1 · Start with the process
The manual approval problem Power Automate is good at solving
A very common approval process starts innocently: somebody emails a request to a manager, the manager replies with “approved”, and somebody updates a spreadsheet. That can work at low volume. The problems appear when more people, more request types or more deadlines are added.
Email becomes the workflow
- Requests arrive through different channels.
- The latest status lives in somebody’s inbox.
- Approvals and reminders are chased manually.
- Decision comments are difficult to report on later.
- Management visibility depends on somebody updating a tracker.
The workflow records what happened
- Every request is stored as a structured record.
- The correct approver is selected consistently.
- Approve / reject decisions update the same record.
- The requester receives an automatic outcome.
- Open, overdue and completed requests can be reported on.
This pattern works well for equipment requests, spend approvals, document sign-off, access requests, operational exceptions, policy acknowledgements and many other internal processes.
2 · Keep the architecture simple
A practical approval workflow architecture
For a straightforward Microsoft 365 approval process, you often only need a structured list and a cloud flow. Microsoft documents approval flows triggered from Microsoft Lists / SharePoint, using the Start and wait for an approval action to pause the flow until a decision is returned.
3 · Design the data before the flow
Create a request list that can support the workflow
Before opening Power Automate, decide what information has to exist for somebody to make the decision and what information needs to be retained afterwards. A simple request list might contain:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Request title / reference | A human-readable identifier for the request. |
| Requested by | The person or team submitting it. |
| Request type | Useful for routing different categories to different approvers. |
| Business justification | The information the approver actually needs to decide. |
| Amount / risk / priority | Optional values that can drive routing rules. |
| Approver | The person or group responsible for the decision. |
| Status | For example Draft, Submitted, Pending Approval, Approved, Rejected, More Information Required. |
| Submitted date / decision date | Supports turnaround-time and SLA reporting. |
| Decision comments | Retains useful approval context against the business record. |
Use controlled choice fields where possible. Free-text status values make reporting and later automation unnecessarily fragile.
4 · Build the flow
Step-by-step: build the Power Automate approval workflow
Trigger the flow when the request is submitted
For a simple request list, use the SharePoint / Microsoft Lists trigger When an item is created. Microsoft also provides When an item is created or modified, but use that only when you genuinely need later changes to trigger the process — otherwise you can create unnecessary repeat runs.
Set the record to Pending Approval
Update the request immediately so anybody viewing the list can see that the process has started. This is also a useful place to record the submitted timestamp or generate a reference number if required.
Determine who should approve
The approver can be fixed, stored in the request, obtained from Microsoft 365 profile information, or selected from routing rules. For example: requests under one value go to a team manager; higher-value requests go to a second approver.
Add “Start and wait for an approval”
Configure a clear approval title, the approver, and concise decision information. The action creates the approval request and waits until the approval criteria are met. The returned outputs can then be used in later steps.
Branch on the outcome
Add a condition after the approval. If the response is approved, update the list record to Approved. Otherwise set it to Rejected, or route a custom response such as “Need more information” to a different branch.
Write the decision back to the business record
Do not leave the approval outcome only inside Power Automate. Store the decision, response date, approver and useful comments against the original request so the process remains auditable and reportable.
Notify the requester automatically
Send a concise outcome message containing the request reference, result and next step. If rejected, include the recorded reason where appropriate. This removes a large amount of manual “has this been approved?” chasing.
Test the exceptions, not only the happy path
Test approval, rejection, missing approver, invalid data, duplicate submission and connection failure scenarios. A workflow is only operationally useful when failures are visible and recoverable.
5 · Choose the right approval behaviour
Power Automate approval types are business rules, not just settings
The approval type changes when the workflow considers the decision complete. Microsoft currently supports patterns including first response, everyone must approve, custom responses and sequential approvals.
Useful when any authorised person can make the decision.
Useful when every named approver must agree. A rejection can end the process.
Useful when Approve / Reject is too limited — for example “Need more information”.
Useful when approval must move through a defined order, one approver at a time.
6 · Make stalled work visible
Add reminders and escalation around the approval
The approval itself is only one part of the process. In real operations, the biggest administrative burden is often everything around the decision: reminders, overdue requests, escalations and status enquiries.
- Reminder: notify the approver if the request remains pending after an agreed period.
- Escalation: alert a second person or team when the business deadline is breached.
- Exception view: keep overdue requests visible in a list view or Power BI report rather than relying on inbox searches.
- Owner visibility: make it obvious who currently owns the next action.
For more complex or long-running processes, split responsibilities across flows rather than keeping one flow run waiting indefinitely. Microsoft documents separate patterns for long-running approvals and provides both Create an approval and Wait for an approval when you need more control than a single blocking action.
7 · Use the workflow data
The real value appears when approvals become measurable
Once the request and decision are structured, you can answer questions that are difficult to answer from email:
For a small process, list views may be enough. For management reporting across larger volumes or several teams, Power BI can provide trend and exception reporting from the same operational data.
8 · Avoid these mistakes
Common approval automation mistakes
If nobody can explain who should approve what, Power Automate will only make the confusion run faster.
If the flow itself updates the same item, a poorly designed modified trigger can start the workflow again. Use an appropriate trigger and trigger conditions where needed.
An approval email is not a reporting model. Store the business outcome against the request.
Decide what happens when the approver is absent, the assigned identity is invalid or a connector fails.
If approvers or thresholds regularly change, move them into configuration data rather than editing the flow every time.
Document who owns the flow, its connections, the list, testing and future changes. A workflow should not become dependent on one person’s account.
Licensing & platform notes
Check the environment before you build
Microsoft classifies the standard Approvals connector as a standard connector. Microsoft’s current documentation says a licence that grants Power Automate access and standard connectors can be sufficient for approval flows, but the final licensing position depends on the wider flow, connectors and tenant configuration. Approval records are stored in Dataverse behind the approvals capability, and first use in some non-default environments can require database provisioning.
Also remember that the person shown as the approval creator and the notification behaviour are affected by the platform design. Review your organisation’s governance, connection ownership and security requirements before putting a business-critical workflow into production.
9 · Before go-live
A practical approval workflow checklist
Official references
Microsoft documentation used for this guide
- Get started with Power Automate approvals ↗
- Trigger approvals from Microsoft Lists ↗
- Create and test an approval workflow ↗
- SharePoint connector triggers and actions ↗
This guide is a practical overview. Exact architecture, licensing, permissions and governance should be checked against your Microsoft 365 / Power Platform environment and business requirements.
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