Almost every organization has one: a spreadsheet that tracks purchase requests, time-off approvals, contract reviews, or new vendor setups. Someone emails it around. Someone else updates a status column. When the person who built it goes on vacation, the process stops.

Power Automate is a good fit for replacing these. It's included with many Microsoft 365 plans, works with Outlook and Teams, and doesn't require custom development. But the tool is the easy part. Here's how to pick the right starting point and build something that lasts.

A flow will faithfully automate whatever approval process you hand it, so the process has to be settled before the flow is built.

Pick the right first process

Your first automation should be visible, frequent, and simple enough to finish. Good candidates share a few traits:

  • It happens often enough that people feel the pain every week.
  • The steps are mostly the same each time.
  • There's a clear requester, a clear approver, and a clear outcome.
  • Delays or lost requests cause real problems.
  • The data involved isn't highly sensitive or regulated, for the first one.

Map the process before you build

Sit down with the people who submit, approve, and act on requests. Walk through a few real examples, including the messy ones. Write down who can submit, what information is required, who approves at each step and whether that depends on amount or department, what happens when an approver is out, what happens after approval, and what needs to be kept for audit.

You'll often find the process isn't as agreed-on as everyone assumed. Resolve that now. Automating a disputed process just moves the argument into a workflow.

Choose where the data lives

The spreadsheet has to go somewhere. For simple processes with a small number of users, a SharePoint list is often enough. If you need tighter security, relationships between records, or plan to build a proper app on top, Dataverse is the better choice, though it carries additional licensing.

Decide this early. Moving from a list to Dataverse later is possible but adds work.

Build the smallest useful version

A solid first version typically includes:

  • A simple form, using Microsoft Forms, a Power Apps screen, or a SharePoint list form, that collects the required information.
  • An approval flow that routes to the right person and supports approving from Outlook or Teams.
  • Notifications to the requester when the status changes.
  • A reminder or escalation when an approval sits too long.
  • A status view so requesters and managers can see where things stand.

Plan for exceptions

The happy path is easy. The exceptions make or break adoption. What happens if an approver leaves the company? If a request needs to be sent back for changes? If someone needs to cancel? Handle the common exceptions in the first version and document how to handle the rare ones manually.

Govern it from day one

The reason many IT teams are wary of Power Automate isn't the tool. It's flows built under one person's account, with no documentation, that break when that person leaves. Avoid that:

  • Build in a proper environment, not someone's personal default environment.
  • Use service accounts or shared ownership for business-critical flows.
  • Name flows and document what they do and who owns them.
  • Follow your organization's data loss prevention policies.
  • Test changes before they reach the live process.

Roll out and retire the spreadsheet

Pilot with a small group, fix what they find, then launch. Set a date when the old spreadsheet becomes read-only and tell everyone. If both remain active, people will keep using the familiar one.

What comes next

Once the first approval works, teams usually ask for more. That's the moment to put a simple intake process in place: how people request an automation, how requests get prioritized, and who builds and supports them. A few well-governed flows are worth more than dozens nobody can support.

Replacing spreadsheet approvals is one of the fastest ways to show what Power Platform can do. Start small, map the process honestly, and build with ownership in mind.

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