Failed Document: What to Do When a Document Cannot Be Processed

In this section, you will learn what the Failed status means, its most common causes, and the steps to diagnose and resolve the issue.

What Does the "Failed" Status Mean?

When a document appears with the Failed status in the Documents section, it means Dost was unable to complete its processing. The document exists in the system but no data has been extracted, so it cannot be reviewed or exported until the issue is resolved.

Unlike the Need Review status (which indicates the document was processed but requires manual validation), Failed indicates a technical issue that prevents processing entirely.

Common Causes of Failed Documents

Cause	Symptoms	Solution
Corrupted or unreadable file	The document does not open correctly or shows blank pages	Request the supplier to resend the invoice as a native PDF (not a low-quality scanned image)
Unsupported format	The file is a .doc, .xls, or other unsupported format	Convert the file to PDF and upload it again
Page limit exceeded	Documents with too many pages exceed the configured limit	Check your Dost contract page limit. If occasional, split the document or contact support
Monthly document limit reached	"Upload limit" warning appears in the account	Review your plan or contact Dost to increase your limit, or wait for the next billing period
Temporary technical error	The document appears as Failed without a clear reason	Use the Retry button next to the document in the list

How Do I Fix It? (Steps)

1. Locate the Failed Document

Go to the Documents section and filter by Failed status (see Filters and Search in the Documents Section).

2. Check the Error Details

Open the document and look for any visible error message in the detail view.

3. Retry Processing

Click the Retry button next to the document in the list. In many cases, temporary issues are resolved this way.

4. Verify the File

If retrying does not work:

Download the original file (if available).
Check that it opens correctly.
Ensure it is a valid format (PDF preferred).

5. Contact Support if Needed

If the issue persists, contact Dost support and provide:

The document ID (visible in the URL or document details)
Any error message shown

Document and Page Limits

Dost may enforce limits depending on your subscription plan:

Monthly document limit: Maximum number of documents that can be processed per month. Alerts are sent at 90% and 95% usage.
Page limit per document: Some plans restrict the maximum number of pages per document. If exceeded, processing will fail.

If you receive limit warnings or see a sudden increase in Failed documents, contact your Dost account manager to review your plan options.

Best Practices

If you frequently receive long invoices (more than 10–15 pages), ask suppliers if they can split them into smaller documents.
Regularly review documents in Failed status to avoid accumulation. Leaving failed documents unresolved can impact month-end closing processes.
Set internal alerts so that someone on the team checks Failed documents at least once per week.

Failed Document: What to Do When a Document Cannot Be Processed

Learn what the Failed status means in Dost, its most common causes (corrupted file, unsupported format, page limit exceeded), and how to resolve it step by step.