Power Automate approvals that don't stall

Approval flows are the most common thing people build in Power Automate, and the most common thing to go quietly wrong. The flow works in testing, then in real life requests sit unanswered for days.

1. Always set a timeout

By default an approval waits for 30 days. Set a timeout on the action (for example P2D) and handle the timeout branch explicitly, so the request is either escalated or sent back to the requester.

2. Send reminders, not just requests

Use a parallel branch with a Delay until action that nudges the approver in Teams after a day. People answer messages they see in the tool they already have open.

3. Make the approver's decision easy

Put everything needed to decide in the approval card: who asked, how much, why, and a link to the record. Every extra click costs you response time.

4. Plan for the approver being away

Store a delegate for each approver in a list, and route to the delegate when the approver's out-of-office is set. A flow that cannot handle holidays will eventually block someone.

Takeaway

A good approval flow is mostly about what happens when nothing happens. Design the silence first.