Power Automate PDF Generation from a SharePoint List: A Handlebars Template plus HTML to PDF Invoice Workflow

PDF4me Generate Document Single is a Power Automate action that renders a Handlebars HTML template plus a JSON payload into a finished HTML document, which the paired Convert HTML to PDF action then paginates into A4. A new SharePoint list row fires the flow, Compose assembles the JSON, and Dropbox stores the invoice PDF named after the invoice number. No premium connector, no code.

Every finance team hits the same wall in Power Automate. The native Convert File action requires a premium license and refuses to touch an HTML template. Adobe PDF Services costs. Encodian costs. matthewdevaney's popular workaround skips HTML entirely and locks you into Power Apps. The pattern below is the one nobody in the top ten of the SERP shows end to end: a SharePoint list column set becomes a JSON payload, a real Handlebars template file lives in /Shared Documents/, and two PDF4me actions do the rendering and pagination for the free-tier connector cost.

Handlebars template rendering: PDF4me vs the alternatives​

The comparison every Power Automate architect makes before picking a connector for invoice PDFs:

Why-Based Q&A​

What You'll Get​

Input: a SharePoint list called Invoices (columns: Title, InvoiceDate, DueDate, CustomerName, CustomerAddress, CustomerEmail, Currency, Subtotal, TaxRate, TaxAmount, GrandTotal, Notes) plus a single Handlebars template at /Shared Documents/invoice_template.html. Output: one A4 PDF per row in Dropbox, named {Title}.pdf (INV-1005 becomes INV-1005.pdf).

What You Need​

The Flow at a Glance​

1. When an item is created (SharePoint trigger on Invoices list).
2. Compose the nested JSON payload (invoice / customer / items / totals / notes).
3. Get file content using path for /Shared Documents/invoice_template.html.
4. PDF - Generate Document (Single) with the template body plus the JSON, output type Html.
5. Convert HTML to PDF with A4 portrait, scale 0.8, 40px margins, print backgrounds Yes.
6. Create file in Dropbox /, file name {Title}.pdf.

Complete flow overview​

End-to-end run. The 11 second Convert HTML to PDF is the paginator, everything else is under half a second.

Step 1: How do you trigger a Power Automate flow on a new SharePoint invoice?​

Flow so far: the flow starts here.

Point the SharePoint trigger at the site and list that holds your invoice rows. Every column becomes dynamic content downstream.

1. Add SharePoint > When an item is created as the trigger.
2. Configure:
   • Site Address: pick the SharePoint site (in the sample: PDF4me Sharepoints - https://ynoox1.sharepoint.com/sites/PDF4meSharepoints).
   • List Name: Invoices.
3. Save and let the trigger detect the list schema. The rows in the screenshot below (INV-1002, INV-1003, INV-1005) show the exact 12 columns the Handlebars template will consume.

The Invoices list​

The SharePoint list is the source of truth. Every column here maps into one field of the Handlebars payload.

Trigger configuration​

Two fields, that is the entire trigger. Everything else comes from the row.

Step 2: How do you build the Handlebars JSON payload from a SharePoint row?​

Flow so far: SharePoint trigger.

Compose shapes the 12 flat SharePoint columns into the nested JSON the Handlebars template iterates over. The template expects invoice, customer, an items array, totals, and a notes string.

1. Add Compose.
2. In Inputs, paste the JSON below, then drop the matching SharePoint dynamic-content pill between the quotes of each value so numbers and dates arrive as strings.

{
  "invoice": {
    "number": "Title",
    "date":   "InvoiceDate",
    "dueDate": "DueDate"
  },
  "customer": {
    "name":    "CustomerName",
    "address": "CustomerAddress",
    "email":   "CustomerEmail"
  },
  "items": [
    { "description": "Item1Description", "quantity": "Item1Qty", "unitPrice": "Item1UnitPrice", "lineTotal": "Item1Amount", "currency": "Currency" },
    { "description": "Item2Description", "quantity": "Item2Qty", "unitPrice": "Item2UnitPrice", "lineTotal": "Item2Amount", "currency": "Currency" },
    { "description": "Item3Description", "quantity": "Item3Qty", "unitPrice": "Item3UnitPrice", "lineTotal": "Item3Amount", "currency": "Currency" },
    { "description": "Item4Description", "quantity": "Item4Qty", "unitPrice": "Item4UnitPrice", "lineTotal": "Item4Amount", "currency": "Currency" },
    { "description": "Item5Description", "quantity": "Item5Qty", "unitPrice": "Item5UnitPrice", "lineTotal": "Item5Amount", "currency": "Currency" }
  ],
  "totals": {
    "currency":   "Currency",
    "subTotal":   "Subtotal",
    "taxRate":    "TaxRate",
    "taxAmount":  "TaxAmount",
    "grandTotal": "GrandTotal"
  },
  "notes": "Notes"
}

Compose configuration​

Compose in Code view. Each JSON value is a SharePoint pill between the two quotes, so numbers and dates arrive as strings the Handlebars template can render.

Reference: SharePoint column to Handlebars path​

The exact mapping between a SharePoint column and where it lands in the template. Bookmark this table when you extend the schema.

Step 3: How do you load the Handlebars template file from SharePoint?​

Flow so far: SharePoint trigger plus Compose.

Store the template as a plain .html file in the site's Documents library. The Get file content using path action reads its raw bytes so Generate Document (Single) can use them as the template body.

The template itself​

The template is ordinary HTML with inline CSS, plus Handlebars expressions where the data goes. Two constructs do the real work. {{#each items}} repeats a table row per line item, and the {{#if description}} guard inside it skips the blanks left by unused Item4 and Item5 columns.

<tbody>
  {{#each items}}
  {{#if description}}
  <tr>
    <td>{{description}}</td>
    <td class="num">{{quantity}}</td>
    <td class="num">{{currency}}{{unitPrice}}</td>
    <td class="num">{{currency}}{{lineTotal}}</td>
  </tr>
  {{/if}}
  {{/each}}
</tbody>

Everything else is a direct substitution: {{invoice.number}} in the header, the {{customer.*}} block for bill-to, {{totals.*}} in the totals table, and {{notes}} in the footer.

1. Add SharePoint > Get file content using path.
2. Configure:
   • Site Address: same site as the trigger.
   • File Path: /Shared Documents/invoice_template.html.
   • Infer content type: Yes (leave the default).

Get file content using path​

The template lives in /Shared Documents/ and is fetched by absolute path. Version history is automatic because it is just a SharePoint file.

Step 4: How does PDF - Generate Document (Single) fill the Handlebars template?​

Flow so far: SharePoint trigger plus Compose plus Get file content using path.

Generate Document (Single) is the template engine. It reads the Handlebars source ({{invoice.number}}, {{#each items}}...{{/each}}), substitutes values from the JSON payload, and returns rendered HTML. It does not paginate. That is the next step's job.

1. Add PDF4me PDF > PDF - Generate Document (Single).
2. Configure:
   • Template File Type: Html (Handlebars Syntax).
   • Template File Name: invoice_template.html.
   • Template File Data: dynamic content, Body from the SharePoint Get file content step.
   • Document Data Type: Json.
   • Document Data Text: dynamic content, Body from the Compose step.
   • Output Type: Html.
   • Keep Pdf template Editable: No.

Generate Document (Single) configuration​

Output Type is Html, not Pdf. Generate Document (Single) hands off the rendered HTML to the next step so pagination stays a separate, testable concern.

Step 5: How do you paginate the rendered HTML into an A4 PDF?​

Flow so far: SharePoint trigger plus Compose plus Get file content using path plus PDF - Generate Document (Single).

Convert HTML to PDF is the pagination engine. It reads the HTML produced by Generate Document (Single), applies page size and margins, and returns the PDF bytes.

1. Add PDF4me PDF > Convert HTML to PDF.
2. Configure:
   • File Content: dynamic content, Body from the Generate Document (Single) step.
   • HTML File Name: invoice.html.
   • Page Layout: Portrait.
   • Page Size: A4.
   • Scale: 0.8 (fits the 5-item invoice on one page).
   • Top / Bottom / Left / Right Margin: 40px each.
   • Print Background: Yes (renders the totals block's background colour).

Convert HTML to PDF configuration​

Scale 0.8 keeps a five-line invoice on a single A4 page. Bump it to 0.9 or 1.0 if you have fewer items and want a larger font.

Step 6: How do you save the invoice PDF to Dropbox with a predictable name?​

Flow so far: SharePoint trigger plus Compose plus Get file content using path plus PDF - Generate Document (Single) plus Convert HTML to PDF.

The final step drops the PDF into a Dropbox folder with a name tied to the invoice number.

1. Add Dropbox > Create file.
2. Configure:
   • Folder Path: / (or a subfolder like /invoices/).
   • File Name: dynamic content, Title from the SharePoint trigger, followed by the literal string .pdf. INV-1005 becomes INV-1005.pdf.
   • File Content: dynamic content, Body from the Convert HTML to PDF step.

Create file configuration​

Naming the file after the invoice number means the Dropbox folder becomes a searchable, deduplicated invoice archive automatically.

Run the Flow and Verify​

1. Save the flow at the top right.
2. Add a new row to the Invoices SharePoint list. Set Title to something recognisable (INV-1005) and fill every column so the template has real data.
3. Open the flow's Run history and pick the latest run. Every card should be green, similar to the flow overview screenshot. The Convert HTML to PDF card is the slowest (about 11 seconds) because that is where pagination happens.
4. Open Dropbox and confirm INV-1005.pdf (or your Title) is in the root. Download it, open it, and compare to the sample.

Common Variations You Can Add Without Rebuilding​

Common questions​

How to create a pdf using power automate from a sharepoint list item?​

Use SharePoint's When an item is created as the trigger, a Compose action to shape the row's flat columns into a nested JSON payload, a Get file content using path action to load your HTML template from /Shared Documents/, PDF4me Generate Document (Single) to merge the JSON into the template, and PDF4me Convert HTML to PDF to paginate the result. Save the output to any file connector (Dropbox, OneDrive, SharePoint). Every action in that chain is on the standard connector tier, so you do not need a Power Automate Premium license.

Can power automate generate a pdf?​

Yes. Native Power Automate cannot render a PDF on its own from an HTML template, but the PDF4me connector adds the two actions that make it possible: Generate Document (Single) for template rendering and Convert HTML to PDF for pagination. Both are standard-tier and free to install. Together they turn any SharePoint / Dataverse / Excel row into a branded PDF using an editable HTML template stored beside the data.

How to create pdf from html in power automate?​

Add the PDF4me Convert HTML to PDF action anywhere the flow has HTML in scope (a Compose output, a Get file content Body, a Compose expression, a webhook payload). Configure the page size (A4), layout (Portrait), margins (40px), and set Print Background: Yes so CSS backgrounds are preserved. The action's Body output is the PDF binary you feed to your storage action. This is the same action used in Step 5 above.

Can power automate convert html to pdf without premium?​

Yes. The PDF4me connector's Convert HTML to PDF action is on the standard connector tier, meaning you can install it and use it on any Power Automate plan without the Premium license upgrade that the native Convert File and Adobe PDF Services connectors require. You still need a PDF4me API key (free tier available), which you paste in when you add the action the first time.

How to generate pdf from a template in power automate?​

Use PDF4me Generate Document (Single) with Template File Type: Html (Handlebars Syntax) (for HTML templates) or Word (for .docx templates). Feed the template bytes into Template File Data and a JSON payload into Document Data Text. Set Output Type: Html if you need to paginate afterwards (as in this blog), or Pdf to get a PDF back in one step. The action supports the full Handlebars syntax including {{#each}} and {{#if}} for line items and conditional blocks.

Troubleshooting​

Next Steps​

The same six-step pattern (row plus template plus render plus paginate plus name plus store) handles any per-row branded PDF you can describe in HTML.