Frequently Asked Questions

Power Platform is a set of tools from Microsoft that lets you build apps, automate workflows, and analyse data without needing to be a software developer. Think of it as a digital toolkit sitting right inside your Microsoft 365 subscription.

It includes four main tools:

• Power Apps – Build custom apps and forms for your business (like a digital checklist or customer portal)
• Power Automate – Automatically move data between systems, send notifications, and handle repetitive tasks
• Power BI – Turn your Excel sheets and databases into proper dashboards and reports
• Copilot Studio – Build AI chatbots that can answer questions and help your team or customers

If you have Microsoft 365 Business Premium or above, you likely already have Power Platform licences included. Most businesses do not even realise they own it.

This is the question everyone asks, so I will give you proper numbers. Most businesses fall into one of three brackets:

Starter Projects (£2,000 - £5,000): Single workflow or a simple app. Maybe connecting your CRM to your invoicing system, or building a staff holiday request form that actually works.

Growth Projects (£5,000 - £12,000): Multiple connected workflows, a full internal app, and dashboards that give people a clearer view of the work. This is often where the larger time savings begin to appear.

Transformation Projects (£12,000 - £25,000+): End-to-end process changes, multiple systems talking to each other, perhaps some custom Azure work for more complex requirements.

Then there is ongoing support. A monthly retainer runs £1,200 - £4,000 depending on how much development work you want each month. Or you can go ad-hoc and just call us when you need something.

The honest answer: I have done £1,500 fixes that saved a company 20 hours a week, and £15,000 builds that transformed how they operate. It depends on what you need.

I do not sugar-coat this: automation is not magic, and the returns depend entirely on what we are fixing.

Here are real examples from projects I have delivered during my consulting career:

• A recruitment firm spent £3,800 to automate candidate screening. It saved their team 12 hours a week. At £25/hour fully loaded, that is £15,600 a year saved. Paid for itself in under 3 months.
• A manufacturer spent £8,500 on inventory alerts and ordering workflows. They stopped over-ordering stock and reduced carrying costs by £40,000 in the first year.
• A professional services firm spent £12,000 on a client onboarding automation. It improved their win rate by 15% because responses went from 2 days to 2 hours.

Some automations pay for themselves in weeks. Others take 12-18 months to show real returns but transform how you operate. I will tell you honestly which camp your project falls into before we start.

Bottom line: If I do not think you will see meaningful ROI within 12 months, I will tell you straight. No point either of us wasting time.

Here is a realistic breakdown:

Simple workflows: 2-4 weeks. Something like "when a form is submitted, create a task in our project management tool and send an email." Straightforward, quick wins.

Medium complexity: 4-8 weeks. Apps with multiple screens, workflows connecting 3-4 systems, proper approval processes. Most projects land here.

Complex builds: 8-16 weeks. Multi-system integrations, custom logic, data migrations, extensive testing. Think rebuilding a core business process from scratch.

The timeline depends on a few things:

• How quickly you can give us access to your systems
• How many people need to approve things (fewer is better)
• Whether we are working with clean data or cleaning up years of chaos first
• How responsive you are during testing

I always build in a buffer because something always takes longer than expected. I would rather under-promise and over-deliver than the other way around.

Absolutely. In fact, I prefer it. Your IT team knows your systems, your history, and your quirks. I know Power Platform. Working together gets better results than either of us working alone.

Here is how it usually works:

• I need your IT team (or provider) to set up the right permissions and access
• They review the architecture to make sure it fits your security policies
• We run testing together to make sure nothing breaks
• I document everything properly so they can support it going forward

If you do not have an IT team, that is fine too. I have worked with plenty of 10-30 person businesses where the founder handles everything. I will explain what I need in plain English and help you get it sorted.

One note: if your IT provider insists everything must be done their way even when it does not make sense, that can slow things down. I will always recommend the right solution for your business, not just the one your IT company happens to sell.

Not necessarily. Zapier and Make are brilliant tools for certain jobs. I have used both and still do for some things. Here is the honest breakdown:

Stick with Zapier/Make if:

• You are connecting common cloud apps (Shopify, Slack, Gmail, etc.) with straightforward triggers
• You do not have many Microsoft licences
• Your team is non-technical and the visual builder works for them
• You are doing fewer than 2,000 tasks a month (Zapier) or do not need complex branching logic

Consider Power Platform if:

• You already pay for Microsoft 365 Business Premium or above (you own Power Platform already)
• You need to connect to internal systems, databases, or SharePoint
• Your workflows are getting complex with lots of conditions and branches
• You want custom forms and apps, not just automated emails
• You are hitting Zapier's limits and the bill is getting painful
• Data security is critical (Power Platform sits inside your Microsoft tenant)

Often the best answer is both. Keep Zapier for the simple cloud-to-cloud stuff, use Power Platform for the heavy lifting with your internal systems. I have helped clients reduce their Zapier bills by 70% while getting more done.

Yes, but security is not automatic. You have to set it up properly, which is exactly what I help with.

Here is where Power Platform actually has an advantage over tools like Zapier:

• Your data stays inside your Microsoft tenant. It never leaves Microsoft's infrastructure
• It inherits your existing Microsoft 365 security policies
• You control exactly who can access what, down to individual fields in a form
• Full audit trails of who did what and when
• Data Loss Prevention policies can block sensitive data from leaving your organisation
• ISO 27001, SOC 2, and GDPR compliant infrastructure

That said, I have seen plenty of businesses with Power Platform set up like the Wild West. Everyone has admin rights, workflows running under personal accounts, sensitive data flying around unencrypted. Just because the platform is secure does not mean your configuration is.

When I build solutions, I follow security best practices:

• Service accounts for automation (not personal logins)
• Principle of least privilege (people only see what they need)
• Encrypted connections to external systems
• Proper environment separation (dev, test, live)
• Regular access reviews and documentation

If you have specific compliance requirements (financial services, healthcare, etc.), let me know. I have worked with regulated industries and can build to those standards.

Going live is not the end of the story. It is the start of getting real value from what we built.

Included support period:

Every project includes 30-90 days of post-launch support (depending on project size). During this time:

• I fix any bugs or issues at no extra cost
• We train your team properly (not just a handover document)
• You get priority response on any questions
• I monitor the automation to make sure it is working as expected

After the support period, you have options:

• Go it alone: If you have someone internal who can maintain it, brilliant. I will make sure they are trained and have proper documentation.
• Ad-hoc support: Call me when you need changes or something breaks. I charge by the day for this, typically £800-£1,200 depending on urgency and complexity.
• Monthly retainer: Reserve my time each month for improvements, new features, and quick fixes. £1,200-£4,000/month depending on hours. This gets you priority response and lower effective rates.
• Managed service: I proactively monitor your automations, fix issues before you notice them, and keep everything running smoothly. £400-£1,800/month.

The included support gives you time to choose the right next step: train someone internally, use ad-hoc support, or move to a retainer. There is no pressure either way. I will help you figure out what makes sense for your business.