1. A method for collection of data from documents present in machine-readable form, the method performed by a computer system with a processor and memory, the method comprising the steps of: associating at least one already-processed document stored as a template and subsequently designated as a template document with a document to be processed that is designated as a read document, fields for data to be extracted being defined in the template document, wherein associating the at least one already-processed document with the document to be processed is performed by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory; automatically extracting data from the read document, the data contained in regions of the read document that correspond to the fields in the template document, wherein automatically extracting data is performed by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory; and if an error occurs, or if no suitable template document is associated: showing the read document on a screen and manually inputting fields in the read document from which the data are extracted; and storing the read document with field specifications as a new template document, or correcting the at least one already-processed template document corresponding to the newly input fields.
1. A method for collection of data from documents present in machine-readable form, the method performed by a computer system with a processor and memory, the method comprising the steps of: associating at least one already-processed document stored as a template and subsequently designated as a template document with a document to be processed that is designated as a read document, fields for data to be extracted being defined in the template document, wherein associating the at least one already-processed document with the document to be processed is performed by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory; automatically extracting data from the read document, the data contained in regions of the read document that correspond to the fields in the template document, wherein automatically extracting data is performed by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory; and if an error occurs, or if no suitable template document is associated: showing the read document on a screen and manually inputting fields in the read document from which the data are extracted; and storing the read document with field specifications as a new template document, or correcting the at least one already-processed template document corresponding to the newly input fields. 3. A method according to claim 1 wherein given the manual input of the fields, these are linked with a databank in which the extracted data are stored.