Way2VAT has earned a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered technology which, it says, will simplify VAT claims and travel expense management.

The patent covers computer vision and language processing which power the company’s automated invoice analysis. It also covers a method for collection of invoices from various sources including mobile phones and scan batches, and the way in which those invoices produce VAT reclaim reports.

The company says  “it is the only VAT vendor in the market to be granted a patent for an automated invoice analysis system.”

It continues: “The WAY2VAT solution addresses the growing need for automatic generation of invoice-associated data analysis reports and VAT management for business travelers and finance departments.  VAT management and data reports are based on invoice images uploaded onto a proprietary data analysis platform.

“WAY2VAT can decipher any invoice – torn, crumpled, stained and handwritten. The solution can accurately identify and process information regardless of the shape, format, lighting, and alignment of data fields on the invoice.”

The Way2Vat system can handle VAT reclaims for a range of corporate spending including travel, supplier invoices, trade show and convention related expenses, as well as shipments and DDP.

The application can automatically generate travel expense reports and supports automated reimbursement to employees as well VAT reclaims. It also offers analytics to track spending. Way2Vat integrates with ERP and T&E systems including SAP and Oracle.

Based in London, Way2VAT launched in 2015 and has raised $5 million so far, according to its Crunchbase entry.