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Productivity

Extract Data from PDF and Store it in Notion Database

Learn how to automatically extract data from PDFs and add it to your Notion database in just a few simple steps.

The Problem: Manual Data Entry from PDFs to Notion

If you've ever tried to get information from PDFs into your Notion database, you know the pain. You open the PDF, find the important details, switch to Notion, create a new entry, and manually copy over each piece of information. It's tedious, error-prone, and a complete waste of time—especially when you're dealing with multiple documents like invoices, receipts, or reports.

What if you could just click a button in Notion and have all that data automatically extracted and populated into the right fields? That's exactly what Caret can do for you.

How Caret Solves This Problem

Caret creates a simple workflow that connects your PDFs to Notion. When you upload a PDF, Caret automatically extracts the relevant information and populates your Notion database—no manual copying and pasting required.

This works for all kinds of documents:

  • Invoices (dates, amounts, vendor info)
  • Receipts (purchases, prices, totals)
  • Reports (key metrics, dates, conclusions)
  • Contracts (parties involved, terms, deadlines)

Setting Up Your PDF-to-Notion Workflow

Getting this automation up and running takes just three simple steps:

Step 1: Create a Workflow in Caret

  1. Log into Caret and click "Create New Workflow"
  2. Select "Notion" as your destination
  3. Choose your specific Notion database
  4. Enter a prompt that tells Caret what information to extract (e.g., "Extract invoice number, date, amount, and vendor name from this PDF")
  5. Save your workflow

That's it for the Caret side—no complex configuration needed. Caret handles all the behind-the-scenes work of understanding your PDF structure.

Step 2: Create a Magic Webhook

  1. In your Caret workflow, click the "Go Live" button
  2. Select "Magic Webhook" to generate a unique webhook URL
  3. Copy this URL—you'll need it for the next step

Step 3: Add a Button to Your Notion Database

  1. Open your Notion database
  2. Click the "..." menu at the top right of your table
  3. Select "Customize" and then "Automations"
  4. Add a new button and name it (e.g., "Extract PDF Data")
  5. Choose "Webhook" as the action
  6. Paste the Magic Webhook URL you copied from Caret
  7. Configure the button to include the PDF file when triggered

Using Your New Automation

Now whenever you have a PDF to process:

  1. Upload the PDF to your Notion database
  2. Click your new "Extract PDF Data" button
  3. Watch as Caret extracts the information and fills in all the relevant fields automatically

No more switching between applications, no more manual data entry, and no more errors from typing things incorrectly.

Why This Matters

This simple automation can save you hours of tedious work each week. If you're regularly processing documents like invoices or reports, the time savings add up quickly. Plus, with Caret handling the extraction, you'll have fewer errors in your database.

The best part? Once you set it up, it just works—giving you back time to focus on more important tasks.

Ready to stop copying and pasting from PDFs? Give this Caret workflow a try and see how much time you can save.