What is Power Apps? And Why Your Finance Team Should Already Be Using It

Are you a finance leader at a UK business? Then you already know the drill. The team needs a simple approval workflow. IT says six months. You need a basic expense tracker. The quote comes back at £50,000. Meanwhile, people are stuck in spreadsheets and manual processes that consume hours every single day. 

Something has to change. 

Microsoft Power Apps gives finance teams the ability to build their own tools rather than waiting for IT. In this article, we'll show you why your team needs these capabilities, explain what is Power Apps, and demonstrate how to put it to work. 

Why Finance Teams Need Custom Tools 

Most finance departments are running on systems that were never fit for purpose. Without proper finance automation, teams get stuck in repetitive manual work. 

Manual processes eat your time. Spreadsheets, copy-and-paste routines, and email chains slow everything down. People spend hours on tasks that should take minutes. 

Systems don't talk to each other. Finance operates on one platform, sales on another, the warehouse on something else entirely. Data gets entered three times, errors multiply, and nobody has a single source of truth. 

Reporting is always behind. By the time you pull together a meaningful report, the numbers are outdated. Decisions get made on partial information because complete data arrives too late. 

Nothing scales. The business grows, but legacy systems buckle under the load, creating bottlenecks exactly when you need speed most. 

The pattern repeats in business after business. Finance teams capable of complex analysis spend their time chasing missing invoices and manually updating trackers. 

This is where the Microsoft Power Platform changes the equation. 

What is Power Apps? 

Microsoft Power Apps is a low-code tool that lets finance teams build business applications themselves. You create custom tools for specific processes, or you modify existing Microsoft/Office 365 applications to work the way the business actually operates. 

It pulls information from your existing systems, automates repetitive work, and centralises data where you need it. Finance teams build tools that solve their actual problems rather than waiting months for IT to deliver something that's almost but not quite right. 

What Makes Power Apps Different 

Works with your existing Microsoft investment. If you're already using Microsoft 365, Power Apps integrates naturally. It connects to the tools your team already uses for document storage, communication, and business systems. No need to replace what's working. 

Scales from simple to sophisticated. Start with a basic form, add approvals when needed, incorporate AI features as capabilities grow, connect to external systems as requirements expand. The platform evolves with you. 

Mobile and desktop. Build once, works everywhere. Staff use the same app on their phone, tablet, or computer. Forms adapt to different screen sizes automatically. 

IT stays in control where it matters. Working with experienced implementation partners, teams build applications properly from the start. IT manages security, access, and compliance centrally whilst finance gets tools designed for their workflows. The governance framework stays intact whilst operational flexibility improves. 

Getting Started: Easier Than Traditional Development 

Power Apps uses a visual, low-code interface. Working with experienced implementers, you can build applications that match your specific processes. Drag fields onto a screen, connect them to your data, set up the logic, and it works. 

Pre-built templates provide starting points. Pick one that's close to what you need, adjust the fields and logic to match the process, connect it to data sources, and deploy it. The technical complexity stays hidden. You focus on solving the business problem. 

If you're comfortable with Excel formulas and logic, you'll find Power Apps approachable. That said, most finance teams find that working with experienced implementers accelerates the initial build and helps avoid common pitfalls. The platform is accessible, but getting expert guidance early saves time. 

What Finance Teams Are Building with Power Apps 

Working with Microsoft partners, finance departments are deploying tools that solve real problems. The complexity varies - some applications can be configured quickly with the right expertise, whilst others require more planning and specialist knowledge. Here's what's possible with proper implementation. 

Simpler Applications: Good Starting Points 

Expense Tracking on Mobile 

People submit expenses from their phones. They take a photo of the receipt, select the category, and submit. AI extracts key details, routes approval to the right person based on amount and type, and syncs data straight into your finance system. Reimbursements happen faster because the data's already in the system, properly categorised. 

Real example: ADRA deployed Power Apps to create staff self-service applications for leave, expenses, and overtime. They've since moved from spreadsheets to structured data storage, enabling better automation and improved reporting. See the full case study. 

Purchase Request System 

Teams submit purchase requests through a simple form. It checks available budget, enforces approval rules based on amount and category, and tracks requests from submission through final approval. Finance sees spending patterns in real time. Budget holders know what's committed before invoices arrive. 

More Complex Applications: Worth the Investment 

These applications require specialist expertise in AI integration and workflow design, but organisations working with experienced partners see significant time savings and error reduction that justify the effort. 

Invoice Processing Without Data Entry 

Invoices arrive by email. Power Apps scans them, extracts supplier details, amounts, and due dates using AI document processing. It checks suppliers against approved lists, flags exceptions, and routes invoices for approval based on predefined rules. AP teams review exceptions rather than entering data. Payment terms get met because nothing sits in someone's inbox waiting. 

What you need: Access to AI document processing capabilities, integration with email systems, connection to supplier databases, and clear approval workflows. 

Onboarding Workflows That Don't Miss Steps 

When someone joins, finance needs to set up payroll, allocate to the right cost centre, provision system access, and assign equipment. When someone leaves, you need to revoke access, process final pay, and update budgets. With proper implementation, organisations deploy tools that track every step systematically. HR triggers the process. Finance, IT, and facilities all see their tasks. Nothing gets missed because completion tracking and automated reminders keep things moving. 

Key features: Task assignment based on department, automatic reminders for incomplete steps, audit trail showing who did what and when, dashboard showing all active onboarding and offboarding. 

Implementation Reality 

Working with experienced Microsoft partners, organisations deploy applications in weeks rather than months. Simple applications might take a few days to scope, configure, and test. More complex applications with AI features and multiple integrations take longer but still deliver much faster than traditional development. The key difference: you can adjust iteratively. Build something functional, deploy it to a test group, learn what works, and improve it. Forrester research shows organisations using Power Apps reported productivity gains of 45–60% and significant reductions in manual data entry and process time across departments. 

Common challenges appear around data quality and process clarity. If your current process is unclear, building an app forces you to define it properly. Experienced implementers help organisations work through this, turning the challenge into an opportunity to improve underlying processes before automating them. 

Most finance teams benefit from working with experienced Microsoft partners from the start. Partners who understand both Power Apps and finance operations help you avoid architectural mistakes, make smart decisions about what to build first, and establish platform best practices that make future applications easier. That initial expertise prevents the false starts that waste time and budget. 

Taking the Next Step with Power Apps 

The waiting game with IT doesn't have to continue. The tools exist to build custom applications tailored to specific needs. This represents a fundamental shift from dependency to control. Problems get solved faster. Operations improve because you're not compromising on functionality or waiting in development queues. 

Power Apps gives finance teams the capability they've been missing, but realising that potential requires the right implementation partner. Success depends on starting with proper architecture, following platform best practices, and avoiding the mistakes that come from learning by trial and error. It's worth exploring what your organisation could achieve with expert guidance. 

Need help getting started? Our team specialises in all things Microsoft, including Power Apps implementations for finance departments. We'll assess your processes, identify the highest-value applications to build first, implement them properly, and train your people so they understand how everything works. Get in touch and let's talk about what you want to achieve. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is Microsoft Power Apps used for? 

Microsoft Power Apps is used to build custom business applications that don't require traditional coding. Working with experienced partners, finance teams deploy expense trackers, approval workflows, budget monitoring tools, invoice processing systems, and onboarding applications. Any repetitive process that currently relies on spreadsheets or manual work is a candidate for a Power Apps for finance solution. 

Do I need coding skills to use Power Apps? 

No traditional coding is required. Power Apps uses a visual interface designed for business users. If you're comfortable with spreadsheet formulas, you'll find the concepts familiar. However, building applications properly requires expertise in architecture, data structure, and platform best practices. Most organisations work with experienced Microsoft partners to ensure applications are built correctly from the start and avoid costly mistakes. 

How much does Power Apps cost? 

Licensing starts from around £4 per user per month when bundled with Microsoft 365. Standalone options are available for teams that need more capabilities or don't have existing Microsoft licences. Many organisations already have Power Apps included in their current subscriptions. Actual cost depends on the features required and number of users. 

Can Power Apps integrate with our existing finance systems? 

Yes. Power Apps connects to hundreds of data sources including spreadsheets, databases, and most major business applications through pre-built connectors. If a standard connector doesn't exist, custom connections to proprietary systems can be built. The platform is designed to work with existing infrastructure rather than replacing it. 

How secure is Power Apps for financial data? 

Power Apps operates within Microsoft's enterprise security framework, inheriting the same controls used across their cloud services. IT administrators manage access, permissions, and compliance policies centrally. Data remains within the organisation's security boundary and applications honour existing security roles and permissions from connected systems.