> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mercora.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# The Inbox
> Your work queue: the Needs you, Waiting and Done tabs, the rail and its filters, reviewing what Mercora read against the original, and approving, rejecting or requesting a correction.
The Inbox is where you work through documents once [processing](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/processing.md) has finished. Mercora reads each document and suggests where it belongs; you check what it read against the original, settle the trade ([matching](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/matching.md)), review any [discrepancies](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/discrepancies.md) and approve. Other workflows send their proposals here too, so one queue holds everything waiting on a person.
> [!NOTE]
>
> **Before you start:** reviewing documents in the Inbox is available when the **Document inbox** module is turned on for your workspace, and approving needs permission to edit documents. Workflows you use, such as deal capture or hedging, keep their own place in the Inbox even if it's off. Ask your workspace admin.
The Inbox for Veltana Commodities SA with the twelve documents of sugar trade VCS-S-2026-0714: eleven ready to approve, and purchase contract VCS-P-2026-0688 waiting to be matched.
The Inbox has three columns:
* **The rail** on the left lists the items in the open tab, grouped into sections such as **Match** and **Ready to approve**.
* **The document** in the middle shows the original file, with zoom controls. Lists and tables Mercora read, such as a contract's **Required Documents** or an invoice's charge lines, sit in a bar docked under the document: click it to expand and edit them like a spreadsheet.
* **The review panel** on the right shows the trade it's matched to, any discrepancies and the fields Mercora read, with **Approve** at the bottom.
You can drag the dividers to resize the columns. On a phone, you see one pane at a time and switch between **Review** and **Document**.
## Tabs
| Tab | What's in it |
| - | - |
| **Needs you** | You're the next step: review, match, approve, decide, or recover a failed document. |
| **Waiting** | Nothing for you to do yet. Mercora is still processing, or the item is waiting on someone outside, such as a broker's reply. |
| **Done** | Decided: approved, closed or rejected. The most recent decision comes first. |
| **Filtered** | Documents Mercora set aside as not trade-related, or files it can't read. This tab sits on the right and only appears when it has something in it. |
Each tab shows how many items it holds. A Waiting item comes back to **Needs you** by itself when processing finishes, when a counterparty replies, or when a later check raises a new discrepancy.
## The rail
### Sections
In **Needs you**, items are grouped by the kind of attention they need, in this order:
| Section | What it holds |
| - | - |
| **Recover** | Documents that failed to process, and syncs to an external system that failed. Retry or dismiss. |
| **Match** | Documents not yet linked to a trade. |
| **Review** | Matched documents with open discrepancies, and packs waiting for their split to be confirmed. |
| **Decide** | Proposals from workflows waiting for you to approve or route them. |
| **Ready to approve** | Matched, checked and clean. Usually one click. |
In **Waiting**, items are grouped into **Processing** (Mercora is working) and **Waiting on a reply** (waiting on someone outside, or parked by you).
Click a section header, or press T, to fold or unfold it. Mercora remembers which sections you folded in this browser.
### Each row
A row shows the file name, the document type, the trade it's on, how long it has been waiting and a status, such as **Unmatched**, **2 disc.** or **Clean**. For example, `07_Bill_of_Lading_RCLLCH2607841.pdf` reads **B/L**, **VCS-S-2026-0714**, **\< 1h**, **Clean**. See [Statuses you see in the Inbox](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/processing.md#statuses-you-see-in-the-inbox).
### Search
Type in **Search…** to narrow the list by file name, trade reference or document type. Search only narrows what you see in the open tab.
### Filters
Click the filter icon, or press F, to filter the rail:
* **Owner**: whose items to show. A member's items are the files they uploaded and the emails they forwarded from their sign-in address. **Unassigned** holds what arrived with no member attached, for example an email a supplier sent straight to the workspace mailbox. You can choose several owners. With no owner chosen, you see the whole team's queue. The tab counts follow the same filter.
* **Type**: **Documents** or **Actions** (proposals from workflows). Empty means both.
Active filters show as chips under the search box. The Owner filter only changes what you see. It doesn't change who can open or act on an item.
### Ordering
Click the display icon to choose the order within each section: **Priority**, **Date added**, **Document type**, **Trade matched** or **Discrepancies**, and to flip the direction. **Priority** puts documents with critical discrepancies first, then those with warnings or waiting more than a day.
Your filters and ordering are saved to your account, so they follow you to another browser. **Reset to default** goes back to the workspace default. Workspace admins can make their current view the default for everyone with **Set as workspace default**.
### Assign several documents at once
In the **Match** section, tick the box on each document you want to put on the same trade. Shift-click to select a range. The main area changes to **Assign selected documents**: pick the trade and click **Assign N documents**. Press Esc or click **Cancel selection** to stop.
## Reviewing a document
Open a document from the rail. The review panel works through it from top to bottom.
**1. Match**
The **Trade** field shows the trade the document is on, or Mercora's recommendation for you to confirm. Click **Match** to link it and run its checks. Until then, the footer reads **Match it first** and **Approve** is unavailable. See [Matching documents to trades](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/matching.md).
**2. Checked**
Once matched, the panel shows **Checked** with the trade and the number of differences found, or **Not checked** with a **Run checks** button.
**3. Shipment**
For documents that belong to a shipment, such as a B/L or a packing list, a **Shipment** field shows which shipment the document describes. Mercora fills it only when it's sure. See [Shipments](https://docs.mercora.io/trades/shipments.md).
The Shipment step only shows when your role can see shipments. Changing the shipment needs permission to edit shipments.
**4. Discrepancies**
Open discrepancies are listed first, then the ones already resolved. See [Discrepancies](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/discrepancies.md).
**5. Fields**
The fields Mercora read, such as parties, quantities, prices, dates and ports. When a document has discrepancies, the fields involved are shown with them.
### Check a field against the original
Click a field or a discrepancy to highlight where its value appears in the document. A small amber dot next to a value means Mercora was less sure of it, so check it first.
When a document came by email, the email shows in a bar above the document. Click it to open the sender, subject and body.
### Edit a field
**1. Open the field**
Double-click the field's value. You can also move to it with Tab and start typing, or press Enter.
**2. Change the value**
Type the right value. Some fields have a dropdown, a date picker, or a number with a unit.
**3. Save**
Press Enter or click away to save. Press Esc to cancel.
An edited field shows who changed it and when. Hover over it and click **revert** to go back to what Mercora read. After you save, Mercora checks the document again, so a discrepancy caused by a misread can disappear, and a new one can appear.
Your corrections are kept if the document is processed again.
### Read a value straight from the document
If Mercora missed a value or read it wrong, you can draw a box around it on the document:
1. Hold Option (Alt on Windows) and drag a box around the value. Or click the **⌥ drag to extract field** button at the top left of the document first, then drag.
2. Mercora reads the value inside the box and suggests which field it belongs to. If you had a field selected, the value goes to that field.
3. Check the value, change it if needed, and click **Apply**. Nothing is saved until you do.
To save a passage as a note instead, click into the notes box before you draw. You can also select text in the email bar to save it as a note or read a value from it.
### Numbers that can be read two ways
When a printed quantity or weight could mean two different numbers, for example "745,087", Mercora shows both readings under the field and marks the one that matches the deal. Click the right one.
### Invoices
For invoices, the panel also shows:
* **The invoice type**: whether it's an invoice or a credit note. If Mercora couldn't tell, the row shows **Credit note?** until you pick.
* **The direction**: whether it's a receivable (AR) or a payable (AP). You can set this before the invoice is matched.
If a required field is missing, such as an invoice's due date, the field is marked in red and **Approve** asks you to set it first.
### Notes
Use **Notes** at the bottom of the review panel to leave a note on the document for your team. You can also add a note to a single discrepancy with **Note…**.
## Approving
The button at the bottom of the review panel says what it will do, and the line beside it explains the effect, for example "Links it to the trade · accepts 2 differences".
* Click **Approve**, or press Enter.
* **Approve** stays unavailable until the document is matched and its checks have run. The line beside it says **Match it first** or **Run the checks first**.
* If the document isn't on any trade, the button reads **Approve without a trade** and asks you to confirm. Enter never approves a document that's linked to nothing.
* Approving accepts the document's remaining open differences with the trade. Review them before you approve. See [Discrepancies](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/discrepancies.md).
### Contracts and recaps
Approving a contract or a recap opens a short approval flow across the main area, because it can create or change a trade:
1. **Where should this document go?** Choose **Create a new trade**, **Match to existing trade**, or **Don't attach a trade** (under "Doesn't belong to a trade?"). Mercora marks its recommendation **Recommended**. With the **Contracts** module on, **Create a new trade** is replaced by **Create contract**, which saves the document as a purchase or sale contract, on its own or starting a new deal. Click **Next**.
2. **Should this document create a trade leg?** A trade has a purchase leg and a sale leg. Choose **Create a new trade leg** or link to the existing one, and set the leg type (**Purchase** or **Sale**), or choose **Save directly to trade** to attach it without a leg. Check the leg's fields, such as buyer, seller, contract number, quantity and unit price.
3. Check the summary on the right (**Current selection**, **Trade info** and the leg to create) and click **Approve document**.
Approving sales contract VCS-S-2026-0714: Mercora recommends Match to existing trade, and the summary shows the sale leg it will create.
The next step creates the sale leg to Meridian Foodstuffs: 27 MT at USD 565/MT.
Approving a contract from **Create contract** skips the leg step: you review the contract's fields and click **Approve document** directly. See [Starting a trade from a contract](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/matching.md#starting-a-trade-from-a-contract-or-recap).
### Amendments
An amendment opens an **Amend** panel in place of the usual review. You decide on each changed term there before the final approval. Enter doesn't skip those decisions.
### After you approve
The document moves to **Done**, and the next item opens. Once approved, a document's information becomes part of the trade's record, and Mercora re-checks the trade's other documents that are still under review against it.
To move an approved document to a different trade, use **Reassign to Trade** in the **⋯** menu. See [Matching documents to trades](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/matching.md).
## Rejecting
Reject a document that shouldn't be processed, for example a draft or a copy you don't need.
1. Click **Reject** under the Approve button.
2. Click **Confirm** next to "Reject this document?".
The document moves to **Done**, shown as **Dismissed**. Rejecting doesn't change the trade.
## Request a correction
When a document is wrong at the source, for example a counterparty's invoice shows the wrong quantity, ask them to fix it.
**1. Open the correction draft**
Click **Request correction** under the Approve button. A window opens with the document on one side and an email draft on the other.
**2. Check what's included**
The draft lists the document's discrepancies. Ones you **Declined** are listed as corrections required, and open ones are included too. Ones you approved are left out.
**3. Check the email**
If the document came by email, **To** is filled in with the original sender. Otherwise, type the recipient. Mercora drafts the message. Edit it, or click **Regenerate** for a new draft.
**4. Send it from your mail client**
Click **Open email draft**. Mercora opens the draft in your own email program and copies the message to your clipboard. Review it and send it from there.
Mercora doesn't send the email for you. It records that a correction was requested on those discrepancies.
## The ⋯ menu
The **⋯** menu at the top of a document has:
| Item | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Download** | Downloads the original file. For a Word document, you get the original Word file. |
| **Reclassify…** | Changes the document type and processes it again. You can also set a custom label here. |
| **Reassign to Trade** | Moves the document to another trade, or removes it from its trade. |
| **Change shipment** | Changes which shipment the document is on, for documents that belong to a shipment. |
| **Full Reprocess** | Runs every processing stage again. |
| **Delete from Record** | Removes the document from its trade and discards its discrepancies. The file is kept for recovery but hidden. |
Everything except **Download** needs permission to edit documents.
## Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Action |
| - | - |
| ↓ or J | Next item |
| ↑ or K | Previous item |
| Enter | Approve the open document, the same as its Approve button |
| T | Fold or unfold the section of the open item |
| F | Open the filter menu |
| Esc | Clear a bulk selection, cancel an edit, or close a popover |
| Option / Alt + drag | Read a value from a region of the document |
Shortcuts don't fire while you're typing in a field or have a menu or picker open.
## Other items in the Inbox
Besides documents, the Inbox holds proposals from the workflows your workspace uses. Each one waits for a person to approve, change or decline it. Use the **Type** filter to show only these.
| Item | Where it comes from | Learn more |
| - | - | - |
| Deal terms from a recap or contract | Emails, or deals a member sends to Copilot | [Deal capture](https://docs.mercora.io/workflows/deal-capture.md) |
| Hedge requests and broker fills | Requests from your team, and fills from your broker | [Hedging](https://docs.mercora.io/workflows/hedging.md) |
| Freight rate changes | Carrier rate sheets and notices | [Freight rates](https://docs.mercora.io/workflows/freight-rates.md) |
| Vessel nominations | Emails naming the vessel for a contract | [Shipments](https://docs.mercora.io/trades/shipments.md) |
| Automation approvals and questions | Automations that need a person to decide | [Automations](https://docs.mercora.io/workflows/automations.md) |
| Syncs to an external system | Documents being sent to a connected system | [External systems](https://docs.mercora.io/integrations/external-systems.md) |
Each of these appears only when its workflow is turned on for your workspace and your role can use it.
## Who can do what
Viewing the Inbox needs permission to view documents. Approving, rejecting, editing fields, matching and the **⋯** menu actions need permission to edit documents. View-only roles see the same panels without the buttons. See [Roles and permissions](https://docs.mercora.io/concepts/roles-and-permissions.md).
## Next steps
> **[Matching documents to trades](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/matching.md)**
>
> Confirm, change or start the trade a document belongs to.
> **[Discrepancies](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/discrepancies.md)**
>
> Decide what each difference with the trade means.
> **[Walkthrough](https://docs.mercora.io/getting-started/walkthrough.md)**
>
> Follow one trade from its first document to its P\&L.
This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.