# Set up a sequential approval in Power Automate

> For the full documentation index, see https://250highstreet.com/llms.txt

> Send a request to the manager first, then to finance, and stop at the first rejection. Two ways to build it in Power Automate, with a SharePoint list.

Short answer: a sequential approval sends a request to one person, waits, and only then sends it to the next person. Power Automate gives you two ways to build it. One way is a single approval action set to the "Sequential approval" type. The other way is two approval actions in a row, with a Condition between them that stops the flow when the first person rejects. The second way is easier to control, because each answer has its own branch.

## What "sequential" means here

Microsoft's approvals page lists "Sequential approval" as one of the approval types and describes it this way: "Approvals are requested one at a time, in a specific order. Each approver must respond before the request moves to the next approver in the sequence."

Microsoft's example on its sequential approvals page is an invoice policy: "a company might have a sequential approval policy that requires pre-approval for invoices over \$1000.00 before the Finance department can approve them." This guide uses the same shape with a manager first and finance second. Use whatever two roles fit your team.

## What you need before you start

- A Microsoft 365 account that can sign in to [https://make.powerautomate.com](https://make.powerautomate.com)
- A SharePoint list for the requests. Open [https://www.microsoft365.com](https://www.microsoft365.com) to find your SharePoint site, or use the site address you already have.
- The two approvers. Decide who goes first and who goes second.
- The approvals connector. Microsoft's approvals page says: "Because the approvals connector is a standard connector, any license that grants access to Power Automate and the ability to use standard connectors is sufficient to create approval flows." Check with your admin for what your own account includes.

Microsoft's approvals page also says that if it is the first time you use approvals in your organization, you need "A Microsoft Dataverse database." and "A valid license to create flows." Ask your admin if you are not sure.

## Step 1. Build the request list

Create a SharePoint list with these columns. Use plain names so the flow is easy to read.

1.  Title. This column comes with every new list. Rename it to something like "Request" and keep it filled in. Microsoft's approval tutorial says the Update item action needs these fields: "The Site Address, List Name, Id, and Title fields are required."
2.  Amount (Number).
3.  Requested by (Person).
4.  Status (Choice). Add the choices with number prefixes so they stay in your order: "1 Submitted", "2 Manager approved", "3 Approved", "4 Rejected". Set a default value of "1 Submitted" so a new row never has a blank status. A blank status hides the row from any view that filters on Status.
5.  Decision notes (Multiple lines of text).

Create the Status values exactly as written, with the number and the space. A Condition or filter that looks for "Approved" will not match "3 Approved".

## Step 2. Start the flow

1.  Open [https://make.powerautomate.com](https://make.powerautomate.com) and sign in.
2.  Select My flows, then New flow, then Automated cloud flow. Microsoft's tutorial describes the path as "New flow \> Automated cloud flow". Exact names may differ on your screen.
3.  Name the flow, for example "Two-step approval".
4.  For the trigger, choose "When an item is created - SharePoint". Pick your site address and list name.

Use "created", not "created or modified". This flow will update the same item later. A trigger that fires on every change would start the flow again each time the flow saves. If you ever need that trigger, read "[Power Automate flow keeps running itself over and over](/guides/power-automate-flow-triggers-itself-infinite-loop/)" and add a guard condition first.

## Step 3A. Build it with the Sequential approval type

This is the shorter build. Microsoft's page "Set up sequential approvals" uses these steps:

1.  Add the action "Start and wait for an approval".
2.  Select the "Sequential Approval" type.
3.  Give the approval a title.
4.  In the first Assigned To field, put the first approver. The Microsoft page uses an email token from a "Get manager (V2)" action. You can also type an email address.
5.  Select "Add new item" to add the second step, and put the second approver there.

Microsoft's page states the result: "Now, when the flow runs, it first goes to the level 1 manager. If that person approves it, then it goes to the level 2 manager for approval."

One limit from the same page: "You can't assign the same approver to different steps of your approval." If one person holds both roles, use another approver for one step.

Microsoft's approvals page says that for this type "The actions that follow the Start and wait for an approval action run after all the approvers in the sequence respond." That means one Condition after the action, not one per approver. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: before you rely on this build, send a test request and reject it at the first step, then look at the run history to see what the flow returned and which actions ran. Build your Condition from what you see.

## Step 3B. Build it with two approvals in a row

This is the build that stops at the first rejection, and it matches Microsoft's own tutorial, "Manage sequential approvals with Power Automate". That tutorial adds an approval, adds a Condition, and then adds a second approval only on the yes branch. Its overview says: "If the request is pre-approved, the flow continues with these steps: Sends the request to the final approver."

Do this:

1.  Add "Start and wait for an approval". For the approval type, choose "Approve/Reject - First to respond". Fill in Title and Assigned To with the manager. Add the details a reader needs, such as the request and the amount.
2.  Under it, add a Condition. For the first value, pick the approver response from the dynamic content list. Microsoft's page names it "Responses Approver response". Choose "is equal to". In the other box type Approve.
3.  Microsoft notes: "The valid responses to the Approvals - Start an approval action are "Approve" and "Reject". These responses are case-sensitive." Type Approve with a capital A.
4.  In the yes branch, add SharePoint "Update item". Set Status to "2 Manager approved". Fill in Site Address, List Name, Id and Title.
5.  Still in the yes branch, add a second "Start and wait for an approval" with finance as the approver.
6.  Under that, add a second Condition with the same test, and in its yes branch add "Update item" with Status "3 Approved".
7.  In the no branch of each Condition, add "Update item" with Status "4 Rejected" and put the approver's comments in Decision notes. Microsoft's tutorial uses the "Responses comments" dynamic value for the comments.
8.  Add "Send an email (V2)" to the requester in each branch, so the person who asked always hears the result.
9.  Select Save.

Because finance is only asked inside the yes branch, a manager rejection ends the flow in the no branch. Finance never sees the request.

## Step 4. Test it with a real row

1.  Add a row to the list with a clear Title.
2.  Open the flow's run history. Confirm the first approval started.
3.  Approve as the first person. Confirm the second approval starts and the Status changed to "2 Manager approved".
4.  Run a second test and reject at the first step. Confirm the second approval never starts and Status is "4 Rejected".
5.  Run a third test and reject at the second step.

Microsoft's tutorial says approvers can answer from different places: "You can then approve or reject requests from the email, the approvals center, or the Power Automate app." Test one answer from each place your team will really use.

## Things to avoid

- Do not use a trigger that fires on every change. See Step 2.
- Do not leave Status blank. Set the default value.
- Do not type "approve" in lowercase in a Condition. Microsoft says the responses are case-sensitive.
- Do not give the same person both steps in the Sequential approval type. Microsoft says you cannot.
- Do not leave Title empty. The Update item action needs it.
- Do not assume a slow approver will be reminded. Neither build sends a repeating reminder by itself. See "[Remind an approver who has not answered after two days](/guides/power-automate-approval-reminder-after-2-days/)".
- Do not let one request wait for months. Microsoft's approvals tutorial says: "If your flow might run for more than 30 days, store your approvals in Microsoft Dataverse." See "[Power Automate approval fails after 30 days waiting](/guides/power-automate-approval-timeout-30-days/)".

## Honest limits

A flow does not decide who should approve. It follows the order you give it. If the manager is out, the request waits. Plan for that with "[Approvals stuck when the approver is out](/guides/approval-stuck-approver-out/)". If you need a record of who said yes and when, the SharePoint list helps, and "[Keep an audit trail of every approval](/guides/approval-audit-trail/)" covers the columns. For the wider problem of sign-offs that live in inboxes, see "[Approvals lost in email: how to stop chasing sign-offs](/guides/approvals-lost-in-email/)".

Start with one process and two approvers. Add a third step only after the two-step version runs cleanly for your team.

## When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: \$5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "[What a SharePoint tracker costs to build](/guides/what-a-sharepoint-tracker-costs/)". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: [Tools I built](/portfolio/)

## FAQ

### What is the difference between sequential and parallel approval?

In a sequential approval the request goes to one person at a time, in order. In a parallel approval it goes to several people at once. Microsoft's approvals page describes the Sequential approval type as: "Approvals are requested one at a time, in a specific order."

### Can I add a third approver?

In the Sequential approval type you select "Add new item" for each step. In the two-approvals-in-a-row build you repeat the pattern: approval, Condition, then the next approval in the yes branch. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: keep it to two or three steps, because every added step adds waiting time.

### Does the flow stop if the first person rejects?

In the two-approvals-in-a-row build, yes. The second approval sits inside the yes branch of the first Condition, so a rejection goes to the no branch and finance is never asked. For the Sequential approval type, run a test rejection and read the run history before you rely on it.

### Can the same person approve both steps?

Not in the Sequential approval type. Microsoft's page says: "You can't assign the same approver to different steps of your approval." Use the two-approvals-in-a-row build or name a different person for one step.

### Do approvers need a Power Automate license to answer?

Microsoft's approvals page says a user can respond "from an Outlook email, a Microsoft Teams adaptive card, or the Power Automate action center if they have a Power Automate license or an Office 365 or a Dynamics 365 license with built-in Power Automate capabilities." Check with your admin for your own accounts.

## Sources

- [Microsoft Learn, Get started with Power Automate approvals](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/get-started-approvals)
- [Microsoft Learn, Set up sequential approvals](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/set-up-sequential-approvals)
- [Microsoft Learn, Manage sequential approvals with Power Automate](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/sequential-modern-approvals)
- [Microsoft Learn, Create and test an approval workflow with Power Automate](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/modern-approvals)

## Related guides

- [Expense approval with a SharePoint list](/guides/expense-approval-sharepoint/)
- [Document approval in SharePoint: built-in approval or a flow?](/guides/document-approval-sharepoint/)
- [Overtime request form with approval in SharePoint](/guides/overtime-request-form-sharepoint/)
- [Get a person's manager in Power Automate](/guides/power-automate-get-manager/)
- [Split text into parts in Power Automate](/guides/power-automate-split-string/)

Source: https://250highstreet.com/guides/power-automate-sequential-approval/