# Power Apps consultant: apps, flows and integrations around Microsoft 365. > SBD builds Power Apps, Power Automate flows and integrations for organisations already on Microsoft 365, and helps with the licensing, environments and data policies around them, for teams of 5 to 1,000 people. Workflow automation builds start at $1,500 and internal tools at $3,000, with the fixed price set after a $500 Automation Audit that is credited to the build. - Canonical: https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/power-apps/ - Publisher: SmallBay Digital ## What a Power Apps developer from SBD builds Most organisations that call us already have Power Apps and Power Automate through Microsoft 365. A few apps were built on SharePoint lists, some flows send approvals from Outlook, and now the requests are bigger: apps for several departments, data that must reach a system outside Microsoft, and questions from IT about licences and governance. The work falls into three parts. Apps: canvas apps on SharePoint for simple cases, and model-driven or canvas apps on Dataverse when you need relationships, security roles and auditing. Flows: Power Automate for approvals and handoffs inside Microsoft 365, written to stay within request limits. Integration: connections from Microsoft 365 to CRMs, accounting, ERPs and other systems outside it, through premium connectors, custom connectors or n8n and Make where those fit better. To be clear about scope: we build apps, flows and integrations around Microsoft 365. We do not run large Dynamics 365 implementations, and we will say so if that is what you need. We have not published a case study built on Power Apps; the closest published work is an [internal tool with server-enforced roles](https://smallbaydigital.com/case-studies/consulting-internal-tool/) for a consulting firm. ## When Power Apps is the right choice, and when it is not Power Apps suits organisations standardised on [Microsoft 365](https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/microsoft-365/) and Entra ID, where staff already sign in with their work account and data already sits in SharePoint, Excel or Teams. Sign-in, access and data policies come from tools your IT team already runs, which shortens security reviews. Licensing decides a lot. Microsoft 365 licences include some Power Apps and Power Automate use, but premium connectors, Dataverse and custom connectors need a premium licence for every user of the app. We check licences before choosing a design. We will steer you elsewhere when: - Most users are external or not on Microsoft 365; a portal on another platform is usually simpler and cheaper. - The design needs premium connectors for a large user base that only has Microsoft 365 licences; the licence cost can outweigh the build. - Many systems write to the data every minute; SharePoint lists do not hold up to that, so it belongs in a database with flows calling it. - You need a full CRM or ERP rollout; that is work for a Dynamics 365 partner. ## Power Apps licences, request limits, environments and DLP Microsoft sets daily request limits per licence. Every connector call and Dataverse operation from an app counts, and in Power Automate every action counts, including retries and failed actions. Microsoft is in a transition period where Premium limits are applied per flow, and advises designing flows for the per-user limits that apply once it ends. Environments separate development, test and production, each with its own data, apps and flows. Data policies, also called DLP policies, are set by admins and control which connectors can be used, so a flow cannot move company data to an unapproved service. When a policy changes, apps and flows that break it are suspended. We design within your policies and help write them where none exist. From Microsoft pages in October 2026: - **Power Apps Premium:** $20 per user a month paid yearly, with unlimited apps for that user; $12 per user a month with a 2,000-seat minimum; includes 250 MB Dataverse database and 2 GB file capacity per licence. - **Dataverse capacity:** extra database capacity at $40 per GB a month paid yearly. - **Daily requests:** 40,000 per user on Power Apps Premium and Power Automate Premium; 6,000 on Power Apps per app and Microsoft 365 licences; 250,000 per flow on a Power Automate Process licence, stackable up to 10 on one flow. - **Background identities:** 25,000 pooled requests a day for the tenant from Power Apps or Power Automate licences, shared by application and non-interactive users. ## How hiring a Power Apps consultant from SBD works Every engagement starts with an [Automation Audit](https://smallbaydigital.com/services/audit/) at $500, credited in full to your build. For Power Platform we review apps, flows, connectors, environments, data policies and who holds which licence, then check how close key flows run to their request limits. You get a ranked list of fixes, each with a fixed price, a licence note, and a blueprint for the first build. Workflow automation builds start at $1,500, internal tools at $3,000 and multi-module systems at $5,000, and the fixed price is set after the audit and agreed before work begins. Typical scopes are a departmental app moved from SharePoint to Dataverse, a set of approval flows, an integration between Microsoft 365 and a CRM or accounting system, or an environment and data policy setup. Work runs in two-week sprints with sixty days of hypercare, and care plans start at $50 a month. Nothing is billed by the hour; see the [pricing page](https://smallbaydigital.com/pricing/). Your Microsoft licences are bought by you from Microsoft or your reseller. We do not resell licences. ## What you own, and moving into or out of Power Apps Apps and flows are delivered in solutions in your own environments, owned by accounts or service principals you control. You receive a document listing apps, flows, connections, environment variables and data policies, a guide for makers on what they can safely change, and a runbook for each integration. Migration runs both ways. Teams move into Power Apps from spreadsheets, email approvals and Access databases; we map the data, choose SharePoint or Dataverse, and roll out by department. Teams also move parts out when licence costs or external users make another platform a better fit. The audit sets out both costs before you choose. Book a discovery call to talk through your tenant. ## At enterprise scale Power Apps is used by organisations standardised on Microsoft 365, from mid-size firms to large enterprises. Apps are typically built by business teams in operations, finance, HR and facilities, while IT runs the tenant, Entra ID, environments and data policies. The tension between those two groups is usually why a consultant is called. - **Entra ID and access** Apps use the work sign-in your staff already have. We grant access through Entra ID security groups and Dataverse security roles rather than to individuals, so joiners and leavers are handled by the processes IT already runs. - **Licensing** Premium connectors, Dataverse and custom connectors need premium licences for every user. We list which users need which licence for each design, and offer a standard-connector alternative where one exists. - **Environments and ALM** We build in development, test in a separate environment and release to production as managed solutions, with connection references and environment variables so nothing is rewired by hand. - **Data policies** We design within your DLP policies and, where none exist, propose a set that keeps business and non-business connectors apart and blocks the ones you do not use. Microsoft notes that apps and flows breaking a new policy are suspended, so we check existing ones before changes go live. - **Request limits** We write flows to use fewer actions, batch where possible and run heavy flows under a Process licence or a service account sized for it, so they are not throttled at month end. - **Systems outside Microsoft** We connect Microsoft 365 to CRMs, accounting and ERPs with premium or custom connectors, or with n8n or Make where that is cheaper, with one system owning each field and alerts on failure. ### Engagements - **Already on Power Apps, need more complex builds.** Business teams have built useful apps on SharePoint and now want relationships, roles and auditing. We move the right ones to Dataverse, rebuild screens that have grown messy, and add the flows needed, priced as a fixed build. - **Already on Power Apps, need governance before scaling.** Apps and flows sit in the default environment, owned by whoever built them. We set up environments, data policies and solution-based releases, and move ownership to accounts IT controls. - **Already on Power Automate, flows hitting limits.** Key flows are slow or throttled at busy times. We rewrite them to use fewer actions, split heavy work, and recommend the licence that fits, such as a Process licence for a single busy flow. - **Already on Microsoft 365, need it connected to the CRM.** Staff copy data between Outlook, SharePoint and a CRM or accounting system outside Microsoft. We build the integration with clear field ownership, retries and alerts, and tell you up front which licences it needs. ## Related - [Microsoft 365 integrations](https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/microsoft-365/) - [Case study: internal tool with server-side roles](https://smallbaydigital.com/case-studies/consulting-internal-tool/) - [Retool developer](https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/retool/) - [Internal tools](https://smallbaydigital.com/services/internal-tools/) - [Automation Audit](https://smallbaydigital.com/services/audit/) - [Pricing](https://smallbaydigital.com/pricing/) ## Sources - Microsoft: Power Apps pricing (Premium, 2,000-seat price, Dataverse capacity), checked 29 October 2026 - Microsoft Learn: Requests limits and allocations (licensed, non-licensed and Process licence limits, transition period) - Microsoft Learn: Data policies (connectors, enforcement and suspension of apps and flows)