Side-by-side comparison
Manual Bundling vs BundleCreator
Court bundles prepared by hand take hours of numbering, indexing, and reformatting. BundleCreator automates the repetitive work so you can focus on your case.
Quick Answer
A court bundle is a paginated, indexed collection of documents required for legal proceedings. BundleCreator is online court bundle software that automates bundle preparation built around PD27A, reducing preparation time from hours to minutes.
Last reviewed: 25 March 2026 by Stevie Hayes
No credit card required
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
How manual preparation stacks up against BundleCreator across the tasks that matter most
| Task | Manual Bundling | BundleCreator |
|---|---|---|
| Document pagination | Hours of manual numbering | Automatic (A1, B1, C1...) |
| Index generation | Hand-typed in Word | Auto-generated and hyperlinked |
| PD27A alignment | Check requirements yourself | Built-in validation |
| Document uploads | Print, scan, photocopy | Drag & drop PDFs, Word, video |
| Areas of law | No templates provided | 22 areas, 375+ templates |
| Government forms | Find on GOV.UK, print, fill by hand | Built-in, fillable in browser |
| Time to create a bundle | 4-8 hours | Significantly faster* |
| Cost | Printing + staff time | From £12 per bundle |
| Security | Physical copies and email attachments | AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.3 in transit |
| Collaboration | Email back and forth | Secure sharing with permissions |
At a Glance
Quick-reference comparison of capabilities
| Feature | Manual Bundling | BundleCreator |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic pagination | ||
| Hyperlinked index | ||
| PD27A alignment checking | ||
| 375+ document templates | ||
| Government forms in-browser | ||
| PDF compression | ||
| Video evidence with QR codes | ||
| AES-256 password protection | ||
| Secure collaboration | ||
| Time to prepare | 4-8 hours | Under 30 mins |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it difficult to switch from manual bundle preparation?
Not at all. BundleCreator is designed so that anyone — including litigants in person with no legal training — can create a court-ready bundle. Upload your existing documents, drag them into order, and the software handles pagination, indexing, and formatting automatically.
Will a bundle created with BundleCreator be accepted by the court?
Yes. BundleCreator formats bundles to align with Practice Direction 27A (Family Court, in force 2 March 2026), Civil Procedure Rules Part 39 and PD 32 (civil hearings), Criminal Procedure Rules (Crown Court trials and Court of Appeal), Employment Tribunal Presidential Guidance, and SEND tribunal Practice Direction No. 1 of 2025. Templates are reviewed against primary UK practice directions as they change. Bundle ordering, font, pagination, OCR, and bookmarks all match the applicable rule set automatically.
Can I still review and adjust the bundle before exporting?
Yes. The bundle editor gives full control over document order, section headings, page labels, and Bates numbering. Drag-and-drop reordering works within sections. The yellow-highlighted prompts inside each template can be edited or deleted before export. Live preview shows the index and pagination updating as edits happen. PDF export is one click; re-exports take seconds. The user decides every editorial choice; BundleCreator handles the technical formatting that PD27A and CPR demand.
How does BundleCreator handle last-minute document changes?
Late additions are handled automatically under PD27A para 7.16. Drop a new witness statement into Section C and Bates numbering picks up from the last entry — C8, C9, C10 — without disturbing earlier sections. The hyperlinked index regenerates, PDF bookmarks update, and the file re-exports on demand. Auto-save fires every 8 to 10 seconds during editing to help protect work between saves. A bundle can be re-issued the morning of a hearing without re-paginating from scratch.
Is my data safe with BundleCreator?
BundleCreator stores documents with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit. Hosting is UK-region (Google Cloud London, europe-west2) for UK GDPR data residency. Authentication is gated by Clerk with optional multi-factor authentication, role-based access control, and PostgreSQL row-level security. Exported PDFs can carry AES-256 password protection. Steleo Publishing Limited is registered with the ICO under registration ZB969283. The platform does not train AI on customer data.
Compare with another approach
How free open-source bundling utilities compare with a templated, supported product for litigants in person and small firms.
Read comparisonPer-seat licences and full case-management suites compared against pay-as-you-go and a focused bundling product.
Read comparisonReady to Stop Bundling by Hand?
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BundleCreator helps you prepare and organise documents for court and tribunal hearings. We are not a law firm and we do not give legal advice. Wherever you can, please get advice from a qualified legal adviser before your hearing. Read more