How to convert PDF table to Excel quickly and
cost-effectively

PDF (portable document format) was designed by Adobe over 20 years ago as a way to share files between different operating systems.

Before PDFs, documents had to be converted into other formats so users could access them. There was a time when Mac users couldn’t access a file created on a Microsoft PC.

Seriously. Retro or what?

But, revolutionary as they are, PDFs have limitations. Editing. They’re more like images than text files. This means that the text data within those documents isn’t structured in a way that other software can understand.

For example, when an invoice arrives in accounts payable, it often arrives in PDF format. The price, date, quantity, and other information are critical to the business and must be entered into an accounts payable system. However, most AP software solutions don’t accept PDF-formatted files.

That’s why many users are interested in finding an online PDF-to-Excel converter. Excel spreadsheets make editing and formatting tables more straightforward. And, many SAP and accounts payable automation software solutions accept Excel files as inputs for data processing and recording.

There are several ways to convert PDF tables to Excel, from copying and pasting to more advanced methods, such as special applications powered by artificial intelligence. Here, we cover how to convert PDF to Excel offline and where to find the best PDF to Microsoft Excel converter online.

PDF to Excel OCR

Many businesses rely on manual data entry for tasks like converting PDF files to Excel spreadsheets. In this process, employees must manually type or copy and paste the information from PDF files into forms and tables created in Excel.

This is a time-consuming workflow that will limit your organization’s scalability. As the paperwork starts piling up on your employees’ desks, morale can also be negatively impacted. 

A better approach is to take advantage of PDF to Excel OCR software. OCR is optical character recognition technology that enables you to convert document characters into structured digital data. 

Organizations have used OCR technology for years as a way to convert both physical documents and digital PDF files into data that can be analyzed and managed by other software solutions. There are many different applications that you can invest in that will allow you to convert PDF to Excel online and offline.

Ultimately, PDF-to-Excel converter software can be divided into two categories: template-based OCR and cognitive OCR. 

Template-based OCR is the traditional method and relies on carefully designed templates that guide the program as it scans for text. Unfortunately, this OCR is inaccurate when applied to the wide variety of business documents in circulation and is expensive to maintain. Experts are required to update the templates frequently. 

By contrast, cognitive OCR relies on advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning to not only extract data but also understand it. When the program understands the data it’s extracting, it can check for errors and complete the conversion more accurately than ever before.

Some AI OCR software, such as Rossum, comes pre-trained to understand hundreds of different document formats and stylings. And, its machine learning capabilities enable it to learn how to interpret different PDF/table formats over time, dramatically reducing maintenance costs.

Convert PDF table to Excel online

If you’re looking for a solution to convert PDF table to Excel online, many cloud-based platforms on the market can accomplish this goal. There are several free tools available (or tools that offer a free trial) that you can take advantage of. 

Check out I Love PDF to Excel converter if this is the function you need. 

The primary benefit of using an online tool is that you and your team can access the tool to continue converting documents, whether you are working from the office or remotely. A cloud-based solution is also more scalable, meaning that you don’t need to keep downloading it as your business grows and adds new employees. 

Unfortunately, many of these programs are inaccurate and require extensive correction later on in Excel. For a business, this increases the time and cost it takes to process each document. For example, some programs will output a table with merged cells and blank columns.

If you want to convert PDF to Excel without merged cells, the best method is to rely on a cloud-based solution like Rossum.

Convert PDF to Excel

If you’re asking, can I convert PDF to Excel? The answer is yes, with the right tools. It is possible to do this conversion manually, as we explore below. However, the fastest way is to find a PDF-to-Excel converter online. 

High-quality software that converts PDFs to Excel spreadsheets relies on optical character recognition software. OCR works by scanning documents and identifying text characters based on the color differences of the pixels representing the text versus the background color. 

Cognitive OCR can then automatically correct the text extracted to ensure that it makes sense within the context of the document. Rossum “reads” documents much like a human would. 

Its AI engine is based on the way humans tend to quickly skim through documents to get context and identify the locations of vital information. Then, it can extract that data and easily export it to an Excel format.

How to convert PDF to Excel without software

If you’re curious about converting PDF to Excel without software, this is possible using the copy-and-paste function. However, you can only copy a table with limited rows and columns. 

This makes it difficult for documents with larger tables. This is the same method you can use when it comes to how to convert PDF to Excel without software on Mac. 

Instead of relying on copy-and-paste, you could also create a similar table in a new Excel spreadsheet and then type the data into the appropriate cells. This is often what data entry employees are highly skilled at doing.

Instead of using manual data entry, a PDF-to-Excel converter online can extract data far faster and more accurately. For example, with Rossum, you can upload hundreds of documents at once and rapidly convert them into Excel spreadsheet documents with just a few clicks. 

How to convert PDF to Excel without losing formatting

Unfortunately, automated data capture solutions often struggle to convert the formatting associated with tables accurately. Cells, rows, and columns often wind up skewed or missing from the result. 

Need to convert PDF to Excel without losing formatting, your best option is to use and intelligent document processing solution like Rossum.

Rossum excels at converting complicated nested tables and line items. With our platform, you can convert these into structured spreadsheets or automatically export them into your company’s desired system.

PDF to Excel converter

Although the PDF has been revolutionary for its ability to facilitate the sharing of documents, it is not a perfect solution to document management issues. Thousands of lifetimes worldwide manually typed pre-existing data into spreadsheets and company software. 

Any business or department that manages documents, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, and claims processing, can be made more efficient with a converter software like Rossum. 

Finding a PDF to Excel converter is fairly easy as many options are available in the market. However, finding a high-quality, accurate conversion program is not always simple. If you cannot convert PDF to Excel manually, relying on a converter can make you more scalable and efficient. 

This is especially true if you are trying to convert multi-page PDF tables to Excel spreadsheets or attempting to scan image-based PDFs to Excel. These kinds of tasks require an enterprise automation platform with multiple features. Rossum is a great example of a solution like this. Also, our platform also provides an API to build custom solutions to suit your specific needs.