Your first 100 documents: a practical getting-started guide

You have signed up for PaperAI. You have documents that need converting. Now what?

This guide walks you through processing your first 100 documents — from your first single-file test conversion to a repeatable workflow that handles volume. By the end, you will have a working process that scales.

Step 1: Sign up and set up your organization

When you sign up, PaperAI walks you through creating an organization. This is your workspace — where your documents, Flows, credits, and team members live.

Give your organization a descriptive name (you can change it later). If you are evaluating PaperAI for a team, use the team or department name. If it is just you, your company name works fine.

You start on the Starter plan with 100 free credits per month. That is enough to test the platform with real documents before committing to a paid plan.

Step 2: Convert your first document

Head to the Converter page from the sidebar. Here is the flow:

1. Upload a file. Drag and drop a document or click to browse. PaperAI supports PDF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, DOCX, TXT, CSV, and HTML files up to 50 MB.

2. Choose an AI model. On the Free plan, you have access to standard-tier models. Select one — the credit cost per page is displayed next to each model. For a clean typed PDF, standard models work well.

3. Click Convert. The Converter shows real-time progress: uploading, converting, done. For a typical one-page document, conversion takes a few seconds.

4. Review the output. You will see the AI-generated Markdown alongside action buttons. Click Review & Edit to open the side-by-side view, where you can compare the original document against the converted output.

5. Approve or edit. If the output looks good, approve it. If there are errors, edit the Markdown directly and then approve.

That is one document done. You now understand the core workflow.

Step 3: Try different document types

Before scaling up, test PaperAI with the variety of documents you actually process:

• Upload a clean typed PDF (this should convert easily)
• Upload a scan or photo of a document (test the AI's vision capability)
• Upload a document with tables (see how it handles structure)
• Upload a multi-page document (check consistency across pages)

Pay attention to which documents convert well and which need more attention. This tells you which AI model tier each document type needs. See how it works for a deeper look at the processing pipeline.

Step 4: Organize with folders

Once you have a handful of converted documents, create folders to keep things organized:

1. Go to the Documents page
2. Click New Folder and create folders by category (e.g., "Invoices," "Contracts," "Reports")
3. Move documents into their folders from the document action menu

Folders help when you start processing at volume. You can also set a default target folder in your processing settings so new conversions are automatically sorted.

Step 5: Create your first Flow

If you process the same type of document regularly, create a Flow to standardize the process:

1. Go to the Flows page and click New Flow
2. Upload 2-4 sample documents of the same type
3. PaperAI's AI analyzes your samples and suggests a configuration
4. Review the suggested Flow name, conversion prompt, and extraction fields
5. Adjust as needed and click Create Flow

Now when you convert documents of this type, select your Flow from the Converter dropdown. Every document gets the same treatment — same model, same prompt, same extracted fields.

Step 6: Process a batch

Now try a real batch. Upload 5-10 documents at once:

1. Open the Converter
2. Select your Flow (or use General Flow)
3. Drop in multiple files
4. Click Convert

The Converter processes all files concurrently with per-file status tracking. When done, you can review each one or navigate to the Documents page to see them all in your file manager.

Step 7: Evaluate and upgrade

After processing 20-30 documents, you have enough data to make decisions:

Are you running out of credits? The Starter plan's 100 credits per month is designed for evaluation. If you are processing regularly, the Pro plan ($19/month) gives you 1,000 credits and access to Standard-tier models — a significant accuracy upgrade for complex documents.

Do you need extraction fields? If you are manually copying data points from converted documents (invoice numbers, dates, amounts), the Pro plan includes extraction fields in Flows — up to 10 fields per flow.

Do you need a team? If colleagues should be processing documents too, Pro supports up to 3 members. Business ($39/month) supports 10.

Step 8: Reach 100 documents

With a Flow configured and a process in place, getting to 100 documents is straightforward:

• Batch uploads of 5-10 documents at a time
• Flow handles configuration automatically
• Review and approve in the side-by-side editor
• Export when ready

The goal is not just 100 documents — it is a repeatable process that works the same at 100, 500, or 5,000.

What comes next

Once you are comfortable with the basics:

• Create Flows for each document type you process regularly
• Experiment with model tiers to find the right cost-quality balance
• Enable auto-approve (Business plan) for document types where the AI is consistently accurate
• Invite team members and let them process documents through your established Flows
• Set processing defaults so your organization has consistent baseline settings

The first 100 documents teach you what PaperAI can do. The next 1,000 show you how much time it saves.

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Related resources

• Pricing plans — compare Starter, Pro, Business, and Scale plans
• How it works — the end-to-end document processing workflow
• Features overview — Flows, extraction fields, multi-model support, and more
• How to choose an AI model for document processing — pick the right model for your documents
• Invoice processing automation — a practical guide for your first batch