Email invoices straight into FAST
Every company gets a private inbox that turns PDFs and images into maintenance records automatically.
Instead of logging in to upload each invoice by hand, you can email them directly to a private address FAST creates for your company. Invoices are scanned (OCR), and a maintenance record is created with the vehicle, mileage, cost, and provider filled in automatically.
This works for invoices you send manually and for auto-forwarded email — so vendors that send invoices to your inbox can have them imported without anyone lifting a finger.
How it works
- 1
An email arrives at your company's invoice address
The address looks like
maint-invoices-[yourCompanyId]@mg.fx-fast.com. You can find it in the Maintenance area. - 2
FAST downloads the PDF or image attachments
Supported formats: PDF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, WEBP. Other file types (Word docs, spreadsheets, etc.) are skipped.
- 3
Each attachment becomes a maintenance record
The record starts in "new" status. OCR runs automatically to extract the vehicle ID, VIN, mileage, service provider, cost, and date from the document.
- 4
You get a confirmation email
The sender receives an automatic reply listing which files were imported, which failed, and which were skipped as unsupported — so you always know what landed.
Inline images (email signatures, logos) are automatically ignored — only real attachments are imported.
Enable your invoice email address
- 1
Go to Maintenance
Open Maintenance from the left rail.
- 2
Look for the email banner or card
If your company doesn't have an invoice email yet, you'll see a button or banner to create one.
- 3
Click to generate the address
FAST creates the address instantly (it's based on your company's internal ID). Once created, it appears in the banner so you can copy it.
- 4
Copy the address
You'll use it in the next step to start sending invoices.
The address never changes. Bookmark it, save it as a contact, or paste it into vendor portals.
Sending invoices manually
From any email account (Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.):
- Compose a new email to your company's invoice address.
- Attach the invoice PDF or photo (you can attach multiple files in one email).
- Send it. The subject line doesn't matter — only the attachments are processed.
- Within a minute or two you'll get a confirmation reply listing what was imported.
Supported formats only: PDF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, WEBP. Word documents (.docx), Excel spreadsheets, and ZIP archives will be skipped — the confirmation reply will tell you which files were skipped and why.
Set up Gmail auto-forwarding (recommended)
If your vendors send invoices to a Gmail address (like invoices@yourcompany.com), you can have Gmail automatically forward them to FAST — then invoices import with zero effort.
- 1
Open Gmail Settings
In your browser, go to Gmail → Settings (gear icon) → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
- 2
Add a forwarding address
Click "Add a forwarding address" and paste your FAST invoice email (
maint-invoices-…@mg.fx-fast.com). Click Next / Proceed. - 3
Check your company contact email
Gmail sends a verification email, but it goes to FAST (not your inbox). FAST automatically detects this and forwards it to your company's contact email (the address on your company profile). Check that inbox for a message titled "Action needed: confirm Gmail forwarding for your FAST invoice inbox".
- 4
Click the confirmation button
Open the email and click the blue "Confirm Gmail Forwarding" button (or paste the link, or enter the confirmation code if Gmail asks for it). Gmail will confirm the address is verified.
- 5
Create a filter (optional but recommended)
Back in Gmail Settings → Filters, create a filter for emails from your vendor(s) and set the action to "Forward it to" the FAST invoice address. This way only invoices (not all your email) get forwarded.
- 6
You're done! Enrollment success email
When the first forwarded invoice arrives, FAST sends a "✓ Gmail auto-forward enrolled successfully" email to your company contact — confirming the pipeline is working end to end.
You only need to do this once per forwarding source. After that, every email matching your filter is imported automatically with a confirmation reply for each one.
Not using Gmail? Any email client with an auto-forward or rule feature works the same way — just point it at your FAST invoice address. Only Gmail's verification requires the extra relay step above.
Confirmation replies — what they look like
Every email that arrives at your invoice address gets a reply (sent to the original sender) with one of these subjects:
| Subject | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ✓ 2 maintenance records imported | All attachments were processed successfully. |
| ⚠ 1 imported, 1 not imported | Some files worked, some didn't — details inside. |
| ✗ No maintenance records imported | Nothing usable was found (wrong file type, or no attachment at all). |
The body lists each file by name with its status — so if a vendor's PDF was corrupt, you'll know immediately.
Automated senders (no-reply addresses, system notifications, mailer daemons) never get a reply — this prevents mail loops.
After import: reviewing records
Emailed invoices appear in Maintenance → Records just like manually-uploaded ones:
- Status "new" — OCR is running (usually takes a few seconds).
- Status "filed" — OCR is done; vehicle, mileage, and cost are filled in (if readable).
You can always edit the record to correct any field OCR got wrong, or to attach additional info.
Records imported by email have a source: email tag and show the sender address and original subject — so you can trace where each invoice came from.
Troubleshooting
Check the confirmation reply in the sender's inbox — it tells you exactly what happened. Common reasons: the file type isn't supported, or the attachment was embedded inline (signatures/logos) rather than as a real attachment. Try re-sending with the file explicitly attached.
FAST only processes PDFs and images (JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, WEBP). If your vendor sends Word docs or spreadsheets, ask them for a PDF, or save it as PDF before forwarding.
The confirmation is forwarded to the company contact email (the email on your Company Setup profile). Check there — also check spam. If it's not there, go back to Gmail Settings → Forwarding and click "Resend verification email".
Yes — the forwarding confirmation relay always uses the current company email. But if you need to re-verify, just repeat the Gmail forwarding steps.
Absolutely. The address is per-company, not per-user. Multiple vendors, multiple Gmail accounts, and direct sends all work simultaneously — each sender gets their own confirmation reply.
OCR works best with clear, standard invoice layouts. Handwritten or very low-resolution documents may not parse. You can always edit the record manually after import.
The address is permanent once created. If you no longer want to accept emailed invoices, simply stop sending to it — there's no cost to having it enabled but unused.
Security & privacy
- The invoice address only accepts emails verified by Mailgun's signature — spoofed or forged messages are rejected.
- Only companies with the feature explicitly enabled receive invoices; an email to a non-existent or disabled company is silently dropped.
- Uploaded files are stored in the same secure Firebase Storage bucket as all your other FAST documents.
- Confirmation replies are auto-generated (marked
Auto-Submitted: auto-replied) and never contain invoice content — just filenames and import status.