Workflow Builder: Triggers, Steps, and Outputs

What is the Workflow Builder?

The Workflow Builder is Lido's automation tool that lets you create end-to-end document processing pipelines. Instead of manually uploading files, extracting data, and exporting results, you can build a workflow that does all of this automatically.

A workflow is a series of connected steps: a trigger starts it, processing nodes do the work, and output nodes deliver the results.

How do I create a workflow in Lido?

Step 1: Open the Workflow Builder

Access the Workflow Builder from the top navigation bar in Lido. Click Workflow to open the visual builder where you'll connect nodes together.

Step 2: Choose a trigger

The trigger determines how and when your workflow starts. Lido offers several trigger types:

• Lido Mailbox — monitors a dedicated email address for incoming documents. Checks every 5-10 minutes.
• Google Drive — watches a Google Drive folder for new files. Runs on a schedule (e.g., daily) and can process up to 100 files at a time.
• OneDrive — monitors a OneDrive folder for new files. You'll need to paste the folder URL and share the folder with Lido.
• Outlook — monitors an Outlook inbox for new emails with attachments.
• Webhook — allows external systems (like Power Automate or Zapier) to trigger the workflow via API call.
• Manual — you click a play button to start the workflow each time.

Step 3: Add processing nodes

After the trigger, add the nodes that process your documents:

• Data Extractor — extracts data from documents using your configured template and columns
• Split File — splits multi-page documents based on page numbers or AI instructions
• Excel to PDF — converts Excel files to PDF format (with options to preserve formatting and repeat headers)
• Fill PDF Forms — populates PDF templates with extracted or spreadsheet data
• Edit Spreadsheet — clears, modifies, or reorganizes data in your Lido sheets

Step 4: Add output nodes

Output nodes deliver your results:

• Email — sends extracted data as Excel/CSV to specified recipients
• Google Drive — saves output files to a Drive folder
• OneDrive — saves output files to a OneDrive folder
• API — pushes data in JSON format to external systems

Step 5: Activate

Turn on the workflow. Automatic triggers will run on their schedule. Manual triggers require you to click play.

What's the difference between automatic and manual triggers?

An automatic trigger (like Google Drive, OneDrive, or email) runs on a set schedule without any action from you. For example, a Google Drive trigger might check for new files daily and process up to 100 files at a time.

A manual trigger requires you to click the play button to start the workflow. With manual triggers, you step through each node one at a time, which is useful for testing and debugging before going fully automatic.

How do I connect Google Drive to a workflow?

Add a Google Drive node to your workflow and authenticate with your Google account. You'll need to share the specific folder with Lido's service account to grant access. Once connected, select the folder you want the workflow to monitor or save files to.

Share the folder with files@lido.app and grant editor permissions so Lido can access and process your files.

How do I connect OneDrive to a workflow?

Add a OneDrive node and authenticate. Unlike Google Drive (which lets you browse and select folders), OneDrive requires you to paste the folder URL directly. Share the OneDrive folder with files@lido.app with editor permissions so Lido can read and write files.

Can I convert Excel files to PDF in a workflow?

Yes. Add an Excel to PDF node between your source and extraction nodes. You can choose options like repeating headers across pages and preserving formatting. This is useful when you receive data in Excel format but need to extract specific fields as if they were document scans.

Can I split and reorganize PDF pages in a workflow?

Yes. The Split File node lets you split multi-page documents based on page numbers or AI-driven instructions. For example, you can split a 50-page document into individual invoices, then process each one separately through the data extractor.

How are workflow runs counted for billing?

Each time a workflow runs counts as one execution run, even if nothing is processed (e.g., the trigger checked but found no new files). This is important to understand when setting your trigger frequency.

Workflow Builder tiers:

• Free: 3,000 runs/year, daily trigger frequency
• Starter ($360/year): 30,000 runs/year, hourly triggers
• Pro ($1,200/year): 180,000 runs/year, every 15 minutes
• Business ($3,600/year): 720,000 runs/year, every 2 minutes
• Enterprise ($9,600/year): 1,200,000 runs/year, every 1 minute

All tiers include unlimited steps per workflow.

Can I use workflows to fill out PDF forms automatically?

Yes. After extracting data (or if you already have data in a Lido spreadsheet), you can add a Fill PDF Forms node to your workflow. Upload your PDF template and Lido will intelligently map your spreadsheet columns to the form fields. The field names don't need to match exactly — Lido's AI reasons through the mapping automatically.

Each row in your spreadsheet generates one filled PDF form, so you can batch-fill hundreds of forms in a single workflow run.

Updated on: 03/04/2026