A purchase request lands in a WhatsApp group. The manager replies “OK”, Finance asks which quotation was approved, and two weeks later nobody can find the final attachment. The problem is not that the team lacks effort. The decision simply has no consistent route or record.
If your company already uses Microsoft 365, you can replace that trail of messages with a small approval workflow built from Microsoft Forms, Power Automate, Teams and, optionally, a SharePoint list. It is useful for laptop purchases, software subscriptions, overtime, discounts and other repeatable requests. The aim is not to automate every exception. It is to make the normal path clear and auditable.
What you need before building
The person building the flow needs an organisational Microsoft account, access to Power Automate and permission to use the relevant Form, Team and SharePoint site. Microsoft documents that the Forms connector works only with organisational accounts. If the form belongs to a Microsoft 365 group and does not appear in the Power Automate selector, its Form ID can be entered manually. [1]
For this design, Microsoft currently lists Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and Standard approvals as Standard-tier connectors. [2] Microsoft 365 plans can provide “seeded” Power Automate rights, but entitlements and organisational policies vary. Check the actual user licence and environment before production. If you later add a Premium connector or premium capability, a separate Power Automate licence may be required. Microsoft 365 Copilot is not required to build the workflow manually.
Decide three things first: who may submit, who approves each spending range, and where the decision record will live. Do not start building until the process owner can answer those questions.
1. Create a short request form
In Microsoft Forms, create fields for requester, department, item or service, supplier, amount in RM, business reason, required date and supporting quotation. Keep the questions specific. “Explain why this purchase is needed” produces a better decision than a generic comments box.
Restrict responses to the appropriate audience. For attachments, confirm who can access uploaded files and avoid unnecessary personal information.
2. Capture each response in Power Automate
Create an Automated cloud flow. Choose the Microsoft Forms trigger When a new response is submitted, then select the form. Add Get response details and map the Response ID from the trigger. Microsoft’s current guide uses this two-step pattern because the trigger identifies the submission while the second action retrieves the answers. [1][3]
Next, create an item in a SharePoint list. Useful columns include Request ID, requester, amount, approver, submitted time, status, decision time and approver comments. This list is your operating register; it is much easier to review than opening individual flow runs.
3. Send the approval and wait for the decision
Add the Approvals action Start and wait for an approval. Use a clear title such as “Purchase approval — RM8,500 — Operations laptop”. Put the supplier, amount, business reason and a controlled link to the quotation in the details. Assign the request to the correct approver’s organisational email address.
This action creates and sends the approval, then pauses the flow until the approval criteria are met or the action times out. The completed output includes the response and comments, which later steps can use. Microsoft distinguishes this from Create an approval, which sends the request but continues the flow unless a separate wait action is added. [4]
4. Route the outcome
Add a Condition based on the approval outcome. In the approved branch, update the SharePoint record to Approved, record the responder and comments, and notify Finance. In the rejected branch, set the status to Rejected and send the requester the comments so the request can be corrected or closed.
You may post a short status message to a private Teams channel, but do not copy the full quotation or confidential commercial terms into a broad channel. A link does not grant permission by itself; the recipient still needs access to the underlying file.
Hypothetical example: An operations executive submits an RM8,500 laptop request with two quotations. The flow records it as PR-2026-041, sends it to the department head, and waits. After approval, the register is updated and Finance receives the approved amount, supplier and link. The Teams post contains only the request ID, status and owner. This is an illustrative workflow, not an AXO client case.
5. Test the process like a business system
Run at least three tests: a valid approval, a rejection with comments, and an incomplete request. Confirm that the approver can open the supporting document, that the correct SharePoint row is updated, and that notifications do not expose unnecessary data. Also test what happens when the amount should go to a different approver.
Review the flow’s run history after testing. If a data loss prevention policy blocks a connector, the Power Platform administrator must address the policy; makers cannot simply bypass it. Microsoft describes DLP policies as the control that determines which connectors may access and share organisational data. [5]
Do not leave ownership with one employee
The creator becomes the initial flow owner, and the owner’s licence and connections can affect operation. Add an appropriate co-owner, document the connections, and decide which managed account will support the flow. Microsoft warns that when an owner leaves, actions using that person’s connections may fail even if another owner remains. [6]
Start with one request type and measure whether staff use it, how long decisions take, and how many requests are returned for missing information. Once that route works reliably, reuse the pattern for another process. A modest workflow that the company actually follows is more valuable than a large automation nobody trusts.
For help designing and governing practical Microsoft 365 automation for your business, contact AXO Technologies.
Sources
[1] Microsoft Learn, Microsoft Forms connector; checked 6 October 2026: Microsoft Forms connector.
[2] Microsoft Learn, updated 10 July 2026; checked 6 October 2026: List of Standard-tier connectors.
[3] Microsoft Learn, updated 21 September 2026; checked 6 October 2026: Common ways to use a form in a flow.
[4] Microsoft Learn, approval workflow guide updated 19 August 2026, plus approval-action comparison; checked 6 October 2026: Create and test an approval workflow and Differences between approval actions.
[5] Microsoft Learn; checked 6 October 2026: Data loss prevention policy creation.
[6] Microsoft Learn; checked 6 October 2026: Share a cloud flow and Change the owner of a cloud flow.
