How to Automate Approval Workflows in SharePoint
An approval workflow is a structured process that routes documents, requests, or decisions to the right people in the right order, automatically. In SharePoint, approval workflows eliminate the manual chasing, email bottlenecks, and missed sign-offs that slow engineering projects down.
If your engineering or construction firm runs on SharePoint, you already have everything you need to automate approvals. No new software. No new licences. No lengthy onboarding.
According to an internal research at LAI Solutions, the average engineer spends 17 hours a week on project admin, and a significant portion of that time is tied up in approval bottlenecks. Documents sitting in inboxes waiting for sign-off. Requests that go to the wrong person. Multi-level approvals that rely on someone remembering to chase.
Approval workflow automation inside SharePoint fixes this at the source.
Why Engineering Approvals Get Stuck (and What It Costs)
In most engineering firms, the approval process looks something like this: a document is finished, emailed to a manager, sits in their inbox for two days, gets forwarded to someone else, comes back with comments, and starts again. Each cycle adds days. On a complex project, this happens dozens of times.
The problem is not that people are slow, it is that there is no system. Approvals depend on individuals remembering to act, knowing who to route to, and having visibility into where a request currently sits.
The cost is real. Delayed approvals push project timelines. They create version control issues when work continues before sign-off is received. They generate re-work when approvals come back with changes after the next stage has already started.
How SharePoint Approval Workflows Actually Work
SharePoint approval workflows use the platform you already run to route requests automatically. When a document is submitted or a status changes, the workflow triggers, notifying the right approver, setting a deadline, and escalating if no response is received within a defined window.
The approver receives a notification (email or Teams message), reviews the document directly in SharePoint, and approves or rejects with a single action. The outcome is logged, the submitter is notified, and the document moves to the next stage automatically.
No email chains. No manual follow-up. A complete audit trail of who approved what and when.
This works because SharePoint and the connected Microsoft 365 environment already contain the document library, the user accounts, the permissions structure, and the notification infrastructure. The workflow layer sits on top of what exists, it does not replace it.
Single Approver vs Multi-Level Approval Workflows
The right workflow structure depends on your approval requirements.
A single approver workflow routes a document to one person. When they approve, the process is complete. This is suited to routine documents, timesheets, material requests, standard variations, where one sign-off is sufficient.
A multi-level approval workflow routes the same document through a sequence of approvers. Stage one approves and passes to stage two. Stage two can approve, reject, or request changes. Each stage is tracked. The final outcome reflects every decision in the chain.
SharePoint supports both patterns natively, including parallel approvals (where multiple approvers act simultaneously and a majority or unanimous decision determines the outcome) and conditional routing (where the next approver depends on the outcome of the previous stage).
For engineering firms dealing with document control, purchase orders, or contract variations, multi-level and conditional routing are typically where the real efficiency gains sit.
How LAI Built SMS Group’s Approval Workflow (75% Time Reduction)
LAI Solutions client case study: SMS Group achieved a 75% reduction in approval time after implementing a structured approval workflow inside their existing SharePoint environment.
SMS Group was dealing with a familiar problem: approval cycles that stretched across days when they should have taken hours. Documents were routed manually. Stakeholders were chased by email. There was no single view of what was waiting, what had been approved, or what was overdue.
LAI built an approval workflow inside SMS Group’s existing SharePoint setup. No new software was introduced. The workflow mapped directly to their existing approval hierarchy, routed documents automatically, set escalation triggers for unresolved approvals, and gave project managers a real-time dashboard of outstanding items.
The result was a 75% reduction in approval cycle time, from an average of several days per approval to under one working day. The firm’s project engineers recovered hours each week that had previously gone to chasing sign-offs.
Setting Up Your First Approval Workflow: Where to Start
The most common mistake firms make when setting up approval workflows is trying to automate everything at once. The better approach is to start with one high-frequency, high-pain approval type, the one that generates the most chasing and delays, and build from there.
Identify the approval type that is costing the most time. Map the current process on paper: who submits, who approves, in what order, what happens when someone is unavailable. That map becomes your workflow design.
Build the first workflow inside your existing SharePoint document library. Test it with a small team. Refine based on the first month of use. Then replicate the pattern across other approval types once the first is stable.
LAI’s typical engagement starts with a half-day process mapping session, a workflow build, and a two-week test phase. Most clients are live within three to four weeks.
Common Mistakes Engineering Firms Make With Approval Automation
Building the workflow before mapping the process. If the approval logic is unclear on paper, it will be unclear in SharePoint. Spend time on process design before touching the platform.
Over-engineering the first version. Start with the simplest version of the workflow that solves the core problem. Add complexity, escalations, parallel approvals, conditional routing, in later iterations once the basic workflow is embedded.
Ignoring the notification design. An approval workflow is only as good as its notifications. Approvers need to receive a clear, actionable notification that takes them directly to the document. Vague or generic notifications get ignored.
Failing to account for cover arrangements. Every approval workflow needs a delegation or reassignment mechanism for when approvers are on leave. Without it, the workflow becomes a bottleneck the moment someone is unavailable.
See how LAI automates approval workflows for engineering firms,
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set up approval workflows in SharePoint?
Start by mapping your approval process: who submits, who approves, in what order. Then build the workflow inside your SharePoint document library using the connected workflow tools in your Microsoft 365 environment. LAI recommends starting with a single high-frequency approval type, testing it with a small group, and expanding from there. Most firms are live within three to four weeks.
Can you have multiple approvers in SharePoint?
Yes. SharePoint supports sequential approvals (approvers act one after another), parallel approvals (all approvers act simultaneously), and conditional routing (the next approver depends on the outcome of the previous stage). The right structure depends on your approval requirements and the type of documents being routed.
What is a Power Automate approval workflow?
Power Automate is part of the Microsoft 365 suite. It allows firms to build approval logic that connects SharePoint documents with approver notifications, Teams messages, and automated follow-ups, all inside the same environment they already use. LAI uses this as part of its approval workflow delivery for engineering and construction clients.
Do I need to buy new software to automate approvals in SharePoint?
No. If your firm already uses SharePoint and Microsoft 365, the tools required to automate approval workflows are already part of your existing licence. LAI builds on what you have, no new software purchases, no new platforms to manage.