Welcome to another edition of "Helpful Thursdays." If you’ve ever found yourself chasing a manager for a signature, or if you're a business owner drowning in "Is this okay to buy?" emails, today’s guide is for you.
At Anantek Solutions, we’re obsessed with what we call Invisible Infrastructure. To us, the best technology is the kind you don’t have to think about because it simply works in the background, enabling your team to perform at their peak. Whether we are designing complex structured cabling for a new school wing or managing a high-end retail fit-out for luxury brands like Audemars Piguet (AP) and A. Lange & Söhne (ALS), efficiency is the name of the game.
Today, we’re stepping away from the hardware and looking at the software that powers your day-to-day. Specifically, how to reclaim your time by automating approvals within Microsoft Teams. You can set this up in under five minutes, and it will change the way your SME operates.
The Approval Trap: Why Your Current Process is Broken
In most SMEs, schools, and fit-out firms, approvals happen in one of three ways:
- The Email Chain: A request is sent, buried under 50 other emails, and forgotten.
- The "Drive-By" Ask: Someone pops their head into your office. You say "yes," forget about it, and then wonder why a budget was exceeded three weeks later.
- The Paper Trail: Physical forms that get lost on desks or in vans.
None of these are "Tech That Lasts." They are brittle processes that break as soon as someone goes on holiday or a project gets busy. By moving approvals into Microsoft Teams, you create a central, searchable, and mobile-friendly record of every decision made.
Method 1: The Quick-Fire Teams Approvals App (2 Minutes)
If you need an approval now and don't want to build a complex system, Microsoft has already done the heavy lifting for you with a native app.
Step 1: Open the Approvals App
In Microsoft Teams, look at the left-hand sidebar. If you don't see the "Approvals" icon (it looks like a checkmark in a circle), click the three dots (…) and search for "Approvals."
Step 2: Create a New Request
Click the "New approval request" button in the top right. You’ll be given a few options: "Basic," "Sign-off," or "Templates." For a quick start, choose "Basic."
Step 3: Fill in the Details
Enter the name of the request (e.g., "Budget Approval for Surrey Site Wi-Fi Hardware"). Enter the names of the people who need to approve it. You can even toggle a switch that says "Require a response from all approvers" if you need a consensus.
Step 4: Attach and Send
You can attach quotes, PDFs, or photos of site conditions. Once you hit send, the approver gets a notification on their phone and desktop. They can click "Approve" or "Reject" right then and there.
Method 2: The "Invisible" Automation (5 Minutes)
The basic app is great for one-offs, but if you want true IT management efficiency, you want the process to trigger itself. Let’s say every time a site manager uploads an invoice to a specific SharePoint folder, you want an approval request to fire off automatically.
This is where Power Automate comes in. Don't let the name scare you: it's simpler than it looks.
Step 1: Choose Your Trigger
Log in to the Microsoft 365 portal and open Power Automate. Click "Create" and select "Automated cloud flow."
A common trigger for our fit-out partners is "When a file is created in a folder" (SharePoint) or "When a new response is submitted" (Microsoft Forms).
Step 2: Add the "Start and Wait for an Approval" Action
Click "+ New Step" and search for "Approvals." Select the action: Start and wait for an approval.
- Approval Type: Choose "Approve/Reject – First to respond."
- Title: Use dynamic content to make it clear, like "New Invoice Approval for: [File Name]."
- Assigned To: Enter the email of the person responsible for the budget.
Step 3: Create the "Condition"
Now we need the "Invisible Infrastructure" logic. Add a new step called "Condition."
- If the Outcome is equal to Approve, add an action to send an email or post a message in a Teams channel saying "Purchase Approved."
- If the Outcome is equal to Reject, send a notification back to the requester so they know to revise the document.
Step 4: Save and Test
Give it a name and hit save. Now, every time a document hits that folder, the workflow handles the nagging for you. No emails, no phone calls, just a clean notification in Teams.
Real-World Application: Where This Wins
1. High-End Retail Fit-Outs
When we work on structured cabling and Wi‑Fi installs for clients like Audemars Piguet, the precision required is immense. Every change order needs immediate sign-off to keep the project on track. By using an automated Teams workflow, site leads can photograph a change, upload it, and get the "OK" from the project director in London while they are still on-site. This prevents delays and ensures the "Invisible Infrastructure" is installed to the highest standard without administrative bottlenecks.
2. Education and Schools
Schools are busy environments where the IT lead is often pulled in ten different directions. We often recommend these workflows for hardware requests. Instead of a teacher catching the IT Manager in the hall to ask for a new interactive screen, they fill out a Form. That Form triggers an approval request to the Bursar. Once approved, it automatically notifies our remote support team to begin the procurement and scheduling process. It’s professional, transparent, and creates a clear audit trail.
3. Security and Access Control
For businesses looking to modernise their CCTV and access control, approvals are vital for compliance. Who is allowed to view footage? Who gets a new keycard? An automated workflow ensures that these sensitive permissions are never granted without a recorded sign-off from the security officer.
Why This Matters for Your SME
You might think, "Yogi, it's just an approval request. Why does it need a workflow?"
The answer lies in resilience. When your business relies on "Tech That Lasts," you are building systems that don't depend on the memory of one individual.
- Consistency: Every request follows the same path.
- Speed: Approvers can respond from their mobile devices while between meetings.
- Data: At the end of the quarter, you can see exactly how many requests were made, how many were approved, and where the bottlenecks were.
If you are looking to modernise your London IT service or need a more robust Surrey IT service, these small wins in automation are the foundation of a scalable business.
Taking It Further
Once you’ve mastered the 5-minute approval workflow, the possibilities are endless. You can integrate these flows with your exceptional IT optimisation strategies, linking them to your CRM, your inventory management, or even your site security logs.
At Anantek, we don't just fix computers; we consult on how your business flows. We look at your IT management holistically. If your team is frustrated by slow processes, the "Invisible Infrastructure" isn't doing its job.
Summary Checklist for Your First Workflow:
- Identify the Trigger: What starts the process? (An email? A file? A form?)
- Define the Approver: Who has the final say?
- Set the Outcome: What happens after they click "Approve"? (Email sent? File moved? Notification posted?)
- Keep it Simple: Don't over-engineer. Start with one person and one outcome.
If you’re ready to stop the "chase" and start automating your business processes, we’re here to help. Whether you need a full it-infrastructure overhaul or just want to make better use of the Microsoft 365 tools you’re already paying for, let's have a chat.
You can schedule a call with us or browse our case studies to see how we’ve helped other firms in the fit-out and education sectors achieve "Tech That Lasts."
Happy automating, and we'll see you next Thursday!
