Managing approvals efficiently is one of the biggest challenges for organizations. Whether you’re approving invoices, purchase requests, leave applications, contracts, or company policies, relying on emails and manual follow-ups often leads to delays, confusion, and missed deadlines.
This is where SharePoint Online combined with Microsoft Power Automate makes a significant difference. Instead of manually sending emails and tracking approvals, you can automate the entire process with a structured approval workflow that keeps everyone informed and maintains a complete audit trail.
In this guide, you’ll learn what an approval workflow is, why businesses use it, and how to create an approval workflow in SharePoint Online using Microsoft 365. Even if you’re new to SharePoint, you’ll be able to follow these steps and build your first approval process with confidence.
What Is an Approval Workflow in SharePoint?
An approval workflow is a business process that automatically routes documents or list items to one or more people for review and approval.
For example, when an employee uploads a document to a SharePoint library or submits a request through a SharePoint list, the workflow automatically sends an approval request to the designated approver. The approver can then approve, reject, or request changes without lengthy email conversations.
Once a decision is made, the workflow updates the SharePoint item, sends notifications, and records the approval history for future reference.
In SharePoint Online, approval workflows are typically created using Microsoft Power Automate, which replaces the older SharePoint Designer workflows used in previous versions of SharePoint.
Why Use Approval Workflows?
Organizations automate approvals because they simplify business processes and reduce manual work.
Some of the key benefits include:
- Faster approval cycles
- Reduced paperwork and manual follow-ups
- Improved transparency
- Automatic email notifications
- Complete approval history
- Better compliance and governance
- Easy integration with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and other Microsoft 365 services
Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, automated approvals help improve productivity while reducing errors.
Common Approval Workflow Examples
Approval workflows can be used in many departments, including:
- Document approval
- Purchase request approval
- Leave request approval
- Expense reimbursement
- Invoice approval
- HR onboarding requests
- Policy review and approval
- Contract approval
- Asset requests
- IT service requests
These processes all follow a similar pattern: submit, review, approve or reject, notify stakeholders, and record the outcome.
Prerequisites
Before creating an approval workflow, make sure you have:
- A SharePoint Online site
- Microsoft 365 account
- Power Automate access
- A SharePoint List or Document Library
- Permission to edit lists and create flows
For this example, we’ll use a SharePoint List.
Step 1: Create a SharePoint List
First, create a list that will store approval requests.
Example columns:
- Title
- Requested By
- Department
- Description
- Status
- Approver Comments
- Approval Date
Set the Status column to “Pending” by default.
This list will become the source for your workflow.
Step 2: Open Power Automate
Navigate to Power Automate from the Microsoft 365 app launcher or open it directly from your SharePoint list using Automate > Create a Flow.
Choose Automated Cloud Flow.
This type of flow starts automatically whenever a new SharePoint item is created.
Step 3: Choose the Trigger
Select the trigger:
When an item is created
Configure:
- SharePoint Site Address
- List Name
Every time someone submits a new request, the workflow will start automatically.
Step 4: Add an Approval Action
Click New Step.
Search for:
Start and wait for an approval
This is the standard approval action in Power Automate.
Choose the approval type that best fits your process:
- First to Respond
- Everyone Must Approve
- Custom Responses
For most organizations, First to Respond is sufficient.
Fill in:
- Approval Title
- Assigned To
- Details
- Item Link
Dynamic content from SharePoint can automatically populate these fields.
Step 5: Send the Approval Request
Power Automate automatically sends an approval request to the selected approver.
The approver can respond from:
- Outlook
- Microsoft Teams
- Power Automate
- Mobile devices
This flexibility helps speed up approvals, especially for remote teams.
Step 6: Add a Condition
After the approval action, insert a Condition.
Check whether the approval outcome equals Approve.
The workflow now branches into two paths:
- Approved
- Rejected
This allows different actions depending on the decision.
Step 7: Update the SharePoint Item
If approved:
Update the SharePoint item with:
- Status = Approved
- Approval Date
- Approver Comments
If rejected:
Update:
- Status = Rejected
- Comments
- Rejection Date
This ensures every request has an accurate status.
Step 8: Send Email Notifications
Use the Outlook connector to notify the requester.
For approved requests, send a message confirming approval.
For rejected requests, explain the decision and include comments from the approver.
Automatic notifications eliminate the need for manual emails and keep everyone informed.
Step 9: Test the Workflow
Create a new SharePoint request.
Verify that:
- The approval request is sent.
- The approver receives the notification.
- The approval updates correctly.
- Emails are delivered.
- The SharePoint item reflects the final status.
Testing helps identify configuration issues before deploying the workflow to your team.
Best Practices for SharePoint Approval Workflows
To build reliable approval processes, follow these recommendations:
- Keep workflows simple and easy to maintain.
- Use descriptive names for flows and actions.
- Store approval history for auditing.
- Add reminders for overdue approvals.
- Handle exceptions with error notifications.
- Limit unnecessary approval levels.
- Test workflows before production deployment.
- Review permissions regularly.
- Document your workflow for future maintenance.
These practices improve long-term reliability and make troubleshooting easier.
Advanced Approval Workflow Ideas
Once you’re comfortable with basic approvals, you can extend your workflow by adding advanced features such as:
- Multi-level approvals
- Department-based routing
- Conditional approvals based on amount or department
- Parallel approvals
- Escalation after inactivity
- Approval reminders
- PDF generation
- Electronic signatures
- Microsoft Teams notifications
- Integration with Microsoft Forms
- Approval dashboards using Power BI
Power Automate offers hundreds of connectors, making it possible to automate almost any business process.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many beginners encounter similar issues when building approval workflows.
Avoid these common mistakes:
- Using incorrect SharePoint permissions
- Forgetting to update item status
- Hardcoding email addresses
- Ignoring rejected scenarios
- Skipping workflow testing
- Creating overly complex workflows
- Not documenting approval logic
Planning your workflow before building it can save significant time later.
Creating an approval workflow in SharePoint Online is one of the most effective ways to automate business processes and improve collaboration. By combining SharePoint Lists with Microsoft Power Automate, organizations can replace manual approvals with streamlined, transparent, and trackable workflows.
Whether you’re automating document approvals, purchase requests, HR forms, or project approvals, SharePoint provides the flexibility to adapt workflows to your organization’s needs. Start with a simple approval process, test it thoroughly, and expand it over time with advanced features like multi-stage approvals, reminders, and integrations with Microsoft Teams and Outlook.
Automation not only saves time but also improves accountability, reduces errors, and provides a better experience for everyone involved. If your organization already uses Microsoft 365, building approval workflows in SharePoint is a practical step toward more efficient and modern business operations.
