What is Lido?

Lido is an AI-powered platform that turns documents — PDFs, images, scans, emails — into structured spreadsheet data, and lets you build automated workflows on top of that data. Most teams use Lido to eliminate manual data entry from invoices, receipts, statements, applications, and other recurring documents.

What you can do with Lido

When Lido is the right tool

• You receive recurring documents and need them as rows somewhere.
• The data you need is in the document but not in a consistent format across files.
• You want to combine extracted data with notifications, follow-up steps, or other systems.
• You'd rather configure once in a spreadsheet than write code.

When Lido is NOT the right tool

• The data already lives in a structured file (CSV, JSON, XLSX) — just import it.
• You need OCR with no field extraction — use the OCR PDF node alone, or any standard OCR tool.
• You need real-time, sub-second extraction. Lido extraction takes 10–30 seconds per document.
• You need to manually edit a single document. Lido is built for repeatable workflows, not one-off edits.

How Lido is structured

Lido has three main surfaces. Most teams use all three over time, but you can start with just one.

Spreadsheet — a familiar grid with Lido extensions: Tables (named, structured data with computed/linked/plain columns), Actions (formulas that trigger real operations like sending email or extracting from a file), and a rich library of formulas including AI calls.

Workflows — a visual builder that chains nodes together. Triggers (Manual, Scheduled, Google Drive, OneDrive, Mailbox, Outlook, Webhook) start the workflow; downstream nodes process data, transform it, route it, and send it where it needs to go.

API — programmatic access to Lido's extraction engine. Configure extraction settings in the spreadsheet, click the API button to copy the configuration, and call POST /extract-file-data from your own backend.

Worked example: an invoice processing pipeline

A team that receives 200 vendor invoices a month sets up Lido like this:

1. Build an invoice extractor in the spreadsheet — columns for Vendor Name, Invoice Number, Total Amount, Due Date.
2. Build a workflow: Google Drive Trigger watches the "Invoices Inbox" folder → Data Extractor uses the invoice extractor configuration → Insert Rows writes to the Invoice Tracker sheet → Send Slack notifies the AP channel.
3. Activate the workflow.

From then on, every invoice dropped in the folder appears in the Invoice Tracker sheet within about a minute, with no human in the loop.

Where to go next

• Want to see Lido in action? Quickstart: extract data from your first document.
• Want to understand the building blocks? Concepts: spreadsheet vs. workflow vs. API.
• Want to build automation immediately? Build your first workflow.
• Want to know what it costs? Pricing, plans, and page allowance.

Common mistakes

• Treating Lido as a one-off OCR tool. It can do that, but the value is in repeatable extraction at scale. Set up an extractor configuration once and reuse it.
• Trying to manually edit each extracted row. Configure the extractor well; don't post-process by hand.
• Skipping the spreadsheet UI when you plan to use the API. Always test extraction in the UI first. The configuration there IS the API configuration — don't try to write it from scratch.
• Underestimating page consumption. A 50-page PDF run through extraction counts as 50 pages. Plan accordingly when picking a plan.

Related articles

• Quickstart: extract data from your first document
• Concepts: spreadsheet vs. workflow vs. API
• The Lido glossary
• Build your first workflow
• Extract data from PDFs and documents
• Pricing, plans, and page allowance
• Security and data handling

Updated on: 16/04/2026