Document Capture
Collect W-9s and certificates of insurance from contractors and vendors, have them read and checked, approve them, track certificate expiry, forward invoices and receipts, and export what each document says.
Document Capture collects and reads the paperwork you get from contractors and vendors. It leads with the two documents that matter before anyone is paid or starts work: the W-9 and the certificate of insurance (COI). It also reads invoices and receipts. Every document is read, checked against your rules, and waits for you to approve it.
Watch it done: a short walkthrough video of setting it up on the Product Home.
Set up Document Capture
Document Capture has its own Product Home. Open Products in the menu, then Document Capture. Owners and admins see it. If you do not have it yet, open Products, then Explore products, and click Start 30-day trial on Document Capture. No card is needed.
The first time you open it, the home says what the product is for and shows three numbered steps with a first action: Ask for a W-9, drop a document in, and forward your email.
Click Run setup. It does three things and shows the result of each:
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Turns on the four readers in one step: the W-9 reader, the certificate of insurance reader, the invoice reader and the receipt reader.
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Sets your certificate requirements from your industry:
Your industry What a certificate is checked against Construction General liability $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, workers compensation $500,000, auto liability $1,000,000, your organization named as additional insured, and a waiver of subrogation Real estate and property management General liability $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, and your organization named as additional insured Any other General liability $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, and your organization named as additional insured Setup only fills settings you have not set yourself. You can change any of them on the certificate reader’s settings (Agents, then Insurance Certificate Processor).
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Turns on your forwarding address, an email address of your own. Forward a W-9, certificate, invoice or receipt to it and it is read like an upload.
You can run setup again. It does not repeat anything already done.
The checklist
| Check | Done when |
|---|---|
| The W-9, certificate, invoice and receipt readers are on | All four are on |
| Your forwarding address is on | It shows your address |
| Your certificate requirements are set | Setup has set them, or you have |
| Your first document was read | At least one document has been read |
| Nothing is waiting for your review (shown, not required) | No document is waiting for approval |
| QuickBooks is connected (optional) | Approved invoices go to QuickBooks as bills |
Each check links to the place you fix it.
Collect a W-9 and a certificate of insurance
On the Product Home, under Ask someone for a W-9 or certificate:
- Type the name or company you are asking, and their email.
- Tick W-9, Certificate of insurance, or both.
- Click Create request link.
Muin adds them to your vendors (Finance, Vendors), emails them the link when you gave an email, and shows the link so you can send it yourself. The link opens their own upload page. They pick the document type, choose the file and click Upload. They do not need a Muin account.
Each request shows its progress under Requests:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Requested | Waiting for them to upload it |
| Received | Uploaded and being read, or read and ready for you |
| Needs attention | Read, and a check did not pass. The reason is shown |
| Approved | You approved it |
A received document is not counted as on file until you approve it.
What is checked
W-9
- The taxpayer ID number (SSN, EIN or ITIN) is there and is a valid number. A form with no taxpayer ID says “No taxpayer ID number (SSN or EIN) was found on this form”.
- The taxpayer ID is printed in the form’s own text. A number that does not appear on the form itself is refused.
- The form is signed, when Require a signed form is on (it is by default).
Certificate of insurance
- Each limit you require, compared as numbers.
- Your organization is named as additional insured, when you require it.
- A waiver of subrogation is shown, when you require it.
- The certificate is not expired. The expiry date and the days left are shown on the document. A certificate that has expired shows, for example, “Coverage ended on 2026-06-30”.
- The expiry or coverage end date can be read. If it is missing from the certificate or cannot be read, the certificate cannot be approved and says why.
- Coverage is checked again when you approve. A certificate whose coverage ended after it was read shows “Coverage ended on” with the date, and cannot be approved.
The taxpayer ID is only ever shown with its last four digits, for example ***-**-6653.
Review and approve
Every document is listed under Read documents with what it says: for a W-9 the legal name, business name, tax classification, taxpayer ID and whether it is signed; for a certificate the insured, the insurer, the general liability limits, additional insured, waiver of subrogation and the expiry date.
Each document shows its status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Reading | Arrived and still being read |
| Ready to approve | Read, and every check passed |
| Needs attention | Read, and a check did not pass. The reason is shown |
| Approved | You approved it |
- A document whose checks pass shows Ready to approve. Click Approve. The request it answers is marked met, and a certificate’s expiry date is kept on the vendor’s documents.
- A document whose checks do not pass shows Needs attention with the reasons, and has no Approve button. Ask for a corrected document.
- A certificate that ends within 30 days is approved as expiring.
The counts at the top show how many documents are ready to approve, how many need attention, how many documents and pages arrived this month, and how many invoices may already be on file (duplicates caught).
Forward documents to Muin
Your forwarding address is shown on the Product Home with a Copy button. Forward an invoice, receipt, W-9 or certificate to it as an attachment and it is read like an upload. To change which senders are accepted, open Settings, then Email Forwarding.
An email that fails both of the sender checks mail servers use (SPF and DKIM) is held, and nothing in it is filed.
With Document Capture you can also ask for an address on your own domain, such as documents@your-company.example: open Settings, then Email Forwarding, then Request custom domain. We send you the DNS records to add.
Drop a document in
Under Drop a document in, say what it is (W-9, certificate of insurance, invoice or receipt, or let Muin decide) and drop the file. It is read in a minute or two and shows under Read documents.
Export
Under Export, press W-9s (CSV), Certificates (CSV), Invoices (CSV) or Receipts (CSV) to download a spreadsheet of that kind of document: one row per read document with the file, who sent it, when, its status, what it says and any problems. A document still being read is left out. Taxpayer IDs show the last four digits only.
QuickBooks
When QuickBooks is connected (Settings, Integrations, QuickBooks), approving an invoice sends it to QuickBooks as a bill, with the vendor, the invoice number, the due date and the total. If QuickBooks refuses it, the approval still stands and Muin tells you why it was not sent. Muin counts the approved invoices that are not in QuickBooks yet. Approve one again to send it again.
Read documents from your own software
A workspace API key with the documents:extract scope can call document extraction (POST /api/v1/document-intelligence/extract) and nothing else, so it is safe to give to a partner or a plugin.
What it costs
| Plan | Documents a month | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 25 | $0 |
| Starter | 200 | $29 a month |
| Pro | 1,000 | $79 a month |
Every plan starts with a 30-day trial, no card. Documents count in the month they arrive.
FAQ
What is my forwarding address? An email address you forward invoices, receipts, W-9s and insurance certificates to. Muin reads what arrives like an upload. It is on the Product Home with a Copy button.
Who approves? The organization’s owners and admins.
Do my contractors need a Muin account? No. The request link is their own upload page.
Can I approve a certificate that has expired? No. It shows why and stays open until a current one arrives. The same goes for a certificate whose end date is missing or cannot be read, and for one whose coverage ended after it was read.
Why was a forwarded email not filed? It failed both sender checks (SPF and DKIM), so Muin held it and filed nothing. Ask the sender to send it again from their usual email account, or upload the file yourself.
Where is the full taxpayer ID kept? When a W-9 is valid and its name matches one of your vendors, the number is saved on that vendor, encrypted, for 1099s. What the reader stores is masked and encrypted, and screens and exports show the last four digits only.