Workflow automation
Should we build our approval workflow in Power Automate or get a custom app built?
Last updated
Build in Power Platform when the workflow lives inside Microsoft 365, serves internal staff, follows simple approval rules and runs at moderate volume. Get a custom build when customers or subcontractors need a portal, volumes are high, rules are complex or the workflow must integrate deeply with systems such as Pronto Xi or simPRO. Many multi-site organisations end up with both.
Who this guide is for
Application and systems managers, IT leads, business analysts and operations managers in Australian and New Zealand organisations with several sites or depots, who run Microsoft 365 and need to decide where a workflow should live. Typical examples are purchase approvals, job sign-offs, subcontractor onboarding and requests that cross from SharePoint into an ERP such as Pronto Xi, SAP Business One, Business Central or Oracle NetSuite, or a field service system such as simPRO, AroFlo or Uptick.
Solve8 works with these teams in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and across Australia and New Zealand, in four fixed-fee phases. Discover reviews one workflow at one site, measures a baseline and ends with a written recommendation on Power Platform, custom or hybrid. Prove runs it in shadow mode on live work. Build connects it to your systems with approvals and logs on your infrastructure in Australia. Run is support or a full handover. You can stop after any phase and keep the work.
Power Platform or custom build: how to decide
| Question | Points to Power Platform | Points to a custom build |
|---|---|---|
| Who uses it? | Internal staff signed in with Microsoft 365 accounts | Customers, subcontractors or suppliers outside your organisation |
| How complex are the rules? | A few approval steps, simple conditions, clear owners | Many branches, pricing or compliance logic, exceptions that change by site or contract |
| What volume does it run at? | Tens or hundreds of items a day | Thousands of transactions a day, or bursts at month end and shutdowns |
| Which systems does it touch? | SharePoint, Outlook, Teams, Excel, Dynamics 365, Business Central | Pronto Xi, simPRO, SAP or other systems where you need fine control over the integration |
| Performance and audit needs | Standard run history is enough | Strict response times, full audit trail, retention rules or regulator scrutiny |
| Who will maintain it? | An IT-governed group of citizen developers with a named owner | A development team or partner with source control, testing and release management |
When a custom build fits better
External users need a portal
Customers, subcontractors or suppliers need their own sign-in, a branded experience and control over what each party sees.
High volume or complex rules
Pricing logic and rules that vary by site or contract become hard to test as visual flows. In code they can be version controlled and unit tested.
Deep integration with non-Microsoft systems
Where Pronto Xi or simPRO has no prebuilt connector, or you need retries, queuing and reconciliation, a purpose-built integration service is more reliable than chained connector actions.
Strict performance or audit requirements
If you must prove what happened to every transaction or meet set response times, design logging, retention and monitoring to that requirement.
Licensing and governance to settle before you build
Microsoft states that some Microsoft 365 licences include limited Power Apps and Power Automate rights for Microsoft 365 data and standard connectors. Premium and custom connectors, which most ERP, CRM and database connections need, require a premium entitlement. For Power Automate that is either a Premium licence for each user or a Process licence assigned to the flow, which covers premium connectors whatever licence the triggering user holds. The flow must be in a solution to take a Process licence. Since January 2026 the Power Apps per app plan is no longer sold to new customers through some channels, so check the current Power Platform Licensing Guide before you commit.
Microsoft describes the default environment as meant for experimentation and lightweight development, with no backup guarantees, and says it should not be used for production workloads. Business-critical flows belong in separate development, test and production environments, deployed as solutions.
Data policies sort connectors into Business, Non-business and Blocked groups, and connectors in one group cannot share data with another. A policy can stop a flow copying SharePoint data to a personal email or social account. Set these before citizen developers start, and review them as new connectors appear.
The hybrid pattern most multi-site organisations use
A common pattern keeps the parts staff touch in Power Platform, such as a Power Apps form, a Teams approval card or a Copilot Studio agent, and puts the heavy work in a custom service behind it. That service handles the integration with Pronto Xi, simPRO, SAP or Salesforce, applies the business rules, runs any AI step such as classifying a document, and writes a full audit log.
Power Platform calls the service through one custom connector. Staff keep a familiar Microsoft 365 experience, IT governs one integration point instead of dozens of connector chains, and the complex logic sits in tested, versioned code. Solve8 built AI for a national fire protection provider the same way, connected to existing systems in the client's own cloud in Sydney.
Signs your Power Automate flows need rebuilding
The owner has left
Flows built under one person's account depend on that person. Microsoft recommends service principal ownership for business-critical flows so they keep running when the owner leaves or changes role.
Connections use personal accounts
A password change or departure stops the flow. Production flows should run on service accounts or service principals.
There is no error handling
Without retries, failure branches and alerts, flows fail silently and staff find out when an approval never arrives.
Run failures are routine
If someone resubmits failed runs by hand each week, the flow is doing the wrong job or hitting limits.
Everything lives in the default environment
Flows outside solutions in the default environment cannot be moved cleanly through test and production.
Related work
- Process automationWorkflow automation built on Power Platform, custom code or both.
- Custom software developmentPortals and line-of-business apps for staff, customers and subcontractors.
- Copilot readiness assessmentCheck permissions and governance before Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio rollout.
- Power Automate vs AI agentsWhich steps suit fixed flows and which need judgement.
Sources
Microsoft Learn, Licensing overview for Microsoft Power Platform: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/pricing-billing-skus
Microsoft Learn, Types of Power Automate licenses: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/power-automate-licensing/types
Microsoft Learn, Power Platform environments overview: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/environments-overview
Microsoft Learn, Data policies: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/wp-data-loss-prevention
Microsoft Learn, Manage data policies: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/prevent-data-loss
Microsoft Learn, Support for service principal owned flows: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/service-principal-support
Questions
Are Power Automate templates good enough for an enterprise approval workflow?
They are a good start for a simple approval, but most lack the error handling, retry rules, service account connections and solution packaging production needs. Prototype with a template, then rebuild it inside a solution in a governed environment with a named owner before staff across your sites rely on it.
Our Power Automate flows keep breaking. Should we rebuild them properly?
Usually yes, if the failures come from personal account connections, a departed owner, missing error handling or the default environment. Review three months of run history first. Flows that fail because they carry integration or rule-heavy work are often better rebuilt as a custom service that Power Platform calls.
Does every user need a premium licence if a flow uses a premium connector?
Not necessarily. Microsoft lets you license premium use per user with Power Automate Premium, or per flow with a Process licence assigned to that flow, which covers it regardless of who triggers it. The flow must be in a solution to take a Process licence.
Can subcontractors or customers use an app built in Power Apps?
External access is possible, but each outside user needs an identity your organisation manages and the right licensing, and Power Apps is designed for internal staff. When outside parties submit, track or approve work at any scale, a purpose-built portal, or Power Pages for simpler cases, usually fits better.
Who supports a custom build after go-live?
Either the partner supports it under an agreed arrangement, or your team takes it over with the source code, documentation and training. Solve8 offers both. A custom build in your own environment, with source control and tests, is easier to hand over than a large set of undocumented flows owned by one person.
Related
- Process automationLess retyping, chasing and manual checks.
- Custom softwarePortals, internal apps and modernisation.
- Copilot readinessPermissions and data ready before rollout.
- AI agents for Australian organisations, built inside your systemsAn AI agent is software that reads incoming work, decides within your rules and acts across your systems. A person approves the result.
- How do we connect AI to our CRM and ERP so it can read customer records and update orders safely?How to connect AI to Salesforce, Dynamics 365, Business Central or NetSuite: integration methods, permissions, audit logs, approvals and real-time routing.
Have this problem across your branches?
A 30-minute review with a senior consultant. You leave with a written one-page summary you can share internally.
Fixed-fee phases, agreed before we start. Stop after any phase.