#

Documents are read by Claude models on Amazon Bedrock, in United States regions. Nothing your clients send is used to train a model. The result is kept in your workspace under your retention setting. For more, see Where your data lives.

Watching it work#

Reading runs in the background, so you can open a submission before it finishes. Each document is first sorted the moment it is uploaded, so the client can be told while they still have the paper in front of them. That doesn't wait for the malware scan: the reading never opens the file for anyone, and nobody can download it until the scan clears it. A document the scan blocks is never read. The rest of the reading starts once the client sends. While it runs, the submission shows "Reading documents" and how many have been read. Documents that were not read are marked with the reason. For example, your monthly AI cap was reached, reading is off, or the document is kept in your firm's own storage, which Cartenda never opens. If reading does not finish, the page says so. It tries again if it can.

Allowance and cost#

Every plan includes 3 AI checks a month for each active client. Reading a document counts one for every 10 pages, rounded up. Past your allowance, reading carries on and each check is 15¢, unless you set a monthly AI cap, where reading pauses until your next billing period. A trial pauses at its allowance until you subscribe. Your clients can always upload, whatever the state of reading. See Usage and allowances.

Turn reading off#

Owners and admins can go to Settings → General → Reading documents, turn off Read documents as they arrive, and press Save. After that, no model sees what your clients send. Documents arrive unread and you review them yourself, and replies in Spanish are not translated. Your plan and price do not change. Turn it back on at any time.