Using bem

Calling a Workflow or Function

Learn how to call a bem Function with your data. This guide covers how to send a batch of items for asynchronous processing using the function call endpoint.

Updated 12/11/2025

Once you have defined your logic, you can execute it by making a "Call". You can call a specific Workflow or an individual Function.

You make a POST request to the /v2/calls endpoint.

Calling a Workflow

This is the recommended way to process data. By calling a workflow, you trigger the entire sequence of functions defined in that workflow.

1curl -X POST https://api.bem.ai/v2/functions/enterprise-invoice-processor/call/v2/calls \
2  -H "x-api-key: <YOUR_BEM_API_KEY>" \
3  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
4  -d '{
5    "calls": [
6      {
7        "workflowID": "wf_12345",
8        "callReferenceID": "your_internal_id_1",
9        "input": {
10          "singleFile": {
11             "inputType": "pdf",
12             "inputContent": "data:application/pdf;base64,..."
13          }
14        }
15      }
16    ]
17  }'

Calling a Function Directly

You can also call a specific function directly if you need to run a single isolated task.

1curl -X POST https://api.bem.ai/v2/functions/enterprise-invoice-processor/call/v2/calls \
2  -H "x-api-key: <YOUR_BEM_API_KEY>" \
3  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
4  -d '{
5    "calls": [
6      {
7        "functionID": "fn_67890",
8        "callReferenceID": "your_internal_id_2",
9        "input": {
10          "singleFile": {
11             "inputType": "pdf",
12             "inputContent": "data:application/pdf;base64,..."
13          }
14        }
15      }
16    ]
17  }'

Understanding the Response

bem will return a list of created calls with their callID and status.

1{
2  "functionCalls": [
3    {
4      "functionCallID": "fnc_a1b2c3d4e5",
5      "referenceID": "inv_abc_123",
6      "status": "pending",
7      ...
8    },
9    {
10      "functionCallID": "fnc_f6g7h8i9j0",
11      "referenceID": "inv_def_456",
12      "status": "pending",
13      ...
14    }
15  ]
16}
1{
2  "calls": [
3    {
4      "callID": "call_abc123",
5      "status": "pending",
6      "workflowID": "wf_12345",
7      "createdAt": "2025-12-11T12:00:00Z"
8    }
9  ]
10}