Quick Capture

Quick Capture lets anyone with a phone submit an invoice by scanning a QR code. There is no login, no app to install, and no Brikly account required. Staff scan the code on the wall, take a photo, and submit. The invoice enters the same AI extraction pipeline as every other method.

This is designed for the reality of busy kitchens - a delivery driver hands over a paper invoice, and whoever is on shift needs to capture it before it gets lost. Quick Capture removes every barrier to that moment.

How it works

1. You generate a QR code for a location (e.g. "Kitchen", "Front Desk").
2. You print or display the QR code somewhere visible.
3. Staff scan the QR code with their phone camera.
4. They photograph the invoice (up to 5 pages).
5. They submit - optionally adding their name.
6. Brikly processes the invoice automatically.

QR code ──▶ Phone camera ──▶ Photo(s) ──▶ AI Extraction ──▶ Matching ──▶ Invoice created

Behind the scenes, Brikly strips location metadata from the photos for privacy, compresses and normalises the images, merges multi-page submissions into a single document, and feeds it into the standard processing pipeline.

Setting up

Generate a QR code

1. Navigate to Invoices in the sidebar.
2. Click the Quick Capture button in the page header.
3. Click Generate QR Code.
4. Select the location this QR code is for.
5. Enter a label (e.g. "Kitchen QR", "Back Door").
6. Optionally, add allowed staff names - a comma-separated list of names that will appear as a dropdown for staff when submitting. If left blank, staff can type their name freely.
7. Click Generate.

Your QR code is ready immediately.

Display the QR code

Each QR code card gives you three options:

Action	What it does
Copy Link	Copies the capture URL to your clipboard - useful for sharing via messaging apps
Download	Downloads a PNG image of the QR code for printing
Print	Opens a print-ready page formatted for A5 paper

tip

Laminate the printed QR code and stick it near your delivery entrance or goods-in area. Somewhere visible, close to where deliveries arrive.

Managing QR codes

From the Quick Capture settings page you can:

• View all active and revoked QR codes for your business.
• See submission counts for each QR code.
• Revoke a QR code if it is no longer needed - this immediately disables the link.

Revoking is a soft delete. The QR code stops working, but its submission history is preserved.

caution

Revoked QR codes cannot be reactivated. If you need a QR code for the same location again, generate a new one.

How staff use it

On their phone

1. Scan the QR code with their phone camera (or tap a saved link).
2. The capture page opens in their browser - no app needed.
3. Take a photo of the invoice using the camera button.
4. If the invoice has multiple pages, tap Add Page to photograph additional pages (up to 5).
5. Review the thumbnails - tap the X on any to remove and retake.
6. Optionally select or type their name.
7. Tap Submit Invoice.
8. A success screen confirms the submission.

Staff can tap Submit Another to capture the next invoice immediately.

What staff see

The capture page is standalone - no Brikly navigation, no login screen. It shows:

• The location name and business name so staff know they are submitting to the right place.
• A camera button that opens the device camera directly.
• Photo thumbnails with page numbers and remove buttons.
• An optional name field (dropdown if names are configured, free text otherwise).
• A submit button with a loading state.

Photos are compressed automatically

The capture page compresses photos on the device before uploading. This reduces upload time on mobile data and keeps file sizes manageable. The server applies further normalisation to ensure consistent quality.

Viewing submissions

Submissions log

1. From the Quick Capture settings page, click Submissions Log.
2. Filter by QR code if needed.
3. Each row shows the timestamp, staff name, image count, status, and a link to the created invoice.

Status meanings

Status	Meaning
Completed	Invoice created successfully and queued for AI processing
Processing	Upload in progress
Pending	Waiting to be processed
Failed	An error occurred - hover to see the reason

Linking to invoices

Completed submissions include a View link that takes you directly to the invoice in your invoice list. From there, the review and matching workflow is identical to any other invoice.

Multi-page invoices

When staff submit multiple photos, Brikly merges them into a single PDF document before processing. This means:

• A 3-page paper invoice photographed as 3 separate images becomes one invoice record.
• The AI extraction sees all pages together, so it can read totals on the last page alongside line items on earlier pages.
• Each page appears in order in the resulting document.

Privacy and security

Quick Capture is designed with several protections:

• No account required - staff never see or access your Brikly data. They can only submit photos.
• EXIF stripping - GPS coordinates, device information, and other metadata are removed from every photo before storage. This is a GDPR consideration for staff using personal phones.
• Token-based access - each QR code contains a unique, high-entropy token. There is no way to guess or enumerate other tokens.
• Rate limiting - each QR code accepts a maximum of 20 submissions per hour, with a secondary limit of 5 per hour from the same device. This prevents abuse.
• Referrer protection - the capture page prevents the token from leaking via browser Referrer headers.
• File validation - uploaded files are checked against an allowlist of image types and verified at the byte level to prevent disguised file uploads.
• Revocation - if a QR code is compromised, revoke it instantly from the settings page.

Tips for best results

• Use good lighting when photographing invoices. Natural daylight or overhead fluorescents work well. Avoid shadows across the page.
• Lay the invoice flat on a surface rather than holding it up. This reduces blur and skew.
• Capture the whole page - make sure all edges are visible. The AI needs to see invoice numbers, dates, and totals which are often at the top or bottom.
• One invoice per submission - do not photograph multiple different invoices in the same submission. Start a new submission for each invoice.
• Use the original PDF if available. Quick Capture is ideal for paper invoices, but if the supplier also sends a PDF by email, the PDF will produce more accurate results.

Using Quick Capture alongside other methods

Quick Capture joins manual uploads, the Chrome extension, and the Invoice Inbox as another way to get invoices into Brikly. All methods feed into the same processing pipeline.

Method	Best for
Manual upload	Quick one-off invoices you already have as files
Chrome extension	Capturing invoices directly from supplier portals
Invoice Inbox	Automating the flow for suppliers who email invoices regularly
Quick Capture	Paper invoices received during deliveries - especially when the person receiving is not a Brikly user

tip

Quick Capture is particularly valuable for multi-site businesses. Generate a QR code for each location and let staff at every site capture invoices immediately, even if only managers have Brikly accounts.