Manual Form Submission

Employees had to manually submit forms, which consisted of email chains, spreadsheets, and physical signatures. All of this was time-consuming and error-prone.

Lack of Status Visibility and Processing Delays

There was no efficient way of tracking request status, which led to repeated follow-ups and confusion. Without a straightforward process, requests also took longer to move through the system.

Multi-Level Gaps in Approval

Approvals from various team members were handled separately, with no uniform system to manage the flow. This slowed down operations and led to inconsistencies due to an unstructured format.

Fragmented Communication

Interrupted and incomplete requests created bottlenecks in meeting request approvals. This meant follow-ups with admins and managers just to know the status of the request.

No Way to Send Back Requests

In case the form had errors or was incomplete, approvers had to send it back to the employee, who had to start over again, leading to a waste of time.

Difficulty in Multiple User Requests

When events or programs involved several attendees or faculty, it was difficult to process every request within the same form. Everything had to be handled manually, making the process prone to administrative overload and oversight

Scattered Document Submission

The documents were not stored in a centralized platform or on an individual device. This led to confusion over the latest documents, missing files, or delays in approvals and even denials because important information wasn't available at the right time.

No Centralized Access

Approvers did not have a unified source to see all documents, and without a centralized system, important decisions were often postponed.

Lack of Audit

It was tough to maintain a clear audit trail without a properly structured system. This absence of tracking documents and forms became a risky affair where compliance played a crucial role.

Lack of Integration with Existing Tools

Important systems like Outlook, Teams, or CRM platforms weren't integrated into the existing system. As a result, users couldn't view the status from similar interfaces, and approvals weren't synced across the system. This decreased productivity and increased the chances of errors.

Smart Form Automation

Our team of experts replaced paper-based forms with digital ones by developing the Power Apps, allowing employees to send requests through a user-friendly interface.

Automated Tracking

Each form submissions are auto-logged and timestamped in Microsoft Dataverse. This offered full traceability, no more tracking across multiple spreadsheets.

Centralized Dashboard for Employees

A centralized dashboard helped employees see the status of their forms, right from submission to approval. This eliminated the need to follow up.

Real-Time Notification

We integrated systems like Emails and Teams via Power Automate, which helped employees instantly receive notifications when a request is approved, rejected, or sent back.

Multi-Step Flow

Built-in Power Automate, a dynamic approval flow routes the requests based on role and request type. Each person is notified when their action is required, ensuring efficient workflow.

Send Back Feature for Approvers

We added a "Send Back to Initiator" option where the approver can point out issues in the form and request changes. The original form is editable and doesn’t come with the need to start from scratch.

Support for Multiple Attendees

The form can be filled out and submitted by multiple employees. The system adjusts budget estimation based on attendee count, making it easier to manage group events.

Outlook and Teams Integration

Our experts allowed Outlook Calendar and Teams integration for the approved events to automatically sync in. This ensured consistency across the systems.

Compliance Logs & Audit Trails

In Dataverse, every action: submit, approve, reject, or resend is stored with the user identity and timestamp. It has made it easier for admins and approvers to view audit history for each request.

Document Upload Embedded in Submission Flow

SharePoint integration helps users to upload documents directly during request submissions. The documents are attached to the request and organized under particular folders.

Support for Multiple Delegates in One Form

We updated the request form, allowing the addition of multiple faculty members within a single submission. For each entry, the platform maps the budget and other details as per the individual. This simplifies workflows that involve group approvals.