Streamlining Business Approvals with Power Automate's New Templates

Streamlining Business Approvals with
Power Automate's New Templates
Power Automate
In today's fast-paced business environment, efficiency and
agility are paramount. Organizations across industries are
constantly seeking ways to optimize their workflows, reduce
manual tasks, and improve decision-making processes. One
area that often requires significant attention is the
approvals process. Whether it's expense reports, time
sheets, travel requests, procurement orders, or sales
discounts, approvals are integral to business operations.
Microsoft Power Automate has introduced new Business
Approvals Templates designed to revolutionize how

organizations handle approvals. These no-code templates
are built on the robust Microsoft Power Platform, enabling
businesses to quickly create sophisticated approval
workflows without the need for extensive technical
expertise.
In this blog post, we'll delve into an overview of these new
templates, explore their key features, and provide use cases
to illustrate how they can transform your organization's
approval processes.
Why Automate Approvals with Power Automate?
Before we dive into the templates themselves, it's essential
to understand the benefits of automating approvals:
 Increased Efficiency: Automation reduces the time
spent on manual approval processes, speeding up
decision-making.
 Enhanced Transparency: Automated workflows
provide visibility into the status of approvals, ensuring
accountability.
 Improved Accuracy: Reducing manual intervention
minimizes errors and ensures consistent application of
approval policies.
 Scalability: Automated processes can easily
adapt to growing business needs without
additional overhead.
Overview of the Business Approvals Templates

The new Business Approvals Templates in Power Automate
are pre-configured workflows that cater to common
approval scenarios. They leverage the combined power of
Power Apps and Power Automate to deliver a seamless
approvals experience. Here's what makes these templates
stand out:
 No-Code Solution: Designed for users without
technical backgrounds, allowing anyone in the
organization to set up and manage approval
workflows.
 Customizable: While ready to use out-of-the-box,
the templates can be tailored to meet specific business
requirements.
 Feature-Rich: Equipped with advanced capabilities
like multi-stage approvals, delegation, and conditional
branching.
Key Features and Their Use Cases
1. Configure Multi-Stage Approvals
Feature Overview: Set up approval processes that
require multiple levels of authorization. Each stage can have
its own set of approvers and conditions.
Use Case:
 Procurement Orders: A purchase over $10,000
might require department head approval, followed by
finance department approval.

 Expense Reporting: Expenses above a certain
threshold may need to go through additional scrutiny.
Benefits:
 Ensures compliance with internal policies.
 Streamlines complex approval hierarchies.
2. Delegate Approvers
Feature Overview: Allow approvers to delegate their
approval authority to another individual, either temporarily
or permanently.
Use Case:
 Out-of-Office Scenarios: An approver going on
vacation can delegate approvals to a colleague.
 Workload Management: High-level executives can
delegate routine approvals to their assistants.
Benefits:
 Prevents bottlenecks due to unavailable approvers.
 Maintains workflow continuity.
3. View Approvals Progress and History
Feature Overview: Track the status of approvals in real-
time and access historical data for completed processes.
Use Case:
 Audit Trails: Compliance teams can review approval
histories for regulatory purposes.

 Status Updates: Employees can check where their
requests stand in the approval process.
Benefits:
 Enhances transparency across the organization.
 Facilitates better communication among stakeholders.
4. Manage Out-of-Office for Approvers
Feature Overview: Automate the redirection of approval
tasks when approvers are unavailable.
Use Case:
 Holiday Seasons: Automatically route approvals to
alternative approvers during public holidays.
 Unexpected Absences: Ensure approvals continue
smoothly even when an approver is suddenly
unavailable.
Benefits:
 Eliminates delays in the approval process.
 Ensures critical decisions are not held up.
5. Support for Versions of Approval Processes
Feature Overview: Maintain different versions of
approval workflows to accommodate changes in business
policies or organizational structure.
Use Case:

 Policy Updates: Implement new approval steps
when company policies change.
 Organizational Changes: Adjust workflows when
departments are restructured.
Benefits:
 Provides flexibility to adapt to business changes.
 Keeps approval processes up-to-date without starting
from scratch.
6. Publish Version Approval Workflow
Feature Overview: Easily publish and manage different
versions of approval workflows.
Use Case:
 Testing New Workflows: Pilot a new approval
process with a select group before organization-wide
deployment.
 Rollback Capability: Revert to a previous version if
the new process doesn't meet expectations.
Benefits:
 Reduces risk when implementing changes.
 Facilitates continuous improvement of workflows.
7. Handle Workdays and Public Holidays

Feature Overview: Configure workflows to account for
non-working days, ensuring deadlines and escalations are
appropriately managed.
Use Case:
 Deadline Management: Adjust approval deadlines
to skip weekends and holidays.
 Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Ensure
compliance with SLAs that specify business days.
Benefits:
 Prevents missed deadlines due to non-working days.
 Aligns approval processes with organizational
calendars.
Real-World Scenarios
To further illustrate the impact of these templates, let's
explore some real-world scenarios:
Scenario 1: Streamlining Expense Approvals
Challenge: A company requires all employee expenses
over $1,000 to be approved by a manager and any
expenses over $5,000 to be approved by the finance
director.
Solution:
 Utilize the Multi-Stage Approvals feature to set up a
two-tier approval process.

 Configure conditions to automatically route expenses
to the appropriate approvers based on the amount.
Outcome:
 Reduced processing time for expense approvals.
 Improved compliance with financial policies.
Scenario 2: Managing Approvals During Holidays
Challenge: During the end-of-year holiday season, many
approvers are out of office, causing delays in purchase
order approvals.
Solution:
 Implement the Manage Out-of-Office feature to
automatically delegate approvals to designated
alternates.
 Use the Handle Workdays and Public
Holidays feature to adjust deadlines.
Outcome:
 Continuous approval flow despite staff absences.
 No disruption in procurement activities.
Scenario 3: Adapting to Organizational Changes
Challenge: Following a merger, the company needs to
update its approval processes to align with new corporate
policies.
Solution:

 Leverage the Support for Versions of Approval
Processes to create new workflows.
 Use the Publish Version Approval Workflow to roll
out changes gradually.
Outcome:
 Smooth transition to new approval policies.
 Minimal disruption to daily operations.
Getting Started with the Business Approvals
Templates
Step 1: Access the Templates
 Log in to Power Automate.
 Navigate to the Templates section and search
for Business Approvals.
Step 2: Choose a Template
 Select the template that best fits your approval
scenario.
 Templates are categorized based on common business
needs.
Step 3: Customize the Workflow
 Use the intuitive interface to add or modify approval
stages.
 Set conditions, notifications, and assign approvers.
Step 4: Test the Workflow

 Run test scenarios to ensure the workflow operates as
intended.
 Make adjustments as necessary.
Step 5: Deploy and Monitor
 Publish the workflow for your organization.
 Monitor progress and gather feedback for continuous
improvement.
Conclusion
The new Business Approvals Templates in Power Automate
offer a powerful, no-code solution to streamline approval
processes across your organization. By leveraging these
templates, you can:
 Reduce manual workload and increase efficiency.
 Ensure compliance with internal policies and external
regulations.
 Enhance transparency and accountability.
 Adapt quickly to changes in business needs.
Empower your teams to focus on strategic tasks rather
than administrative hurdles. Start exploring the Business
Approvals Templates today and take a significant step
toward operational excellence.
Additional Resources
 Getting Started with Power Automate

 Power Apps and Power Automate Licensing
Guide
 Best Practices for Approvals in Power
Automate

Streamlining Business Approvals with Power Automate's New Templates

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