Want to supercharge your Power Apps by setting up multi-stage approvals? You’re in the right place. In this post, we’re going to break down how to build an approval process that’s not just simple, but also powerful, using Power Automate’s new designer. Spoiler alert: We’re saving time by using Copilot to set things up quickly.

By the end of this guide, you’ll have an efficient multi-step approval framework with a killer workflow that you can use right inside your Power Apps. Let’s get started.

Why Use Multi-Stage Approvals?

Approval processes can get complicated fast. Think about it—one submission might need to go through HR, legal, and upper management before getting a final stamp of approval. Managing all of that manually? No thanks.

With multi-stage approvals, Power Automate can handle that complexity for you. Whether it’s HR approvals, committee reviews, or handoffs between departments, this setup can handle it all.

Getting Started with Multi-Stage Approvals

Before we jump into the build, let’s make something clear: for any approval flow, you need precision. The key here is setting expectations for how each step should behave. For example, are approvals sequential, or do you just need the first person to approve? Think through these factors before you get started.

Step 1: Automate the Basics Using Copilot

We’re starting things simple by letting Copilot handle the bones of the flow. Yes, AI is making this easy for us! In your Power Automate environment, type in your workflow as a prompt. For example:

Prompt: “When a new item is created in a SharePoint List, send an acknowledgment email to the author, then start and wait for a two-stage approval process.”

Within seconds, the basic framework is generated for you. The structure will include:

• An email step for the acknowledgment.
• Two approval stages, such as HR review and oversight committee approval, each with their own actions.

Step 2: Setting Up Acknowledgments

People need confidence that their submission was actually received. That’s why we’re starting with an email acknowledgment to the submitter. Copilot will even pre-fill the “to” field with the right email address of the author of the initial submission.

Here’s what you’ll need in this step:

• Recipient: The author of the SharePoint list item (dynamic field: CreatedBy).
• A simple message acknowledging the submission, with a link to the item if necessary.
  • Pro Tip: You can personalize this email by adding the author’s name dynamically. Just click on “Add dynamic content” and select CreatedBy.DisplayName.

This small touch goes a long way in making your app feel polished and user-friendly.

Step 3: Creating a Two-Stage Approval Flow

With an acknowledgment out of the way, next comes multi-stage approvals. In this example, we’re setting up two steps:

1. HR Approval
2. Oversight Committee Approval

This sequence ensures that someone from HR has already given the green light before it moves up to the committee.
Now, you have two options when it comes to how your approval operates:

• Sequential Approval: Each approver signs off in a specific order.
• First-to-Respond: The first person to review can approve or reject, without waiting for others in the loop.

For our case, we’ll use First-to-Respond Approval since multiple people in HR or the committee could handle the request.

How to Set It Up

Once Copilot has built the basic approval flow, select “First to respond” in the approval settings. We then assign the approval to the proper people or groups, such as your HR team for Stage 1 and the oversight committee for Stage 2.

Make sure to include a title for your approval request, similar to the subject of your acknowledgment email. This helps make communication consistent across the workflow.

"Your submission requires approval: {Link to item} (Submitted by {CreatedBy.DisplayName})"

Step 4: Capturing and Storing Approval Data

Once an item is approved (or rejected), we need to store the approval details back into the system. These details could include:

• Whether the item was approved or rejected
• Who approved/rejected the item
• Date and time of the decision
• Any comments provided

To do this, you’ll need to create variables to capture the approval data:

• HR comments
• Oversight committee comments

Initialize these variables early in the flow, then set their values based on whether or not the approval goes through.

Tip: If an approval is rejected, it’s good practice to send another email notifying the author that the submission didn’t pass.

Now, use the Set Variable action to store the approver’s name, decision, and any comments.

Step 5: Handling Conditional Logic in Your Flow

The next step in the flow is determining what happens based on the approval result.

You’ll add a condition that checks the outcome of the approval. If the result is anything except “Reject,” you’re good to proceed with the next step. Otherwise, send a rejection email to the user.

Condition: If Outcome does not contain "Reject", continue.

For rejected items, craft an email that includes the rejection reason. Again, dynamic content is key here so the user knows what went wrong and can make any necessary changes.

Step 6: Updating Status and Moving to the Next Stage

If HR approves the item, you’ll want to update the status in SharePoint (or wherever you’re tracking the process) to something like “Pending Oversight Review.”

Be sure to:

• Keep the SharePoint item updated with the latest status.
• Include any comments from the HR approval process.

Once the first stage is approved, the workflow moves to Stage 2: Oversight Committee Review. The flow works in much the same way as HR approval but with a different group of people.

If the committee approves, update the status to “Approved,” and optionally inform the submitter.

Step 7: Troubleshooting and Best Practices

Getting errors during setup is fairly common, especially with Copilot still in its development stages. One frequent issue is with email fields not being correctly populated. If this happens, simply double-check your dynamic content fields and ensure the correct email properties (such as CreatedBy.Email) are being used.

Also, always rename your flows logically! Descriptive names go a long way in keeping things organized, especially as workflows get more complex.

Wrapping It Up

By building a multi-stage approval process with Power Automate and Copilot, you can streamline complex workflows and boost organizational efficiency. With a setup that allows for multi-step approvals, conditional logic, and detailed feedback loops, you’ll save time for everyone involved—submitters and approvers alike.

Got stuck somewhere or need more info? Feel free to drop a comment. Keep experimenting with your Power Apps; the potential is endless!

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