Power Apps Document Approval — Dynamics 365 & Power Platform

MMBI, a Kazakhstan-based FMCG distributor, needed a low-cost, secure way to automate document approvals for all Microsoft Office users without buying additional licenses. Awara IT implemented Approvy — a Teams-hosted Power Apps solution built on the Power Platform — to deliver one-click submissions, configurable approval routes, eGov mobile signing and real-time notifications.

The project centralized approvals, added clear signing status tracking and integrated with MMBI's 1C accounting system and Microsoft Teams. The result: faster decision cycles, a digital audit trail for legal compliance and a solution that uses existing Microsoft licensing and IT investments.

Client / Industry / Country

MMBI is a Kazakhstan-based distributor operating in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector across multiple regions in the country. The company serves retail chains and wholesalers and manages sales, logistics and compliance workflows for a broad product portfolio.

Business challenge

MMBI relied on manual email approvals and ad-hoc document routing. Approvals were slow or lost in inboxes, routes were inconsistent when managers were out of office, and there was no reliable, centralized status tracking. Legal and commercial teams spent hours chasing signatures and compiling records for audits.

The client specifically needed a solution that worked for all Microsoft Office users without purchasing additional platform licenses. They also needed to support Kazakhstan's eGov mobile signing process, integrate with 1C (their core accounting system) and surface approval notifications in Teams and email while preserving auditability and retention requirements.

Why Dynamics 365 was selected

Rather than introduce a separate ECM system, MMBI and Awara IT selected the Power Platform within the Microsoft ecosystem because it integrates directly with Microsoft 365, Teams and Entra ID and supports rapid low-code delivery. Using Power Apps and Power Automate meant MMBI could deploy a tailored approval app without significant new licensing or long development cycles.

Awara IT recommended a Teams-hosted Power Apps approach (Dataverse for Teams) to avoid additional platform licenses, provide secure authentication via Entra ID and ensure seamless Notifications in Outlook and Teams. The solution also aligns with Dynamics 365 enterprise roadmaps for organizations that may expand automation across finance and operations later.

Modules implemented

• Power Apps (Canvas app 'Approvy' hosted in Microsoft Teams)
• Power Automate flows for approval routing, reminders and notifications
• Dataverse for Teams as the application datastore
• Power BI (approval dashboards and SLA reports)
• Custom connector for eGov mobile signing
• Integration layer for 1C (API/middleware)

Integrations

• 1C (accounting and document metadata sync via middleware)
• Microsoft Teams (app hosting and notifications)
• Outlook / Exchange (email notifications and reminders)
• eGov Mobile signing (national e-signature service)
• Entra ID / Azure AD (authentication and role-based access)

Localization & compliance

Awara IT implemented eGov mobile signing to meet Kazakhstan's electronic signature legal framework and ensured all signed documents include time-stamped audit trails required for legal and tax reviews. The app supports Russian and Kazakh language UI elements and preserves document metadata and signatures within Dataverse for Teams storage located in Microsoft datacenters compliant with regional data residency policies. Retention and export capabilities were configured to satisfy audit and legal request processes.

Business value

Approvy delivered measurable operational improvements while minimizing additional expenditure. By leveraging Teams-hosted Power Apps and Power Automate, MMBI gained consistent approval routing, automated reminders and a centralized digital audit trail that supports legal and tax reviews. Integration with 1C ensured document metadata is synchronized with accounting records, reducing reconciliation work and exceptions.

The implementation also preserved MMBI's existing Microsoft 365 investment, avoided large platform-license purchases and provided a scalable foundation for broader process automation across procurement and finance. Faster approvals and fewer manual interventions improved order-to-delivery responsiveness for the business.