Automate an approval process in Power Automate

In many organisations, approving documents, requests or tasks is a recurring process that is often manual and time-consuming. With Power Automate you can easily automate an approval process, saving time and maintaining an overview of the status of approvals. In this article you will learn step by step how to set up an automatic approval workflow that is directly applicable for BI teams and data analysts.

What you need

• A trigger that starts the approval process, for example a new SharePoint list item or a form submission

• Access to the Power Automate connector “Start and wait for an approval”

• A clearly defined approval flow with the people involved

Step 1: Set up the trigger for the approval process

The first step is to determine the trigger that activates the approval process. This can be a new entry in a SharePoint list or a form that is filled in, for example. This trigger ensures the workflow automatically starts as soon as a new request comes in.

In the Power Automate portal, choose the trigger, for example “When an item is created” for SharePoint. Fill in the required parameters, such as the site URL and list name, so the flow knows what to watch.

Step 2: Add the approval action

Add the action “Start and wait for an approval”. This sends an approval request to the designated people. You can choose from various approval models, such as a single approver or multiple approvers in parallel or series.

Fill in the fields such as the title of the approval, description and the email addresses of the approvers. Use dynamic content from the trigger to send relevant information, for example the name of the requester or the subject.

Step 3: Process the approval outcome

After sending the approval request, the flow waits for a response. Depending on the outcome (approved or rejected) you can set up follow-up actions, such as sending a confirmation email, updating a SharePoint item or starting another workflow.

Use the condition action to check the outcome and define the correct follow-up steps. This makes the process transparent and ensures automatic follow-up without manual intervention.

Tips & common mistakes

• Ensure clear approvers: Avoid ambiguity by explicitly defining who may approve.

• Test the flow thoroughly: Check whether all dynamic fields are filled in correctly and that notifications arrive.

• Use clear titles and descriptions: This helps approvers quickly understand what it is about.

• Pay attention to permissions: Approvers must have access to the relevant resources, such as SharePoint lists.

Example: Automatic approval of a project request

Imagine a BI team receives project requests via a SharePoint list. With this flow an approval request is automatically sent to the project manager as soon as a new request is added. The project manager receives an email with all the details and can approve or reject directly. Upon approval the project is automatically added to a planning tool; upon rejection the requester receives a message with feedback.

This approach speeds up the process and ensures clear communication without manual follow-up.

Conclusion

With an automatic approval process in Power Automate you save time and increase efficiency within your BI team. Try these steps yourself and experience the ease of automated processes. You set this up easily via the Power Automate portal, where you can manage and adjust all steps clearly.

Our tip: Make sure all approvers have access to the relevant SharePoint lists or documents before activating the flow. Missing permissions are the most common cause of failed approval requests and cause confusion among those involved.