Creating Approval Workflows with Power Automate

Power Automate (formerly known as Microsoft Flow) is a cloud-based service that allows users to automate workflows and tasks between applications and services. One of the most common use cases for Power Automate is creating Approval Workflows, where certain tasks or documents require approval before proceeding to the next stage. Whether for purchase requests, leave approvals, or document reviews, Power Automate can automate these processes and help streamline approval requests.

Here’s a detailed guide on creating approval workflows using Power Automate:

1. Prerequisites and Setup

Before you begin creating an approval workflow, ensure the following:

Step 1.1: Power Automate Account

You need an active Power Automate account. Power Automate is available for users with Microsoft 365 subscriptions (e.g., Office 365) or standalone licenses.

Step 1.2: Access to Required Services

You must have access to the services or applications involved in your approval process (e.g., SharePoint, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, etc.).

Step 1.3: Permissions

You need to have appropriate permissions to create and configure workflows in Power Automate. Typically, this requires administrative permissions within your Microsoft 365 environment.

2. Understanding the Approval Flow Concept

Approval workflows typically involve a series of steps:

Request submission: A user submits a request (e.g., a document, leave request, or purchase order).
Approval request: The system sends an approval request to the relevant approver(s).
Decision-making: Approver(s) review the request and approve or reject it.
Outcome: Based on the decision, further actions are taken, such as notifying the requester, updating a status, or initiating another process.

Power Automate simplifies this process by allowing you to define triggers (events that start the workflow) and actions (tasks that happen after the trigger occurs).

3. Creating an Approval Workflow in Power Automate

Step 3.1: Sign In to Power Automate

Go to Power Automate and sign in with your Microsoft account.

Step 3.2: Create a New Flow

Click on Create in the left-hand menu.
Select Automated Flow (for workflows triggered by specific events like a new file added or a new entry in a list) or Instant Flow (for manual triggers, like pressing a button).

Step 3.3: Choose a Trigger

Every workflow starts with a trigger. Select the trigger based on your needs. Common triggers for approval workflows include:
- When a new item is created in SharePoint: For example, when a new request is submitted to a SharePoint list.
- When a new email arrives: If you want the workflow to trigger when an approval request email arrives in your inbox.
- When a new form response is submitted: If using Microsoft Forms to collect requests or data that needs approval.

For example, if you are using SharePoint, select When an item is created or When an item is modified to begin your approval process.

4. Adding the Approval Action

Step 4.1: Add Approval Action

After selecting your trigger, click on + New step and search for Approvals.
Select the Start and wait for an approval action. This is the core action for creating approval workflows.
You will be asked to configure the approval details.

Step 4.2: Configure the Approval Request

Approval Type: Choose the type of approval. The most common options are:
- Approve/Reject – First to respond: The approval process ends as soon as one approver responds (either approve or reject).
- Approve/Reject – Everyone must approve: All approvers must approve the request for it to be considered approved.
- Custom Responses: You can define custom responses if you require more than just “Approve” or “Reject”.
Title: Provide a title for the approval request (e.g., “Purchase Request Approval”).
Assigned To: Enter the email addresses of the approvers (either specific individuals or dynamic content like a user’s manager).
Details: You can include relevant details about the request, such as the requestor’s name, request details, or any other dynamic information (this can be pulled from the trigger data).

Example:

Title: “Approval Request for Leave”
Assigned To: The manager’s email (you can use dynamic content from the trigger or set this statically).
Details: Include request details such as the employee’s name, dates, and reason for leave (using dynamic content from the initial trigger).

5. Handling Approval Outcome

Step 5.1: Add Conditional Logic Based on Response

After the approval action, you need to handle the outcome (approved or rejected).
Add a Condition action to check the approval outcome:
- Click on + New Step and search for Condition.
- Configure the condition to check if the Outcome of the approval is equal to “Approve”.

For example:

If Outcome is “Approve”, proceed with sending a confirmation email, updating a SharePoint list item, or triggering another action.
If Outcome is “Reject”, you might send a rejection email to the requester or notify the initiator of the rejection.

6. Adding Further Actions

Step 6.1: Notification or Follow-Up Actions

After the decision is made, you can configure additional actions based on the outcome.
- Approval: Send an email confirming that the request was approved.
- Rejection: Send an email notifying the requester of the rejection.

To send an email, you can use the Send an email (V2) action. You can customize the subject, body, and recipients using dynamic content from the approval process (e.g., the approver’s decision or details from the original request).

Step 6.2: Update Record or SharePoint Item

If the workflow involves updating a record (e.g., a SharePoint item, a Dynamics 365 record, or a database entry), add the necessary actions to update the status of the request.
- For instance, update the Approval Status field in a SharePoint list to “Approved” or “Rejected”.

Step 6.3: Log Information

If needed, log the workflow execution in a database or create a log in SharePoint or an Excel sheet for future reference.

7. Testing and Monitoring the Approval Workflow

Step 7.1: Test the Workflow

Before going live, thoroughly test the workflow by simulating a request submission and approval/rejection process.
Ensure the trigger works as expected (e.g., a new item in SharePoint triggers the approval).
Confirm that notifications are sent and approvals are logged correctly.

Step 7.2: Monitor the Flow

Once your workflow is live, monitor it by going to My Flows in Power Automate.
You can check the history of each execution, see if any failures occurred, and debug the issues.
If you encounter any errors, Power Automate provides logs and detailed error messages that will help in troubleshooting.

8. Publish and Share the Workflow

Step 8.1: Share the Workflow

If others in your organization need to use the same approval workflow, share the flow by clicking on Share in the Power Automate interface.
Specify the users who can trigger or edit the flow.

Step 8.2: Document the Workflow

Document the workflow logic, approval process, and any important details to make it easier for others to maintain or update the flow in the future.

9. Ongoing Maintenance and Optimization

Step 9.1: Update the Workflow

As business processes evolve, you may need to modify the workflow to include new approvers, change approval conditions, or update email templates.
You can modify the flow at any time and publish the changes for it to take effect immediately.

Step 9.2: Performance Monitoring

Keep an eye on the performance of your approval workflows. You can optimize the flow by using conditions, loops, or parallel branches to streamline processes.

Conclusion

Power Automate provides a robust solution for automating approval workflows, helping to streamline processes and reduce manual intervention. By using predefined approval actions, conditional logic, and integration with other Microsoft services, you can create complex and highly customizable approval workflows that are easy to maintain and monitor.

Let me know if you need more details on any of the steps!