Power Automate Approval Templates to Automate Business Processes

In an organization, I set up a Laptop Agreement process in which employees submit requests for laptops to work from home. These requests are stored in a SharePoint list named “Laptop Agreement.” Each request needs to be reviewed by the Releasing Officer. Once approved, the laptop allocation details must be added to another SharePoint list called Allocated Device.

For this requirement, I am not creating the flow from scratch. Instead, I am using one of the built-in Power Automate approval templates that Microsoft provides.

Based on my scenario, the perfect template is:

When an item is created in a SharePoint list, send approval and create item.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to use Power Automate approval templates to automate your business processes.

Set up a SharePoint List Based on Requirement

For this example, I created two SharePoint lists:

Employee Laptop Agreement: Stores the initial laptop request submitted by the employee, with the columns listed below.

Column Name	Data Types
Title	Single line of text
Employee Name	Person
Position	Single line of text
Department	Choice
Date Released	Date/Time
Laptop	Lookup (from Laptop Details list: Title, Brand, Model Number)
Releasing Officer	Person
Remarks	Multiple lines of text

Allocated Devices: Stores details of approved and assigned laptops, with the columns listed below.

Column Name	Data Types
Title	Single line of text
Allocated To	Person
Item Issued	Choice
Model Number	Single line of text
Allocated Date	Date/Time
Allocated By	Person

Create the Flow Using a Pre-Defined Approval Template

Power Automate makes this process easy with a pre-defined template that already includes the trigger, approval step, and item creation action. Now follow the steps below:

1. Open Power Automate, go to the Templates section, and search for “When an item is created in SharePoint list, send approval and create item.” Select this template to get started.

2. Next, set up the required connections and click Continue to proceed.

3. After clicking Continue, you’ll see the pre-built flow template loaded in Power Automate.

Customize Template Based on the Requirements

1. Provide the required details in the When an item is created action by selecting your SharePoint site address and the SharePoint list name.

2. In the Start an approval action, configure the following:
   • Approval type: Approve/Reject – First to respond
   • Title: Approval Request
   • Assigned to: Enter the Releasing Officer’s email address from the trigger.
   • Details: Add the information you want the approver to review before making a decision.

Hello @{triggerBody()?['ReleasingOfficer/DisplayName']},