Set up approval workflows
You can set up and use workflows that connect business-process tasks performed by different users. System tasks, such as automatic posting, can be included as steps in workflows, preceded or followed by user tasks. Requesting and granting approval to create new records are typical workflow steps. Learn more at Use Approval Workflows.
Before you begin to use approval workflows, you must set up workflow users and approval users, specify how users receive notifications about workflow steps, then create the workflows.
On the Workflow page, you create a workflow by listing the involved steps on the lines. Each step consists of a workflow event, moderated by event conditions, and a workflow response, moderated by response options. You define workflow steps by filling in fields on workflow lines using fixed lists of event and response values that represent scenarios supported by the application code.
Note
If a business scenario requires a workflow event or response that is not supported in the default version, sign up for Power Automate. For more information, see Use Business Central in Power Automate Flows. Alternatively, get an app at AppSource or work with a Microsoft partner to customize the application code.
The following table describes a sequence of tasks, with links to the articles that describe them.
| To | See |
|---|---|
| Set up workflow users and user groups. | Set Up Workflow Users |
| Set up workflow users who take part in approval workflows. | Set Up Approval Users |
| Specify how workflow users are notified of workflow steps, including approval requests. | Setting Up Workflow Notifications |
| Specify if users are notified by email or note and how often notifications are sent. | Specify When and How to Receive Notifications |
| Customize the content of the email notification by modifying Report 1320, Notification Email. | Create and Modify Custom Report Layouts |
| Set up an SMTP server to enable email communication in and out of Business Central | Set up Email |
| Specify the different steps of a workflow by connecting workflow events with workflow responses. | Create Approval Workflows |
| Use workflow templates to create new workflows. | Create Approval Workflows from Workflow Templates |
| Share workflows with other Business Central databases. | Export and Import Approval Workflows |
| Learn how to set up a workflow for approving sales documents by following an end-to-end procedure. | Walkthrough: Setting Up and Using a Purchase Approval Workflow |
Example of an approval workflow
This video shows how to set up a workflow requiring a user to request someone else's approval before they can change information about an existing customer or create a new customer.
See also
Use Approval Workflows
Workflow
Walkthrough: Setting Up and Using a Purchase Approval Workflow
Work with Business Central