# Check a supplier's invoice before you pay it. Match each detail on the page to an official record Fake invoices copy a real supplier and change one detail. OCR.space reads the invoice, VIES confirms an EU VAT number and the name registered to it, Companies House confirms a UK company and Tavily looks for scam warnings and the supplier's real contact pages. - For: Finance teams, bookkeepers and founders - Providers: 4 (OCR.space, VIES, Companies House and Tavily), 4 tools - Example (One invoice read, one VAT check, one company search and one warning search. Further invoices are quoted separately): at most $0.008, computed from the live catalog - Updated: 2026-11-04 ## Each provider does one part No single provider covers this job. Through Agentik your AI calls each one for its part, from one connection and one prepaid balance. - **OCR.space** (1 tool, free): The invoice text, read from a public image or PDF link. - **VIES** (1 tool, free): Whether an EU VAT number is valid, with the name registered to it. - **Companies House** (1 tool, free): The UK company named on the invoice, with its status and registered office. - **Tavily** (1 tool, at most $0.008): Public scam warnings and the supplier's own contact pages. ## Give this to your agent ```text Use my connected Agentik MCP server for this job: invoice check before payment. Check this supplier invoice before I pay it. Read the invoice and extract the supplier name, address, VAT number, bank details, amount and due date. Check an EU VAT number against the official register and compare the registered name. For a UK supplier, match the company and its registered office. Search for scam warnings about this supplier and find its real contact page. List every mismatch with the details I gave you and tell me what to confirm by phone before paying. Use these Agentik tools for the written steps: ocrspace/ocr-image, vies/check-vat, companies-house/search-companies, tavily/search. Inspect their current schemas and availability first. Ask for missing inputs and use identifiers returned by actual earlier results. The page's example identifiers illustrate input shapes. Quote more pages before expanding. Preserve source links, dates and uncertainty. Before running anything, inspect each tool with inspect_tool, ask me for any input you don’t have instead of inventing it, and tell me the total price. Wait for my go. At the end, tell me what Agentik charged. ``` ## You provide - A public link to the invoice image or PDF - The supplier details you already hold - The payment amount and due date ## Before this job - The tools must be available in your connected Agentik catalog. Ask for the missing provider configuration if a tool is unavailable. ## What you get: a payment check with each invoice detail verified or flagged - The invoice fields as read - VAT number validity and registered name - The matching company record - Mismatches and warnings to clear before paying ## How to verify a supplier invoice before paying in Claude or ChatGPT Prices are the most each call can reserve for this example: One invoice read, one VAT check, one company search and one warning search. Further invoices are quoted separately. ### 1. Read the invoice Extract each field as printed. Do not correct spelling, because a small change can be the signal. - [OCR.space text from an image or PDF](/tools/ocrspace/ocr-image.md) `ocrspace/ocr-image` (OCR.space): free ### 2. Check the VAT number Compare the registered name with the name printed on the invoice. - [VIES EU VAT number check](/tools/vies/check-vat.md) `vies/check-vat` (VIES): free ### 3. Match the company For a UK supplier, confirm the company is active and that its address matches the invoice. - [Companies House company search](/tools/companies-house/search-companies.md) `companies-house/search-companies` (Companies House): free ### 4. Search for warnings Look for scam reports and the supplier's own contact page, then keep the link for the phone check. - [Tavily agent search](/tools/tavily/search.md) `tavily/search` (Tavily): at most $0.008 Example total: at most $0.008. Each call is billed for measured usage; unused reservations are released. ## Ask it your way - Check this supplier invoice before I pay it. - Keep the sample small and cite the source for each conclusion. ## Why through Agentik - Collect the official sources through one Agentik connection. - Inspect the price of each bounded call before running it. - Keep each figure beside its source and date. ## Good to know - The invoice link goes to OCR.space, so use a link you are willing to share with that provider. - A valid VAT number does not prove an invoice is genuine. Confirm changed bank details by calling a number you already hold. ## When to use something else For invoice capture, approval flows and purchase order matching at volume, use an accounts payable system. This playbook checks one invoice that needs a closer look. ## Invoice check before payment: questions ### What does the example cost? At most $0.008 for the illustrated calls. The official records are free through Agentik, and the paid calls are the press, maps or email steps. ### Does the result cover every source? No. Public records have publication lags and search results can be incomplete. Keep the collection date, sample size and missing evidence visible. ### Does this send messages or change an account? No. These steps read public records and prepare a brief. Sending a message or changing an account requires a separate instruction. ## Keep going - [UK supplier check](/uk-supplier-check.md): A UK company's registry status, directors, owners, filings, charges and insolvency record, read beside its LEI and recent press. - [Is this website legit](/website-legit-check.md): When a website’s domain was registered, its Trustpilot rating and reviews, scam reports on Google and what Reddit says about it, before you pay. - [Company due diligence](/company-due-diligence.md): Its legal identity and status, its SEC filings when it is US-listed, when its domain was registered, and any lawsuits or liquidation in the news. - [Research tools for your agent](/tools/research.md) - [Company data tools for your agent](/tools/company.md) [All playbooks](/playbooks.md) · [Connection guides](/docs/clients.md) · [Billing](/docs/billing.md) --- [HTML page](/invoice-supplier-check) · [Agent index](/llms.txt)