At PowerApps911, we rely on efficient and cost-effective business tools, just like you. Instead of settling for generic, subscription-based apps that only partially meet our needs, we’ve embraced the Power Platform to create tailored solutions that address our specific challenges.
Why Build Custom Solutions Instead of Buying SaaS?
Traditional software often requires businesses to adapt their processes to fit the tool—a frustrating and inefficient experience. But with the Power Platform, we’ve flipped this dynamic. Now, we can design solutions that align perfectly with our workflows, empowering us to operate more effectively.
The Advantages of Custom Solutions:
Tailored Fit: Each app is built to match our exact processes, ensuring seamless integration with our operations.
Rapid Development: Thanks to low-code tools, we can build functional apps in days rather than months.
Empowerment: Business experts can create these solutions directly, reducing reliance on traditional developers.
Below, I share six examples of how we’ve solved real business problems using Power Apps and Power Automate. These solutions are tailored for our needs but can serve as inspiration for how specific and effective your own tools can become. Are these solutions a perfect fit for your business? Not exactly—they’re tailor-made for ours. However, they showcase the adaptability and customization potential of the Power Platform, inspiring you to imagine just how precisely you can address your own unique challenges. Also, keep in mind even though we have built 1,000s of apps and flows for customers we rarely build our own tools with that much focus. Many of them are on iteration 50 or more as we are constantly improving and tweaking it. Another beauty of the platform, the tools and the apps are at their best when things are very agile.
Oh yeah, and if you want to see any of these business solutions in action then check out the video 6 Apps & flows that run our business - Power Automate & Power Apps Examples
Applicant Tracking System
Managing hundreds of job applications annually can be overwhelming, especially for a team of 30. To address this, we use a custom Applicant Tracking System (ATS) built with Microsoft Forms, Power Automate, and SharePoint.
Process Overview: Applicants submit their information via a Microsoft Form embedded on our careers page. Power Automate processes the form responses, applies filters for priority applications, and stores the data in a SharePoint list.
Key Feature: Automated Teams notifications allow reviewers to evaluate key responses quickly and collaboratively make hiring decisions.
Enhancements: Custom Power Apps forms on SharePoint streamline the data review and rejection process.
Weekly Meeting Scheduler
For our Power Platform University program, we host weekly classes for rotating groups of students. Managing these meetings was once a time-consuming task until we automated the process.
Solution Details: I fill out the app with the subject and body and hit Send. It triggers a flow that gets the current list of students from the Training API. It then generates a Teams meeting and sends each student a proper Teams invite.
Time Saved: Previously, it took 30 minutes to prepare these invites manually. Now, it’s done in under a minute.
Bonus Feature: Custom logic ensures recurring schedules (e.g., Thursdays at 3 PM) are automatically accounted for.
Help Request Manager
Customer inquiries are central to our business, and we handle thousands of them annually. Our Help Request Manager flow ensures no request goes unnoticed. If you have ever filled out our Contact Us form, you have been in this process.
Core Functionality: A Cognito Form collects customer requests, which Power Automate then routes to the designated team member for the day. The flow then facilitates all of the back and forth via Teams with the consultant and emails to the requestor. It might be the most complicated flow I know of.
Adaptive Cards in Teams: Responses are managed directly within Teams, eliminating email clutter for the PowerApps911 team.
Additional Benefits: The flow automatically updates SharePoint with inquiry statuses and tracks correspondence. Also, if the requestor says yes, they can automatically add themselves to our mailing list.
I decided a picture of the whole flow was most interesting. 🤣 To say it does a lot is an understatement.
Office Hours Scheduling
One of the best features of being a paid Training student is the monthly live office hour sessions where you can get your own questions answered. The problem was not enough people were attending. So, we gave them an option to get a real meeting invite, none of that ICS garbage.
How It Works: Students select their preferred session (AM/PM), triggering a flow that adds them to a hidden list of attendees in a Teams meeting.
Key Advantage: Students receive calendar invites directly, enhancing attendance and reducing friction.
I almost forgot, this solution has a full build video here.
Do you want to get your questions answered? Sign up for one of our paid training options with Office Hours and you can attend and get your answers!
Custom CRM System
Our custom-built CRM, powered by Dataverse and integrated with QuickBooks, is at the heart of our operations. It’s a sophisticated model-driven app that simplifies customer and project management.
Highlights:
Tracks client details, projects, time sheets, and billing information.
Seamless integration with QuickBooks through a Dataverse plugin.
Biggest Win: Automating time entry approvals and syncing data with QuickBooks saves over 10 hours of manual work weekly.
Troubleshooting with Blank Apps
Troubleshooting large apps or flows can be challenging, so we rely on creating “blank apps” to replicate issues in an isolated environment.
Fail Fast Philosophy: By recreating the problem in a controlled app, we can quickly identify whether the issue lies in our code or the platform itself.
Key Takeaway: This approach reduces debugging time and prevents unintended disruptions in live apps.
Final Thoughts
Building apps and flows isn’t just about solving problems; it’s about empowering teams and enhancing user experiences. Each of these solutions has not only made our operations smoother but also inspired us to push the boundaries of what’s possible with the Power Platform.
If you need help with solving some of your business problems with your own custom solutions, then hit that contact button and let us know. We can help you with anything from a 30-minute bug fix to a 30-year partnership. Training, mentoring, architectural double checking, and more. We are experts and happy to share that expertise with you.