Invoiceiq Bundle Laravel Package

Product Decisions This Supports

• Feature scoping for invoice intake / AP automation: the package provides a single validation entry point (POST /_invoiceiq/validate, multipart → JSON report) that can sit in front of ERP/accounting posting as a guardrail. Useful for deciding whether invoice validation belongs in the product surface or as an internal service.
• Build vs. buy, decomposed by layer: the release separates extraction (OCR stub) from validation (totals, VAT, duplicates checks). This supports a hybrid decision: buy OCR/IDP from a specialist vendor, build or own the business-rule checks layer where your differentiation actually lives.
• Roadmap sequencing: pre_validate / post_validate events make the checks pipeline extensible — a credible hook for future custom rules, notifications, audit trails, or ERP sync without forking the package.
• Use cases to validate with users: duplicate invoice detection, totals reconciliation, VAT sanity checks (TVA-oriented, French/EU framing), and pre-posting exception reports. Good candidates for a discovery spike rather than a committed roadmap item.
• Compliance/architecture posture: optional local storage is OFF by default, which is a favorable default for data-minimization reviews and makes retention a deliberate product decision rather than an accident.
• Not yet decision-grade: no auth/tenancy, no SLA, no UI, OCR is explicitly a stub, and pre-1.0 API stability is unproven. Treat as option value, not a platform commitment.

When to Consider This Package

Consider it when:

• You run a Laravel/PHP stack and want validation logic in-process rather than as another SaaS dependency.
• Your invoice population is predominantly French/EU-shaped (TVA, totals, duplicate patterns) and rule ownership is strategically interesting to you.
• You already have, or plan to buy, an OCR/IDP provider and need the downstream checks layer.
• You need a fast spike to prove the value of duplicate/VAT checks to stakeholders before funding a build.
• You're comfortable pinning versions and absorbing churn across v0.x releases.

Look elsewhere when:

• You need production-grade OCR or line-item extraction today — the OCR stub means accuracy and document coverage are unproven.
• You require multilingual/multi-country invoice handling, confidence scoring, or high-volume throughput guarantees.
• You need hosted compliance artifacts (SOC 2, ISO 27001), SLAs, or vendor support contracts.
• You're not on Laravel, or you need a UI/operator console out of the box.
• Your roadmap can't tolerate breaking changes — v0.1.0 carries no compatibility promise despite "Breaking: none" for this release.

How to Pitch It (Stakeholders)

For executives: This is a low-cost, low-risk evaluation of a Laravel-native invoice validation component at MVP stage. It gives us the checks layer (totals, VAT, duplicates) in-house and keeps OCR as a pluggable vendor decision — meaning we can defer the expensive buy and keep optionality. No production commitment is implied; the recommendation is a time-boxed spike with clear exit criteria.

For engineering: One multipart endpoint returns a JSON report; validation covers totals, VAT, and duplicates; pre_validate/post_validate events provide extension points; storage is opt-in and off by default; tests and CI are included. Caveats: OCR is a stub, the public API is pre-1.0, and there's no auth or tenancy — budget for wrapper code and version pinning.