Efficient Expense Approval with SharePoint & Power Automate
Power Automate
Oct 15, 2023 10:33 AM

Efficient Expense Approval with SharePoint & Power Automate

by HubSite 365 about Softchief Learn

Learn how to take advantage of your business data with Microsoft Dynamics 365 & Power Platform & Cross Technologies. My name is Sanjaya Prakash Pradhan and I am a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) and

Citizen DeveloperPower AutomateLearning Selection

Master Dynamics 365 CRM with our tutorial on SharePoint & Power Automate for efficient business expense approvals.

Our latest video is an in-depth tutorial on Expense Approval Business Scenario utilizing technology tools such as SharePoint, Power Automate, Variables, and Approvals. The main focus is the Customer Engagement CRM in Dynamics 365.Power Automate plays a vital role in managing approvals across platforms such as SharePoint, Dynamics 365, Salesforce, OneDrive for Business, and others.

The tutorial guides viewers on creating an approval workflow with the 'Approvals - Start and wait for an approval' action. This process enables document approvals and manages different processes. For instance, it can be utilised for vacation requests and overtime approval.

Approval requests can be responded to via email, the approvals center, or the dedicated Microsoft automation tool app. This, of course, depends on the appover's preffered platform.

The tutorial provides an extensive walkthrough on creating an approval flow. The flow commences when a vacation request is made on a SharePoint Online list. The request is then added to the approval center and subsequently, emailed to the approver. An email with the approver's decision is finally sent to the vacation requester, and the SharePoint Online list is updated with the approver's decision and comments.

Creating an approval flow

For a successful creation of an approval flow, it’s necessary to have access to Power Automate, a SharePoint Online list, and an Office 365 Outlook and Office 365 Users account. The video tutorial covers the step-by-step process of setting up the flow, from creating an automated cloud flow, adding triggers, and implementing actions to sending emails and updating actions for both approved and rejected requests.

It’s important to note that the tutorial not only focuses on approvals, but also covers various scenarios like long-running approvals, request approvals from guest users, cancelling an approval request, managing pending approval requests, creating sequential and parallel approval flows, and possible issues and solutions.

  • The video recommends making use of Microsoft Dataverse for storing approvals if the flow is likely to run for more than 30 days.
  • If you need to send approval requests to external personnel, Azure Active Directory guest users could be utilized to facilitate this process.
  • For individuals who need to cancel approval requests due to errors or irrelevancy, the process is straightforward and can be executed within a few steps.

Finally, the tutorial recommends sharing the knowledge of how to use the flow with others as it could greatly improve operational efficiency in managing and controlling various document and process approvals.

Power Automate - Efficient Expense Approval with SharePoint & Power Automate

Learn about Expense Approval Business with SharePoint, Power Automate, Variables, Approvals

The video delves into vital elements of managing business operations such as expense approvals. Primarily, it's emphasis pivots around SharePoint, process automation tools, variables, and approvals, covering Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement CRM. The intricacies of these different aspects are explained in detail, rendering viewers an understanding of how they tie together in a typical business scenario.

To delve deeper into the subject, one could explore training courses and certifications around Microsoft SharePoint and associated power tools. Microsoft offers courses like Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals and Microsoft 365 Certified: Teamwork Administrator Associate, among others. These are instrumental in understanding how different tools and services, including SharePoint, can be leveraged to automate workflows and handle document or process approvals. Taking one or more of these courses will help you become adept at creating approval workflows and managing approvals across different services.

An approval system is at the heart of the Power Automate tool. It is an innovative mechanism that facilitates seamless document or process approval across a myriad of services like SharePoint, Salesforce, and OneDrive for Business. With Power Automate, establishing a systematic approval workflow is more straightforward than ever. The "Approvals - Start and wait for an approval" action is a key highlight that allows a flow to manage approvals effectively, whether it is for document approvals, like invoices and work orders, or process approvals, like vacation requests.

The video also explains how the administrators or approvers can respond to requests through different interfaces like their email inbox, the process automation app, or the approvals center in the automation tool. This grants flexibility and efficiency in communicating decisions promptly. An example of a flow that starts when someone creates a vacation request in a SharePoint Online list and ends with the approvers' decision comments updated in the SharePoint Online list is provided, offering practical insight into the workflow creation.

In talking about prerequisites, the video suggests having access to SharePoint Online list and Office 365 accounts. It also notes that the SharePoint 2010 workflow is retiring. As a result, there's a need to ensure you're up-to-date with the newer versions of SharePoint. Regardless, the principles and processes can be adapted to other services like Salesforce or Gmail.

 

Indispensable to designing the flow is creating a SharePoint Online list for vacation requests used for approval. The right columns, correct types, and a keen eye on the SharePoint Online list's name & URL are vital. Once defined, you can proceed to create the flow with automation tools. Furthermore, factors such as triggers, profile actions, and approval actions need to be defined and set up.

 

This workflow once set up, is quite handy and efficient in processing vacation requests. Should the request be approved or rejected, corresponding steps such as sending an email and updating the SharePoint list are automated, making the entire process hassle-free. Lastly, the support to cancel approval requests or send approval requests to guest users can prove to be handy in a myriad of scenarios.

 

 
 

Integrating Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement CRM with SharePoint and the automation tool makes managing expense approvals a breeze. Learning these tips and techniques will undoubtedly help improve business processes and efficiency.

 

Further resources, lessons, and step-by-step guides can potentially enrich your understanding and skillset for automating such workflows, making the operations seamless and enhancing productivity effectively. The references provided in the script could be helpful apart from also keeping an eye on new features or updates in Power Automate and associated tools regularly.

 

More links on about Expense Approval Business with SharePoint, Power Automate, Variables, Approvals

Keywords

Expense Approval Business, SharePoint, Power Automate, Variables, Approvals, Business Process Automation, SharePoint Workflow, Expense Management, Automating Expenses, Power Automate Approvals.