🚀 Why GoApprove?

• Built for Microsoft Teams – Work where your team already collaborates; no extra logins or app switching required.

• Fast to set up – Drag‑and‑drop tools and ready‑made templates get approvals running quickly.

• Flexible approval logic – Support sequential, parallel, multi‑level, majority, quorum‑based, and conditional approvals.

• Smart validation – Reduce errors by catching incomplete or incorrect submissions before they’re sent.

• Full visibility & audit trails – Track status, decisions, and outcomes with complete history.

• Excel & Power BI integration – Export and analyse approval data in familiar tools.

🔧 Key Features at a Glance

• Native Teams experience – Design, submit, track, and complete approvals from within Teams.

• Drag‑and‑drop approval builder – Create approvals visually without coding.

• Dynamic approver assignment – Define rules to automatically route approvals based on request criteria.

• Advanced decision patterns – Handle complex business logic like veto powers and quorum‑based rules.

• Excel‑style formulas & reporting – Use familiar functions to shape data and build dashboards.

• Audit‑ready transparency – Every action is logged for compliance and governance.

📥 Get Started Easily

• GoApprove is now available on Microsoft AppSource – add it directly into Teams.

• No extra platforms to manage; install and configure approvals right where your team works.

• Flexible pricing plans are available to fit every stage of your business growth.

💬 Help & Support
Need documentation, templates, or community‑powered support? Visit https://goautomate.io to explore resources and get assistance.

📢 GoApprove is now available – start automating approvals in Microsoft Teams today.
Make decisions faster, stay compliant, and keep your business moving.

• Create an approval and capture the required information

• Add a review step for someone to approve

• Route approvals automatically based on approval decisions

GoApprove helps teams build flexible approval processes that adapt to the way work gets done.

• Start approvals in seconds

• Work on approval activities as they’re assigned

• View complete history timelines for every approval

GoApprove keeps everyone aligned and ensures every decision is tracked from start to finish.

Since GoApprove is already installed, this step-by-step guide focuses on defining the workflow, collecting data, and creating the manual approval step.

Step 1: Access Management and Create a New Approval

To start building, you must have the Account Owner, Account Admin, or Admin role, as only these roles can access the management features.

1. Navigate to the main menu and click the Manage option.

2. Click the Approvals card.

3. In the Approvals panel, click the plus (+) icon to open the Create Approval panel.

4. Choose to Create a new approval from scratch (or start from a template or existing approval).

5. Give your approval a clear Name and a brief Description, then click Create. This action automatically opens the Flow Builder, the guided tool used to construct the approval logic.

Step 2: Set up the Trigger Step

Every approval must begin with a Trigger step, which starts the process (e.g., a form submission) and provides the initial information needed to run the workflow. When you create a new approval, a Trigger Placeholder is usually added automatically.

1. Select the Trigger: If a Placeholder exists, click the + Add Trigger button and choose the Microsoft Teams Form Trigger.

2. Define Output Data: The Trigger step only collects information, meaning it only has Output data. This is the data you need the user to submit to start the approval.

   • Click on the Trigger step to view the Output data section in the details panel.

   • Define the data items needed (e.g., Request Name, Amount, Approver) by choosing the appropriate Datatype (e.g., Text, Number, or Person).

Step 3: Design the Submission Form (Trigger Form)

Forms are used in the Trigger step to collect the initial information.

1. While the Trigger step is selected in the Flow Builder, find the Form section in the Details panel and click Edit to open the Form Builder.

2. Add Input Fields: In the Form Builder, drag the Capture Data element from the Content section of the Palette into a Column on the Canvas.

3. Link Data: In the Details panel, select the Output data item you defined in Step 2 that you want to capture (e.g., Request Name).

4. Customize: You can customize the form's appearance by adjusting properties like Label, Placeholder, and Capture type for the data element.

5. Test the Form: Switch the Form Builder from Build mode to Preview mode to test how the form looks and check if any validation formulas work correctly.

Step 4: Add the Manual Approval Step

After the Trigger, you need a step where a person reviews and makes a decision, typically using a Microsoft Teams Form Activity.

1. Add Activity Step: Ensure there is a Placeholder after the Trigger (if not, click ... on the Trigger and select Add below or Add above on the next step).

2. Click + Add on the Placeholder, select Activity, and choose the Microsoft Teams Form Activity.

3. Assignment: Select the Activity step and expand the Assignment section.

   • Choose who should be assigned the task: select Assign these people to choose fixed people or groups, or use Assign people based on specific conditions and an Assignment formula for dynamic assignments.

4. Completion: Expand the Completion section to define how many people must finish the activity. For a simple approval, you might select Just one person assigned or All people assigned.

5. Output Data (Decision): Define the output data that represents the decision (e.g., an Output data item of Logical or Choice type for "Approved/Rejected").

Step 5: Complete the Flow with End Steps

Every path in the approval must conclude with an End step, which marks the completion and defines the final outcome.

1. Add a Conditional Branch: To handle the Approve/Reject decision from the Activity step, you typically need a Branch step. Add a Branch after the Activity step.

2. Add Paths and End Steps: Add paths from the Branch (using the ... menu on the Branch, select Add path). Create at least two paths (e.g., Approved and Rejected).

3. Add End Steps: At the end of each path, add an End step.

   • Give each End step a Name that reflects the result (e.g., "Request Approved," "Request Rejected") and a distinct Colour As (using a hexadecimal RGB code).

4. Set Path Conditions: Select the Branch step and click the Paths section.

   • For the 'Approved' path, click the formula input box and enter a Path Condition formula that returns TRUE if the approval output from Step 4 was positive (e.g., checking if the decision output equals a specific value).

   • Path formulas must return TRUE or FALSE to determine which direction to take.

The result is a complete basic approval workflow: a Trigger collects data, an Activity step requires a human decision, a Branch directs the flow based on that decision, and an End step marks the completion.

Finally, before your approval can be used, you must Check and Finalise your work. This is a crucial administrative step that verifies the flow logic, and you must fix any errors that appear before continuing. Once the approval has been finalized, it should attain a Ready status, making the action Turn On available. Once the approval is turned on, you can start running it by navigating to the Approvals menu, filling out the form, and clicking Submit.

Microsoft Teams supports the installation of two main types of apps: Personal Apps and Channel Apps.

• Personal Apps appear on the left sidebar of the Teams client.

• Channel Apps appear as Tabs in Team Channels (Channels).

GoAutomate Apps ("Apps") are Channel Apps that you install as a Tabs in Channels. This way, everyone on your team can access an App without having to install it themselves. The App will be available to all team members through a Tab in the Channel.

Team Channels are broken into two types:

• Standard Channels: Accessible to everyone in the team.

• Private Channels: Accessible only to selected members.

You can install Apps in both Standard Channels and Private Channels.

Microsoft Teams Permissions

To install apps in Microsoft Teams, you need Administrator permissions. This applies to GoAutomate Apps as well. Here are your options:

• Be a Microsoft Teams Administrator;

• Have permission from your Microsoft Teams Administrator through a Policy;

• Ask your Microsoft Teams Administrator to install the app for you;

• Request approval from your Microsoft Teams Administrator so you can add the app.

Learn more:

• Overview of app management and governance in Teams admin centre

• Use app permission policies to control user access to apps

• Request apps that require approval by your org in Microsoft Teams

User Login

We keep GoAutomate Apps secure by using Microsoft Teams authentication. This means you don’t need new usernames or passwords for GoAutomate Apps. If you’re logged into Teams already, you can use GoAutomate Apps without logging in again. You’ll just need to click 'Continue with Microsoft Account' and Microsoft will confirm your identity to give you access to the GoAutomate App.

User Consent

To install a GoAutomate App, you need to allow it to access some basic information about you and maintain the data you provide. These are the minimum permissions required by Microsoft for any app to work securely.

Account Info

When you install a GoAutomate App in Microsoft Teams for the first time, you'll be asked to create a GoAutomate Account. You only need to provide basic company information; payment details aren't needed. You get a 30-day free trial with each App. To keep using it after the trial period, you'll need to add payment details.

• Create your first form from scratch

• Publish your form and start filling it in right away

GoForms takes the hassle out of form creation and helps your team capture the right data every time.

I have a date on a form and I want to ensure that the date is in the future! So, I have added a validation formula like this:

ASSERT(this > TODAY(), "please enter a date in the future")

If there is no date entered, the error message below the field shows like this:

The text 'Invalid' is not the error message I provided!!!!! Please advise ...

Thanks, Diana

Cheers, Scott