If your organisation runs on Microsoft 365, Power Automate is often the quickest route to automating document work. It connects Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and hundreds of other services, and its AI features (AI Builder and Copilot) can read invoices and forms. Here are flows that save real time, and the limits you will hit.
Flow 1: save PDF attachments automatically
Trigger: When a new email arrives (Outlook), with "Include attachments" and "Only with attachments" on.
Condition: attachment name ends with .pdf.
Action: Create file in a OneDrive or SharePoint folder, using the sender and date in the file name.
This alone ends the "where did that invoice go?" problem. Add a filter on sender or subject to keep it focused.
Flow 2: convert Office files to PDF
Trigger: When a file is created in a SharePoint or OneDrive folder. Action: OneDrive's Convert file action with target type PDF. Action: Create file in an "Outbox" folder.
Useful for publishing policies, reports and quotes as PDFs without manual export. Check fonts and layout on the first few, since conversion can differ slightly from desktop Word.
Flow 3: extract invoice data with AI Builder
Trigger: When a PDF is added to an "Invoices" folder. Action: AI Builder's prebuilt invoice processing model. Action: Add a row to an Excel table or a Dataverse/SharePoint list with supplier, date, total and invoice number.
AI Builder consumes credits included in some licences and paid separately in others. Route low-confidence results to a person for review rather than trusting them blindly. See AI data extraction from PDFs.
With e-invoicing mandates spreading across Europe, check whether structured invoices already carry the data in XML before paying to extract it from the PDF. See Factur-X explained.
Flow 4: route a PDF for approval
Trigger: When a file is added to a "For approval" library. Action: Start and wait for an approval, assigned to a manager. Condition: if approved, move to "Approved"; if rejected, notify the submitter with comments.
The approval history is stored with the run, giving you an audit trail. See document approval workflows.
Limits and gotchas
- Premium connectors and AI Builder require specific licences. Check before building.
- File size limits apply to actions and attachments; very large PDFs can fail.
- Merging, splitting, watermarking and OCR are not built in. You need a third-party connector, Azure services, or a script.
- Flows run as a user. If that person leaves, their flows can break. Use service accounts for important flows.
- Data residency and privacy: flows move documents between services. Check that sensitive documents stay within approved locations.
When a manual step is fine
Not everything needs a flow. Signing a one-off PDF, adding a few pages, or redacting a name is faster by hand. A browser editor like Docento.app does these locally without uploading files.
Takeaway
Start with attachment saving and approvals, which need no premium features and save time immediately. Add AI extraction once the basics work, with human review for low-confidence results. For other automation platforms, see Zapier, Make and n8n.
