Demand Letter Template in Power Automate: Generate a PDF Letter for Every Ready Matter in SharePoint with PDF4me

PDF4me Generate Document Single is a Power Automate action that merges JSON data into a Word template and returns a finished document. Pointed at a SharePoint list of legal matters, it turns one demand letter template into a PDF letter for every matter marked ready, files each letter in its matter folder, and updates the matter's status.

Search for a demand letter template and page one belongs to court self-help centres, legal aid sites and form libraries. California Courts, WashingtonLawHelp and LawDepot all explain how to write one letter, and explain it well. None of them deals with the firm that sends thirty a week, where the letter is the easy part and the admin around it is not: copying the client, the opposing party and the amount out of the case record, saving the PDF in the right matter folder, and remembering to mark the matter as done. This flow does that admin and leaves the wording where it belongs, in a Word document the attorneys control.

Why-Based Q&A​

What You'll Get​

Input: a SharePoint list of matters, each with a matter ID, client, incident date, opposing party, damages amount, attorney and a status. Output: one PDF demand letter per matter marked ready, in /Shared Documents/DemandLetters/<matter ID>, the matter's status changed to Demand Letter Generated, and one summary email for the batch.

MAT-1001.pdf in its own matter folder, written by the flow account.

The summary from a one-matter batch. The count comes from the DocIndex variable.

What You Need​

The Flow at a Glance​

1. Manually trigger a flow starts a batch.
2. Get items reads the Matters list with the Filter Query Status eq 'Ready for Demand Letter'.
3. Select maps each matter to the six template fields.
4. Get file content reads /Shared Documents/DemandLetterTemplate.docx.
5. Initialize variable creates DocIndex as an Integer set to 0.
6. Apply to each loops over the matters from Get items.
7. PDF - Generate Document (Single) (PDF4me PDF) fills the template with Output Type PDF.
8. Create file (SharePoint) saves the letter into /Shared Documents/DemandLetters/<matter ID>.
9. Update item (SharePoint) sets Status to Demand Letter Generated.
10. Increment variable adds 1 to DocIndex.
11. Send an email (V2) (Office 365 Outlook) sends the batch summary.

Complete flow overview​

A two-matter batch. The loop took seven seconds for both passes, and the SharePoint write is the slowest step inside it at two seconds per letter.

Step 1: How do you start a demand letter batch on demand?​

Flow so far: nothing yet, this is the trigger.

A manual trigger fits the way letters actually go out: someone reviews the matters marked ready, then presses the button.

1. Create an Instant cloud flow and pick Manually trigger a flow.
2. Leave it without inputs. The list itself decides which matters are in the batch.

Manual trigger configuration​

No inputs. Selection happens in the next step, on the Status column.

Step 2: How do you pick only the matters that are ready for a demand letter?​

Flow so far: Manually trigger a flow.

Get items does the selecting, so the flow never has to check a status itself.

1. Add SharePoint > Get items.
2. Configure:
   • Site Address: PDF4me Sharepoints - https://ynoox1.sharepoint.com/sites/PDF4meSharepoints
   • List Name: Matters
3. Open Advanced parameters and set:
   • Filter Query: Status eq 'Ready for Demand Letter'
   • Order By: Title asc

Get items configuration​

The filter value is matched exactly, including capitals. Ordering by Title produces the letters in matter-ID order.

Step 3: What does the Select action map?​

Flow so far: Manually trigger a flow plus Get items.

Select turns each matter row into exactly the six fields the template knows about, which makes the contract between list and template easy to read.

1. Add Data Operation > Select.
2. From: the body/value token from Get items.
3. Map: one row per template field, as in the table below.

Select configuration​

Five fields keep their column names. The sixth, MatterID, comes from the list's Title column.

How each placeholder gets its value​

Step 4: Where does the flow read the Word template from?​

Flow so far: Manually trigger a flow plus Get items plus Select.

The template is an ordinary Word file in the document library. Reading it here, before the loop, means it is fetched once per batch rather than once per matter.

1. Add SharePoint > Get file content.
2. Configure:
   • Site Address: PDF4me Sharepoints - https://ynoox1.sharepoint.com/sites/PDF4meSharepoints
   • File Identifier: /Shared Documents/DemandLetterTemplate.docx
   • Infer content type (advanced): Yes

Get file content configuration​

Edit the template in SharePoint and the next batch uses the new wording, with no change to the flow.

The template holds six placeholders in PDF4me template syntax: <<[Attorney]>>, <<[IncidentDate]>>, <<[OpposingParty]>>, <<[MatterID]>>, <<[ClientName]>> and <<[DamagesAmount]>>. The letterhead, the reference line and the body text around them are plain Word content. The Word template syntax overview covers everything else a placeholder can do.

Step 5: Why does the flow need a counter variable?​

Flow so far: everything through Get file content.

The summary email needs a number, and a variable is the simplest way to carry one out of the loop.

1. Add Variables > Initialize variable.
2. Configure:
   • Name: DocIndex
   • Type: Integer
   • Value: 0

Initialize variable configuration​

Initialize variable has to sit at the top level of the flow. Power Automate does not allow it inside a loop.

Step 6: How do you generate one demand letter per matter?​

Flow so far: everything through Initialize variable.

This is the loop that does the real work. Each pass builds one letter, files it, updates the matter and counts it.

1. Add Control > Apply to each.
2. Select an output from previous steps: the body/value token from Get items.

Apply to each configuration​

Four actions inside the loop, and that stays true for one matter or fifty.

Now the first action inside the loop.

3. Add PDF - Generate Document (Single) from the PDF4me PDF connection.
4. Configure:
   • Template File Type: Docx (PDF4me Template Syntax)
   • Template File Name: DemandLetterTemplate.docx
   • Template File Data: a base64() expression over the Get file content output, for example base64(body('Get_file_content'))
   • Document Data Type: Json
   • Document Data File: leave empty
   • Document Data Text: the JSON below, built from the current matter
   • Output Type: PDF
   • Keep Pdf template Editable: No

The tokens in Document Data Text resolve to these expressions:

{
  "ClientName": "@{items('Apply_to_each')?['ClientName']}",
  "IncidentDate": "@{items('Apply_to_each')?['IncidentDate']}",
  "OpposingParty": "@{items('Apply_to_each')?['OpposingParty']}",
  "DamagesAmount": "@{items('Apply_to_each')?['DamagesAmount']}",
  "Attorney": "@{items('Apply_to_each')?['Attorney']}",
  "MatterID": "@{items('Apply_to_each')?['Title']}"
}

Generate Document (Single) configuration​

The JSON keys must match the placeholder names exactly. MatterID is the only one whose value comes from a differently named column.

For the date, give the placeholder a format string in the Word template, as described in formatting in Word templates:

• <<[IncidentDate]:"MMMM dd, yyyy">> prints June 14, 2026.

For the amount, format it in Document Data Text before it reaches the template. This assumes DamagesAmount is a Number or Currency column:

• formatNumber(items('Apply_to_each')?['DamagesAmount'], 'N0', 'en-US') produces 18,500.

formatNumber and the other functions used in this post are documented in the workflow expression functions reference.

Step 7: Where does each letter get filed?​

Flow so far: the loop, through Generate Document (Single).

The matter ID does double duty here, naming both the folder and the file.

1. Add SharePoint > Create file inside the loop.
2. Configure:
   • Site Address: PDF4me Sharepoints - https://ynoox1.sharepoint.com/sites/PDF4meSharepoints
   • Folder Path: /Shared Documents/DemandLetters/ followed by the Title token
   • File Name: the Title token followed by .pdf
   • File Content: the Body token from PDF - Generate Document (Single)

Create file configuration​

For matter MAT-1001 this writes /Shared Documents/DemandLetters/MAT-1001/MAT-1001.pdf.

Step 8: How do you stop a matter from getting a second letter?​

Flow so far: the loop, through Create file.

The filter in step 2 only works if the status changes once a letter exists. That is this action's whole job.

1. Add SharePoint > Update item inside the loop.
2. Configure:
   • Site Address: PDF4me Sharepoints - https://ynoox1.sharepoint.com/sites/PDF4meSharepoints
   • List Name: Matters
   • Id: the ID token from the current matter
   • Status Value (advanced): Demand Letter Generated

Update item configuration​

Update item runs only after Create file succeeds, so a matter whose letter failed stays ready for the next batch.

Step 9: How does the team know the batch is done?​

Flow so far: the loop, through Update item.

Two actions finish the job: one counts inside the loop, the other reports after it.

1. Add Variables > Increment variable as the last action inside the loop.
   • Name: DocIndex
   • Value: 1
2. Add Office 365 Outlook > Send an email (V2) after the loop.
   • To: your team's address
   • Subject: Demand Letters Generated - followed by the DocIndex token and in this batch
   • Body: Hi team, then DocIndex, then demand letters were generated in this batch and saved to the matter folders in SharePoint. Matter statuses have been updated to "Demand Letter Generated".
   • Importance (advanced): Normal

Increment variable and Send an email (V2) configuration​

Last inside the loop, so it only counts letters that were filed and recorded.

One email per batch, not one per letter.

Run the Flow and Verify​

1. Save the flow and select Test, then Manually.
2. Before you run it, mark at least one matter as Ready for Demand Letter.
3. Open the run history. Apply to each should show one iteration per matter marked ready, and every action should be green.
4. Open /Shared Documents/DemandLetters and check for one folder per matter, each holding a PDF named after the matter ID.
5. Open the Matters list and confirm those matters now show Demand Letter Generated.

The Matters list after the runs​

Three matters now show Demand Letter Generated. MAT-1003 is still Draft, so the filter skipped it and no letter was produced.

The captured run processed two matters in about eight seconds. The letter for MAT-1001 is 21,121 bytes on a single page, from PDF4me Legal Associates, signed by David Park on behalf of Sarah Chen and addressed to Meridian Logistics Inc. Its XMP metadata declares pdfaid:part as 1 and pdfaid:conformance as B, which is PDF/A-1b. The summary email shown earlier comes from a separate one-matter batch.

Common Variations You Can Add Without Rebuilding​

How this compares to other ways of producing demand letters​

Each row describes the alternative. The last row is this flow.

The distinction that matters: this is the only row where the template stays a normal Word file and the matter record changes as part of the same run.

Common questions​

How to draft a demand letter template?​

Start from the letter your firm already sends and mark every value that changes between matters. A typical demand letter has a letterhead, a date, the recipient, a reference line with the matter ID, a short statement of the facts, the amount demanded with a deadline, what happens if the deadline passes, and a signature. Everything except the changing values is fixed wording.

For automation, each changing value becomes a placeholder. The sample template uses six: client, incident date, opposing party, amount, attorney and matter ID. Its wording is illustrative only, so have counsel approve the language of any template you actually send.

How to populate a Word template using Power Automate?​

There are two common routes. Microsoft's Populate a Microsoft Word template action uses content controls in the document and sits in the premium Word Online (Business) connector. It returns a .docx, so a PDF takes a second conversion step.

This flow uses PDF4me Generate Document (Single) instead. The template is an ordinary .docx with placeholders such as <<[ClientName]>>, the data goes in as JSON, and the action returns a PDF directly on a standard connector. Read the template with Get file content, pass it through base64(), and build Document Data Text from the list item.

How to automate letters in Word?​

Inside Word itself, the classic answer is Mail Merge: a document with merge fields and a data source such as an Excel sheet. It works, but someone has to run it on a desktop for every batch and file the results afterwards.

Automating it properly means keeping the Word document as a template and letting a flow fill it from your records. Here the records are a SharePoint list, the trigger decides when a batch runs, and filing and status updates happen in the same run, so there is no merge step left for anyone to do.

What is legal document automation?​

Legal document automation is producing legal documents such as demand letters, engagement letters and notices from approved templates and case data, instead of drafting each one by hand. The template holds the language the firm has signed off, the data comes from the matter record, and software does the merge.

This flow is a small, concrete example of it: one Word template, one list of matters, and one PDF4me action doing the merge, with the matter status recording that the letter exists.

Troubleshooting​

Next Steps​

The same eleven-step pattern (filter the list by status, fill a Word template per row, file the PDF, change the status, report the count) handles any document a list row can drive: engagement letters, notices, renewal reminders and settlement offers.