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How to Automate Microsoft Forms Approval and Move Data to Excel

Maira Mehtab Oct 10, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to build a workflow that processes Microsoft Forms submissions, requests manager approval, and automatically copies only the approved responses into a master Excel workbook.

How to Automate Microsoft Forms Approval and Move Data to Excel

Product: Microsoft Power Automate, Microsoft Forms, Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Automating the extraction and filtering of form submissions into an organized spreadsheet based on a specific approval condition.
Observed behavior: Approved records from Microsoft Forms are successfully filtered and recorded into a structured Excel table in a cloud storage location, completely eliminating manual data entry.

Before you start

Before setting up your flow, ensure your master Excel workbook is saved in a cloud location like OneDrive or SharePoint, and the destination range is explicitly formatted as an Excel Table with headers that match your form questions.

Solution 1Recommended

Set Up a Power Automate Approval Flow

Use Power Automate to bridge Microsoft Forms and Excel by setting up a trigger, starting an approval process, and conditionally adding rows to your spreadsheet.

By utilizing Power Automate, you can easily evaluate responses from Microsoft Forms and dictate what happens to the data based on approval decisions. To ensure stability, the target Excel file must be stored online and the data area must be formatted as an official Excel Table.

Create the Flow Trigger

Log in to Microsoft Power Automate, click 'Create' on the left menu, and select 'Automated cloud flow'. Name your flow, search for the 'When a new response is submitted' trigger (under Microsoft Forms), and select your specific form from the dropdown.

Get Form Response Details

Click 'New step' and search for 'Get response details'. Select the same Form ID as in the previous step, and click the 'Response Id' field to insert the dynamic Response Id token from the trigger.

Start an Approval Process

Click 'New step' and add the 'Start and wait for an approval' action. Choose an approval type (e.g., 'Approve/Reject - First to respond'), fill in the Title, and assign it to the email address of the designated approver. You can include form details in the Item Link or Details fields.

Add a Condition

Add a 'Condition' step. In the first box, select the 'Outcome' dynamic content from the approval step. Set the operator to 'is equal to', and type 'Approve' in the right box.

Add a Row to the Excel Table

Inside the 'If yes' branch of the condition, add the 'Add a row into a table' action (Excel Online). Select the Location, Document Library, File, and Table. Once the table is selected, its columns will appear. Map each column to the corresponding dynamic content from the 'Get response details' step.

Testing the Flow: After saving your flow, click 'Test' in the upper right corner and manually submit a response to your Microsoft Form to verify that the approval triggers and data is correctly written to your Excel table.

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While Power Automate and Microsoft Forms handle specific automated workflows within the Microsoft ecosystem, WPS Office provides a lightweight, highly compatible, and cost-free alternative for managing your exported spreadsheets, documents, and presentations with ease.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website to download and install the free WPS Office suite for your operating system.
2. Open Your Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and easily open the .xlsx master file containing your automated form responses.
3. Analyze Form Data: Use the built-in pivot tables, charts, and filtering tools in WPS Spreadsheet to seamlessly analyze and organize your approved data.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx), Word (.docx), and PowerPoint (.pptx) file formats.Lightweight architecture that runs smoothly on almost any device without draining system resources.Built-in robust spreadsheet tools for data analysis, filtering, and pivot tables.Familiar, tabbed user interface allowing a seamless migration from Microsoft Office.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Power Automate flow failing to find the Excel table?

This usually happens if the Excel file is not saved in a supported cloud location like OneDrive for Business or SharePoint. Additionally, the specific data range inside the workbook must be explicitly formatted as a Table (using Ctrl+T or 'Format as Table' in Excel) for Power Automate to recognize it.

Can I send an email notification if the Microsoft Form submission is rejected?

Yes. In your Power Automate flow, under the 'If no' branch of your Condition step, you can add an action like 'Send an email (V2)'. You can use the form submitter's email address to notify them that their request was rejected.

Do I need a premium license to connect Microsoft Forms and Excel in Power Automate?

No, the standard connectors for Microsoft Forms and Excel Online (Business or OneDrive) are included in most basic Microsoft 365 plans. They do not require a premium Power Automate license to function.

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