A client reached out recently with a problem that might sound familiar. Their inbox was overflowing. Approvals were stalled. Invoices were getting lost. The IT manager said it straight:
“We’re drowning in busy work. We need automation, but we can’t spend months figuring it out.”
They already had Microsoft 365. They just weren’t using the tools that came with it.
So we helped them set up a few simple solutions using Power Automate and Power Apps.
Within 30 days:
- Hours of manual work were eliminated
- Approvals sped up
- Reports were automated
- And their team? They were finally able to focus on the work that mattered
That’s the power of starting small with Microsoft Power Platform.
This post breaks down the top 8 Power Automate and Power Apps quick wins you can implement today, the pain points they solve, plus where to begin, and how to get started.
Why Power Platform? Why Now?
If your teams are still bouncing between spreadsheets, emails, and manual tasks, you’re not alone. But you’re also not stuck.
- 62% of workers say they waste time switching between tools (Microsoft Work Trend Index)
- Businesses lose up to $13,000 per employee per year due to inefficient processes (IDC)
- 45% of all work tasks could be automated using existing tech (Forbes Article)
Microsoft Power Platform helps you start where the pain is loudest – manual, repetitive tasks – and build automation that scales. You don’t need a dev team. You just need a starting point.
5 Key Questions to Identify Automation Opportunities
If you’re unsure where to start with automation because you’re so used to your daily routine, ask yourself these 5 key questions to identify areas that could benefit from automation:
1. What repetitive tasks do I do every day?
Consider routine actions like managing emails, updating spreadsheets, or processing forms that could be automated.
2. Where do I experience bottlenecks or delays?
Look for areas where workflows slow down, such as approval processes, data entry, or team communication gaps.
3. What takes up most of my time but doesn’t require much thought?
Tasks that are time-consuming but simple are ideal candidates for automation, freeing time for more valuable activities.
4. What would make my job easier or help me focus on higher-priority tasks?
Identify tasks that, if automated, would allow you to focus on more strategic work or higher-value tasks.
5. Are there any tasks that cause frustration or errors?
If you’re frequently fixing mistakes or dealing with missing information, automation can help reduce errors and improve efficiency.
These are common challenges we’ve encountered when working with clients, and automation, especially through the Power Platform, can provide a solution to address these pain points and make a significant difference.
Alright, let’s jump into 8 easy wins you can start with today!
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8 Quick Wins with Power Automate
Automate the stuff you hate. Start small. See results fast.
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8 Quick Wins with Power Apps
Build What You Need Faster
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1. Email Notifications That Make Sense |
1. Onboarding App New hires get a checklist, submit documents, and complete tasks without chasing HR. It’s a smoother first week for everyone. |
| 2. Document Approval Flows No more “Who’s next to approve this?” With Power Automate, multi-stage approvals for HR, finance, or legal just… flow |
2. Incident Reporting App Whether it’s a leaky pipe or a phishing email, employees can report it in seconds from their mobile phones. The right team is notified instantly. |
| 3. Data Sync That Actually Syncs Your SharePoint list, Dataverse table, and Dynamics data can talk to each other. Say goodbye to the most dreaded task – manual entry is now a thing of the past. |
3. Expense Tracker Employees submit claims on the go. Managers approve with a tap. Finance gets the audit trails. |
| 4. Auto-Saving Attachments Set up a flow that automatically captures email attachments like invoices and contracts, storing them in the correct SharePoint folder. The finance and operations teams will appreciate it, eliminating missed attachments and preventing delays or follow-up issues. |
4. Feedback App Customers leave feedback. The app scores it and sends issues to the right team. No more waiting for quarterly reviews to spot a problem. |
| 5. Scheduled Reports No more pulling reports at 7 AM. Power BI dashboards and Excel summaries are now sent automatically every Monday. Everyone starts the week aligned. |
5. Inventory Management Mobile access to stock levels and product locations. Great for warehouse teams who don’t want to lug around clipboards. |
| 6. Reminders and Escalations Deadlines don’t have to sneak up on anyone. Send reminders before tasks are due. Escalate if the deadlines are missed. It’s like a virtual project manager who never sleeps. |
6. Room Booking Made Simple See what’s available. Book rooms. Request tech or coffee. Simplify the small stuff. |
| 7. Service Desk Ticketing Set up to monitor an inbox and create IT tickets instantly. Tickets are tagged, categorized, and sent to the right person without anyone lifting a finger. |
7. Directory at Your Fingertips Search by name, skill, or department. Find who you need in seconds. |
| 8. Data Cleanup on Autopilot Old records are archived. Formatting inconsistencies in the data are fixed. And nobody even has to remember to do it. One less labour-intensive and low-value process eliminated. |
8. Field Inspection App Inspectors upload photos, log GPS, check off tasks, and file reports all from their mobile devices. No more paperwork. |
Download the Quick Wins Infographic
📌 Keep this close and pin it to your desk. Our Power Platform Quick Wins infographic is a visual cheat sheet of all 16 wins – perfect for sparking ideas and knowing where to begin.
Still Not Sure What to Automate First?
If you’re buried in spreadsheets, chasing approvals, or tracking down paper forms, Power Platform can help you clear the clutter. You may already own Power Platform via Microsoft 365 licensing. If so, start small. Build fast. Scale later.
We’ll help you identify the best starting point – and show you what’s possible – in under 45 minutes.
P.S. Try It Yourself: Step-by-Step Automation Examples
P.S. Try It Yourself: Step-by-Step Automation Examples- Step-by-Step Flow Setup for Email Notifications with SharePoint
- Step-by-Step Flow Setup for Automate Ticket Assignment with Error Handling
Scenario: You want to send an email notification to a manager when a new item is added to a SharePoint list, but only if the item’s priority is marked as “High.” If the email fails, log the error in a separate SharePoint list for tracking.
Step 1: Create the Flow
- Trigger: When an item is created
- Site Address: Select the SharePoint site where the list resides.
- List Name: Select the relevant list for incoming requests.
Step 2: Add a Condition Control
- Condition: If Status = “Urgent”
- Left Value: Status
- Condition Operator: is equal to
- Right Value: “Urgent”
- Yes Branch:
- Add a Send an Email action:
- To: Specify the team’s email address (e.g., IT Support)
- Subject: “Urgent Request Received – [Title]”
- Body: Include details from the SharePoint list fields:
- Request ID: ID
- Description: Description
- Requester Name: Created By
- No Branch:
- Add a Post Message in Teams action:
- Team Name: Select the appropriate team channel.
- Message: “A new non-urgent request has been submitted: [Title]”
Step 3: Implement Error Handling
- Add a Scope Control to group the main actions for processing the condition and sending notifications.
- Inside the Error Handling Scope:
- Add a Send Email action:
- To: Admin email address for failure alerts.
- Subject: “Error in Flow Execution – Request: [Title]”
- Body: Include workflow() expression to capture the error details.
- Add a Create Item action to log the error in a SharePoint error log:
- Site Address: Select the SharePoint site where the error log resides.
- List Name: Select the relevant error log list.
- Title: “Error in Request Processing”
- Details: Add the workflow() expression to provide error specifics.
- Configure the Error Handling Scope’s Run After settings to trigger only on Failure, Timeout, or Skipped conditions.
Step 4: Test the Flow
- Add sample SharePoint requests marked “Urgent” and “Normal” to verify that:
- Urgent requests trigger email notifications.
- Non-urgent requests post a Teams message instead.
- Error notifications are sent if the flow fails.
Scenario: Automatically assign incoming IT support tickets to the appropriate team based on the ticket category (e.g., Hardware, Software, Network). If the assignment fails due to missing data, permissions issues, or system errors, the error is logged in a separate list for follow-up and resolution.
Step 1: Create the Flow
- Trigger: When an item is created
- Site Address: Select the SharePoint site where the list resides.
- List Name: Select the IT support requests list.
Step 2: Initialize Variables
- Add an Initialize Variable action to capture the ticket category:
- Name: varCategory
- Type: String
- Value: Category
Step 3: Add a Switch Control
- On: varCategory
- Case 1: “Network” → Assign to Network Team.
- Case 2: “Hardware” → Assign to Hardware Team.
- Case 3: “Software” → Assign to Software Team.
- Default Case: Notify the admin team for unmatched categories.
Step 4: Add an Apply to Each Control
- Select an output from previous steps: Attachments
- Inside the loop, add a Create File action to save attachments to SharePoint:
- Site Address: Select SharePoint site.
- Folder Path: /IT Support/Attachments/
- File Name: Name
- File Content: Content
Step 5: Implement Error Handling
- Add a Scope Control for the main actions.
- Add a Scope Control for error handling with these actions:
- Send an Email: Admin email address for failure alerts.
- Create Item: Log error details in the SharePoint error log.
- Configure Run After settings for the error scope to trigger on Failure, Timeout, or Skipped conditions.
Step 6: Test the Flow
- Add sample SharePoint requests to verify:
- Correct teams are assigned.
- Attachments are saved properly.
- Error notifications are sent when necessary.
