If you have ever spent hours chasing someone for a signature on a document, a purchase order, or a leave request — this article will change your life.
Power Automate's approval workflow is one of the most underused features in Microsoft 365. In this guide, I will walk you through building a complete, production-ready approval workflow from scratch in under 15 minutes.
What You Will Build
By the end of this tutorial, you will have a working approval workflow that:
- Triggers automatically when a new item is added to a SharePoint list
- Sends an approval request email to the designated approver
- Notifies the requestor whether their request was approved or rejected
- Logs the outcome back to SharePoint with a timestamp
Prerequisites
- A Microsoft 365 account (any plan that includes Power Automate)
- A SharePoint site with a list (we will create one in Step 1)
- 15 minutes of uninterrupted time
Step 1 — Create Your SharePoint List
Navigate to your SharePoint site and create a new list called Purchase Requests. Add the following columns:
| Column Name | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Single line of text | Request name |
| Amount | Number | Purchase amount in USD |
| Requestor | Person | Who is making the request |
| Status | Choice | Pending / Approved / Rejected |
| Notes | Multiple lines | Approver notes |
Set the default value of the Status column to Pending.
Step 2 — Open Power Automate
Go to make.powerautomate.com and click Create → Automated cloud flow.
Name your flow Purchase Request Approval and search for the trigger When an item is created (SharePoint). Select it and click Create.
Step 3 — Configure the SharePoint Trigger
In the trigger settings:
- Site Address: Select your SharePoint site
- List Name: Select Purchase Requests
Step 4 — Add the Approval Action
Click + New step and search for Start and wait for an approval. Select it.
Configure the approval:
- Approval type: Approve/Reject — First to respond
-
Title:
New Purchase Request: [Title](use dynamic content for Title) - Assigned to: Enter the email of your approver (or use a dynamic field)
-
Details:
Requestor: [Requestor Display Name] | Amount: $[Amount] | Please review and approve or reject.
Step 5 — Handle the Approval Outcome
Click + New step and add a Condition action.
Set the condition:
-
Value:
Outcome(from the approval dynamic content) - Operator: is equal to
-
Value:
Approve
In the YES branch, add Update item (SharePoint):
- Set Status to Approved
- Set Notes to the approver's response comments
Then add Send an email (V2):
- To: The requestor's email
-
Subject:
Your purchase request has been APPROVED ✓ -
Body:
Great news! Your request for [Title] ($[Amount]) has been approved.
In the NO branch, add Update item (SharePoint):
- Set Status to Rejected
Then add Send an email (V2):
- To: The requestor's email
-
Subject:
Your purchase request was not approved -
Body:
Your request for [Title] has been rejected. Reason: [Outcome]
Step 6 — Save and Test
Click Save and then Test → Manually → Run flow.
Go to your SharePoint list and add a new item. Within seconds, the approver will receive an email. Click Approve or Reject in the email, and watch the SharePoint item update automatically.
Common Errors and Fixes
Error: "The approval could not be sent"
This usually means the approver's email address is incorrect or they do not have a Microsoft 365 licence. Verify the email and try again.
Error: "Item not found"
This happens when the SharePoint list ID changes. Re-select the list in both the trigger and the update actions.
The flow runs but emails are not received
Check the approver's junk/spam folder. Microsoft approval emails sometimes get filtered. Add no-reply@microsoft.com to the safe senders list.
Taking It Further
Once your basic approval workflow is running, here are three upgrades worth adding:
- Escalation: Add a parallel branch that sends a reminder if the approval is not actioned within 48 hours
- Multi-level approval: Chain two approval actions for requests over a certain threshold (e.g., require a second approver for amounts over $5,000)
- Teams notification: Replace the email notification with an Adaptive Card sent to a Teams channel for faster response times
Ready-Made Templates
If you want to skip the setup and get 20 pre-built Power Automate flows (including approval workflows, automated reports, and Teams notifications) that you can import directly into your environment, I have put together a complete pack:
Power Automate Flow Templates Pack — $49
It includes approval workflows, HR onboarding flows, invoice processing, and more — all documented and ready to deploy.
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