Who opens the screen?
Your own staff, signed in with Microsoft 365, points to Power Apps. Customers, partners or applicants outside your tenant point to Power Pages.
Power Platform hub · apps, flows and portals
Power Platform consulting services for small business, matched to the problem you actually have
You have narrowed it down to low-code: an app, an automated flow, or a portal, built on the Microsoft tools you already pay for. Our Power Platform consulting services for small business start one step earlier — working out which tool fits which problem, and what a sensible first project looks like — then scope it at one fixed fee. Senior US-based engineers, typical delivery in 2–4 weeks, 30 days of hypercare included.
Representative dashboard — sample data
Before you pick a tool
Three questions that point to the right part of the Power Platform
Most small-business requests land on one tool once these are answered. The rest of the scope follows from them.
Does anyone need a screen at all?
If the work is moving information between systems, chasing approvals or sending the same email every week, a Power Automate flow may do it with no app in front.
Where should the data live?
A short list is fine in SharePoint. Related records, row-level security or a portal on top usually call for Dataverse — and that decision shapes licensing.
Which Power Platform tool fits which problem
The Power Platform is a family of low-code tools that share one set of connectors, one security model and, where you need it, one data platform. Each tool solves a different kind of problem, and a small business rarely needs all of them on day one. Microsoft's Power Apps overview (opens in new tab) describes the platform side; the table below is the practical comparison we work from when scoping.
| Tool | Fits when the problem is… | Usually the wrong fit when… | A typical first project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Apps | Staff re-key data, edit one fragile shared spreadsheet, or fill in a paper form someone retypes later | The people using it are outside your company, or no one needs to enter anything by hand | One canvas or model-driven app replacing a single spreadsheet or form for one team |
| Power Automate | Work stalls waiting for approvals, reminders, or data copied from one system into another | The real problem is a missing screen for capturing data, or the process itself is not agreed | One approval workflow with routing, reminders and a logged decision trail |
| Power Pages | Customers, partners or applicants need to sign in, submit something, or check a status | Only your own staff use it, or the site is purely marketing content with no records behind it | A portal for one kind of request, secured with web roles and table permissions |
| Dataverse | Records relate to each other, need row-level security, or have to sit under a portal or model-driven app | The data is one short list that SharePoint already holds comfortably | A data model for one process: tables, relationships, security roles and an environment to ship through |
Reporting is a separate decision. If the problem is that nobody can see the numbers, rather than that work is hard to do, that belongs with our Power BI dashboard development service instead of an app or flow.
If you are still deciding across Microsoft 365 as a whole — email, files, security and Copilot as well as apps — the broader view of our Microsoft 365 consulting for small business is the better starting point. This page is for buyers who already know the answer is low-code.
How it works
What a first Power Platform project looks like
- 1
Pick one process
A free consultation narrows the wish list to one process, one team and one owner. You get a written scope naming the tool, the data source, what “done” means, one fixed price and a delivery date.
- 2
Build in your tenant
A senior engineer builds the app, flow or portal in your own Microsoft environment, with your team reviewing as it takes shape rather than seeing it for the first time at the end.
- 3
Hand over and settle in
You get the working solution, the documentation and admin access, followed by 30 days of hypercare for fixes and questions. Everything we built is yours.
How to scope a first project that is worth finishing
The first project sets the pattern for everything after it, so it pays to keep it small and specific. The ones that go well tend to share four traits:
- One process with a named owner. Someone on your side can say what the process is today and sign off when the new version matches it.
- Data that already exists somewhere. A spreadsheet, a SharePoint list or another system is a far easier starting point than data nobody has collected yet.
- A visible finish line. “Requests are approved in the app and logged” is a scope. “Make operations more efficient” is not.
- Licensing checked up front. Many Microsoft 365 plans cover Power Apps and Power Automate with standard connectors, but Dataverse, premium connectors and Power Pages are licensed separately. Our guides to Power Apps licensing for small business and Power Automate licensing for small business set out the options.
If the open question is whether an idea can work at all, a Power Apps proof of concept tests one process before you commit to a full build. And if the choice between tools is still close, the comparisons of canvas apps vs model-driven apps and Power Apps vs Power Pages go into more depth than this page does.
Each Power Platform service in brief
Every service below has its own page with the full scope, deliverables and questions. This is the short version, to help you find the right one.
Apps for your own staff
Our Power Apps consulting service replaces the shared spreadsheet, the paper form or the process that lives in one person’s head with a custom canvas or model-driven app. It is the right page when your own team needs a better way to enter, find and update records.
Approvals and automated workflows
Our Power Automate consulting service builds approval workflows, scheduled jobs and integrations between the systems you already run, so requests reach the right person and every decision is logged. Start there when the work is mostly waiting and copying rather than data entry.
Portals for customers and partners
Our Power Pages development service builds the secure, sign-in site that people outside your tenant use to submit requests or check a status. It sits on Dataverse and is locked down with web roles and table permissions, so external users see only their own records.
The data model underneath
Our Microsoft Dataverse consulting service designs the tables, relationships, security roles and environments that apps, flows and portals depend on. It is the place to start when the data has outgrown SharePoint lists, or when several apps need to share one source of truth.
Rules for an estate that already exists
Our Power Platform governance consulting service sorts out environments, connector policies and the apps and flows nobody owns any more. Microsoft’s environment strategy guidance (opens in new tab) explains why this matters as the number of makers grows.
A build that stalled or broke
Our Power Platform project rescue service takes over a half-finished or failing build that somebody else started. We read what exists first and give you a written verdict on what is salvageable before any fix is priced.
Small fixes for an app already in use
Our Power Apps support and maintenance service handles the list of small changes and broken connections on an app your team relies on. Each batch is scoped at one fixed fee you approve first — no retainer and no bank of hours.
Choose your route
Detailed pages for each Power Platform service
Power Apps consulting
Custom canvas and model-driven apps that replace spreadsheets, paper forms and manual re-keying.
Power Automate consulting
Approval workflows, scheduled jobs and integrations, with every decision logged.
Power Pages development
Secure sign-in portals for customers, partners and applicants outside your tenant.
Dataverse consulting
Tables, relationships, security roles and environments for the data under your apps.
Power Platform governance
Environments, connector policies and ownership for an estate that grew without rules.
Power Platform project rescue
A written verdict on a stalled or failing build, then a fixed price to finish it.
Power Apps support and maintenance
Scoped batches of fixes and small changes for an app already in daily use.
FAQ
Questions small businesses ask before a first build
Start from the problem, not the product. If people re-key data into a spreadsheet or paper form, that is usually a Power Apps job. If work stalls while someone waits for an approval or a copy-paste, it is Power Automate. If the people involved are outside your company, look at Power Pages.
One process, one team, and a clear owner. Typical examples are a single approval workflow, an app that replaces one shared spreadsheet, or a small portal for one kind of request. It is scoped in writing at one fixed fee, built in your own tenant in a typical two to four weeks, then handed over with 30 days of hypercare.
Sometimes. Many Microsoft 365 plans let staff use Power Apps and Power Automate with standard connectors such as SharePoint and Outlook. Dataverse, premium connectors and Power Pages are licensed separately. We check your licence position during scoping, so any extra cost is known before you approve the fixed fee.
You own everything we build, in your own tenant. Thirty days of hypercare follow delivery, included in the fixed fee, covering fixes and questions as your team settles in. After that there is no retainer: if you later want changes, each batch is scoped and priced as its own fixed-fee piece of work.
Begin with what already exists rather than a fresh build. We read the apps, flows, connections and data underneath, then give you a written verdict on what is worth keeping before any fix is priced. Our project rescue page explains how that takeover is scoped, including when starting over is genuinely the better call.
Book a free consultation
Get more from the Microsoft tools you already pay for
Tell us what you’re trying to fix — a report, an approval process, an intranet, a Copilot rollout. We scope it as a fixed-fee project, you approve, and a senior engineer delivers in 2–4 weeks.
- Fixed-fee scope agreed before any work starts
- Senior, US-based Microsoft engineers — no handoffs
- Typical 2–4 week delivery
- 30 days of post-delivery hypercare included
The fastest way to reach us is the form — tell us the task and we’ll reply within one business day.