Microsoft expert releases three stage SharePoint approval blueprint
Microsoft MVP Laura Rogers has published a blueprint for building a three stage document approval flow using Power Automate and SharePoint. The guide details how to track a document across multiple review stages without relying on premium connectors. The system uses standard Microsoft 365 licensing to route documents and update status fields automatically. It manages the handoffs between different approvers, replacing the manual process of forwarding emails and chasing signatures.
Most automated approvals break the moment a process requires more than one signature. The default Power Automate approval action works for a simple yes or no, but building a sequence for a manager, finance, and legal quickly turns into a maze of nested conditions. When these complex flows break, they offer no useful error messages. This new approach shifts the tracking burden out of the flow and into SharePoint. By using a list to record the document status at each stage, the automation becomes modular and transparent. You can finally see exactly where a document is stuck without digging through a failed run history.
Analysis
Stop trying to trap three different approvals inside one giant fragile automation. Rebuild your current approval process to trigger off a SharePoint status column instead. When a flow inevitably fails at stage two, you will only have to restart that specific step rather than sending the document back to the beginning.
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