How Built-in Approval Workflows Save Time, Reduce Risk and Keep Business Moving

In many growing businesses, approvals are still managed through emails, instant messages, or informal conversations. It works, until it doesn’t.

A purchase order sits in someone’s inbox waiting for sign-off. An invoice is paid late because the approver was working remotely. A journal is posted without proper visibility because “everyone assumed it was fine.”

As organisations adopt hybrid and remote working models, these informal approval processes quickly become a bottleneck, slowing decisions, increasing risk, and creating frustration for finance and operations teams.

This is where built-in approval workflows in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central make a real difference.

What are approval workflows?

Approval workflows in Business Central allow you to automate how key transactions are reviewed and approved before they are posted.

This includes:

• Purchase orders
• Purchase invoices
• Sales documents
• General journals

Instead of relying on emails or verbal sign-off, approvals are built directly into the system, ensuring the right people are involved at the right time.

Why approval workflows are more important than ever

Remote and hybrid working has changed how decisions are made. Teams are no longer sitting together, and finance leaders need clearer controls without slowing the business down.

Approval workflows provide:

• Structure without bureaucracy
• Control without micromanagement
• Speed without compromising governance

They give leadership confidence that approvals are happening correctly, even when teams are dispersed.

The time-saving impact

One of the biggest benefits of approval workflows is the amount of time they save across the organisation.

No more email chains
Approvals are requested automatically within Business Central, removing the need for back-and-forth emails or manual follow-ups.

Faster decision-making
Approvers receive clear notifications with all relevant information in one place, allowing them to approve or reject quickly.

Fewer bottlenecks
Rules can be set so approvals automatically route to the correct person based on value, department, or responsibility, keeping processes moving even when someone is unavailable.

Over time, these small efficiencies add up to a significant reduction in administrative effort.

Clear audit trails, built in

For Finance Directors and Managing Directors, visibility and accountability are critical.

Approval workflows automatically create a clear audit trail:

• Who approved what
• When it was approved
• Any changes or rejections along the way

This supports internal controls, simplifies audits, and reduces reliance on manual evidence gathering. Everything is recorded, consistently, in one system.

Reduced risk and rework

Manual approval processes increase the risk of:

• Incorrect postings
• Unauthorised spending
• Missed approvals

With automated workflows, transactions cannot be posted until the required approvals are completed. This reduces errors, avoids rework, and protects the business from unnecessary financial risk.

For operations teams, this also means fewer interruptions and less time spent correcting issues after the fact.

Designed to fit your business

Approval workflows in Business Central are flexible and scalable.

They can be configured to reflect:

• Your approval hierarchy
• Different limits for different roles
• Simple or multi-step approvals

As your business grows, workflows can evolve with you, without the need for complex workarounds or additional systems.

Turning features into real value

Technology alone doesn’t deliver results. The real value comes from implementing approval workflows in a way that supports how your business actually operates.

At Creative Computing Solutions, we help organisations design and configure workflows that:

• Save time across teams
• Strengthen financial control
• Support better, faster decision-making

All while keeping the system simple, usable, and aligned with day-to-day processes.

If approvals are slowing your business down, it may be time to let Business Central do the hard work for you.

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