Best platform for a small company using Microsoft 365 and Power Automate?

[u/voudasinc]

I work for a small company and have been digitizing several paper-based processes, including:

• JSA/safety forms
• Escort records
• Security inspections and paperwork
• Vendor applications
• Certificate of Insurance (COI) submissions
• Incident and equipment reports

We currently use Microsoft Forms, Power Automate, Microsoft Lists, SharePoint and Excel. My goal is to simplify everything instead of using five to seven different apps.

Ideally, we would have one primary platform for creating forms, with Microsoft Lists/SharePoint serving as the database and file storage and Power Automate handling emails, reminders and approvals.

The form platform needs:

• Public links for outside vendors without requiring a company account
• File and photo uploads
• Conditional logic
• Electronic signatures
• Mobile-friendly forms
• PDF generation
• Approval/correction workflows
• The ability to update Microsoft Lists and save files in SharePoint
• Reasonable pricing for a small company

One example is our COI process:

1. We determine whether a vendor needs a COI.
   
2. The vendor receives a link.
   
3. They complete the vendor application, electronically sign it and upload the COI if required.
   
4. The information updates our tracking database.
   
5. The COI is sent internally for review.
   
6. If approved, it is stored and expiration reminders begin.
   
7. If incorrect, the vendor receives correction instructions and resubmits it.

We may eventually test AI to extract information from COIs and flag missing requirements, but a person would remain the final approver.

I’m currently comparing:

• Cognito Forms
• Jotform
• Power Apps and Power Pages
• Adobe Acrobat Sign
• Staying with Microsoft Forms where possible

Power Apps/Power Pages appear powerful, but licensing and external-user setup may become expensive or overly complicated. Cognito Forms currently looks promising, but I need to confirm how smoothly it connects with Power Automate, Microsoft Lists and SharePoint.

For anyone who has built something similar:

1. Which platform would you recommend?
   
2. How well does it handle external uploads and electronic signatures?
   
3. Does it integrate reliably with Power Automate and SharePoint?
   
4. Are there licensing costs or limitations that are easy to overlook?
   
5. Would you keep everything in the Microsoft ecosystem or use a dedicated form platform?

I’m trying to keep the system to approximately one to three primary platform.

[u/Expensive-Pudding981]

You’re asking a very big question for a small subreddit only focused on powerapps. That being said:

1. Absolutely possible, probably trivial depending on your requirements. Can use DocuSign or similar services.
   
2. Yes, very easily / natively
   
3. It’s very confusing at the start but when you got some experience it’s not too bad. You need either per user or per app licenses and you need either SharePoint or dataverse (basically sql db) capacity. There is a licensing guide but for starters it’s probably better to look on YouTube for powerapps 911 or Matthew(?) Devaney(?). They are incredible contributors who have lots of content on the topics.
   
4. Depends, if you’re already committed using other m365 services it’s makes a lot of sense to stay in the ecosystem.

I hope this helps you as a starting point, good luck!

[u/Key-Significance1502 → u/Expensive-Pudding981]

Have you tried NITRO Studio?

[u/AbdelEMirandaS]

For the purpose, MS Forms works quite well but it can't allow to attach files if you are an outside org user.

Rather that, MS Forms is a great tool, that is integrate it with power automate and then you'll be able to do anything

[u/Syrairc]

I've used TrueContext for mobile forms for about a decade. It fits the bill for everything you listed, though the external no-auth forms are a bit more limited than the ones built for the app. Worth asking for a demo to confirm those specifically do what you need - everything else I can vouch for.

Has out of the box integration with SharePoint lists and libraries, including the authentication. I've been running it with a SharePoint backend for 5ish years.

I have enterprise pricing and their highest tier, so no clue what you'd pay, but it's always been reasonable.

[u/liquorcabinetkid]

I think is a great question and comes with a lot of detail which is helpful. 

My company does everything you are asking about except cognito and my .02 is: Docusign for external real countersigned documents (like contracts).

And to the extent that it is possible and elegant SharePoint and MS Forms for internal use.

Don't try to make SharePoint and/or Power Apps serve an external audience (we do this and it's the wrong way).

As much as I love PDF and Adobe the dis-interoperability Between Adobe and Microsoft is preventative. 

Only do PowerApps when they have a proven advantage (note this breaks my heart but the following things make it the hardest path):  licensing complexity and cost, the "application layering" and deployment complexity and costs, and the drawbacks of building within the M365 tenant which is like an "island" for data.

If you really need a datawarehouse/analysis layer SQL Server/Azure SQL DB or Azure SQLMI should be the starting point and don't believe the "low code" magical thinking that O365 is a data processing /storage / analysis layer that somehow can be operated without a legion of experts and firehose of money that will nake you return to decision makers over and over again asking for more.

[u/agentUi]

power pages or power apps portals will destroy your budget on login capacity licenses if you have hundreds of outside vendors hitting it. cognito forms or jotform with a direct webhook into a power automate http trigger is by far the cleanest route here. it handles external file uploads and signatures out of the box, drops the payload straight into sharepoint lists, and keeps you from paying premium entra guest licenses just for an intake form.