Help Center

Getting Started

What is BatesFlow?

BatesFlow is a document production automation platform for divorce and family law attorneys. It automates the process of receiving a discovery demand, uploading case documents, classifying them, applying Bates stamps, and generating production-ready output — Bates-stamped PDFs, a Rider document (DOCX), and a Bates Index.

How do I get started?

Try it for free and we’ll walk you through the platform with your own case documents. Setup takes about 15 minutes — we’ll create your firm account, add your first case, and run a production together.

What file formats are supported?

BatesFlow accepts PDF files for document upload. Scanned documents (image-based PDFs and JPG/PNG files) are automatically processed with OCR. Demand letters can be uploaded as PDF or DOCX.

Document Processing

How does AI classification work?

When you upload documents, BatesFlow’s AI reads each document and classifies it by type (bank statement, tax return, property deed, etc.), identifies the institution, date range, and a description. Each classification includes a confidence score. You always have the opportunity to review and adjust classifications before generating production output.

What about scanned documents?

Scanned documents are automatically detected and processed with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) using Claude Vision. The OCR extracts text from the image, which is then used for classification. About 50% of documents in a typical divorce case are scans — BatesFlow handles them seamlessly.

How are Bates numbers assigned?

Bates numbers are assigned sequentially across all documents in a production. You configure your Bates prefix (e.g., “SMITH”) and starting number. BatesFlow stamps each page with the appropriate number in the bottom-right corner and tracks the ranges in the Bates Index.

Can I re-run a production?

Yes. You can modify classifications, add or remove documents, and regenerate production output at any time. BatesFlow will recalculate Bates numbers and update all output files.

Output Files

What output files does BatesFlow generate?

BatesFlow produces three output files:

• Bates-Stamped PDFs: Each document with sequential Bates numbers applied to every page.
• Rider Document (DOCX): A formal response to each demand item, referencing the Bates-stamped documents being produced, with standard general objections.
• Document Inventory (DOCX): A comprehensive inventory of all documents organized by category, with page counts, date ranges, and upload dates.

Are the outputs court-ready?

Yes. Output files are formatted to comply with New York CPLR requirements for discovery responses. The Rider includes standard general objections and proper response language for each demand item, including produce, no responsive documents, and requested-from-providers response types.

Security & Privacy

Can BatesFlow staff see my documents?

No. BatesFlow uses a three-layer privilege boundary that structurally prevents platform operators from accessing your case data. This isn’t a policy — it’s enforced by the system architecture. See our Security page for details.

Where is my data stored?

Documents are stored in encrypted AWS S3 storage. The database runs on managed PostgreSQL. All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256).

Billing

How is BatesFlow priced?

Contact us for current pricing. We offer flexible plans based on your firm’s volume — number of cases per month, documents per case, and production frequency. Book a demo to discuss pricing for your practice.

Is there a free trial?

We offer a guided demo with your own case documents so you can see exactly how BatesFlow works with your real workflow before committing. Book a demo to get started.

Still have questions?

Email us at support@batesflow.com or book a demo and we’ll walk you through everything.