Assigning a Power Automate per flow license, now officially known as a Power Automate Process license, involves two primary steps: first, allocating the license capacity to a specific Power Platform environment, and then configuring the individual flow to utilize that allocated capacity. This license enables flows to run with premium capabilities without requiring a premium user license for the owner, or facilitates unattended Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
Understanding the Power Automate Process License
The Power Automate Process license is designed for scenarios where flows perform critical business processes or require unattended automation. It provides capacity for:
- Premium Connectors: Allows flows to use premium and custom connectors even if the flow owner doesn't have a premium user license.
- Unattended RPA: Enables desktop flows to run autonomously without human intervention.
- High Throughput: Provides higher API request limits for the flows consuming the license.
This license is an add-on capacity that is allocated to an environment and then consumed by specific flows within that environment that meet the criteria.
Prerequisites for License Assignment
Before you can assign a Power Automate Process license, ensure you have:
- Purchased Power Automate Process Licenses: These are typically purchased as add-ons.
- Power Platform Administrator Role: You need administrative privileges to access the Power Platform admin center and allocate capacity.
Step-by-Step Guide to Assigning a Power Automate Process (Per Flow) License
The process involves two main stages: allocating the license to an environment and then configuring your flow to utilize it.
Part 1: Allocating Power Automate Process Capacity to an Environment (Power Platform Admin Center)
This step makes the license capacity available within a specific environment for flows to consume.
- Access the Power Platform Admin Center:
- Navigate to the Power Platform admin center.
- Sign in with your administrator credentials.
- Navigate to Capacity:
- On the left-hand navigation pane, select Resources, then choose Capacity.
- You will see an overview of your organization's capacity usage.
- Manage Add-ons:
- On the Capacity page, locate the Add-ons section.
- Select Manage to access the add-on allocation screen.
- Select an Environment:
- From the list of environments, choose the specific environment where you want to allocate the Power Automate Process license capacity.
- Tip: Consider creating dedicated environments for critical processes to better manage capacity.
- Allocate Capacity:
- For the Power Automate Process add-on (formerly "Per Flow"), enter the desired amount of capacity you wish to allocate to the selected environment. This number corresponds to the number of process licenses you want to make available.
- Save Changes:
- After entering the allocation amount, select Save to apply the changes.
The allocated capacity is now available within that environment.
Part 2: Configuring a Flow to Utilize the Allocated Power Automate Process License (Power Automate Portal)
Once the capacity is allocated to an environment, you need to ensure your specific flow is configured to consume it. The method for "adding the license" to a flow depends on the flow's type.
- Access the Power Automate Portal:
- Go to the Power Automate portal.
- Ensure you are in the correct environment where the capacity was allocated.
- Choose the Flow to License:
- Navigate to My flows or Solutions (if your flow is part of a solution) and select the specific flow you intend to license.
For Cloud Flows (utilizing premium connectors without a premium owner):
If a cloud flow uses premium connectors and its owner does not have a Power Automate Premium (per user) license, it will typically consume an available Power Automate Process license from the environment.
- Solution-Aware Flows: For flows within a Power Platform solution, Power Automate often intelligently identifies the need for a Process license if the flow's owner lacks a premium license and the flow uses premium features.
- Explicit Configuration (if applicable): While direct "assign license" buttons are rare for cloud flows, some advanced scenarios might offer settings within the flow details (e.g., in solution context) to specifically mark a flow as a "process flow" to ensure it consumes the allocated capacity. Always check the flow's detailed settings for such options.
For Unattended Desktop Flows (RPA):
Unattended desktop flows explicitly require a Power Automate Process license for their execution.
- Configure Unattended Mode:
- Ensure you have set up your machines or machine groups in the Power Automate portal under Monitor > Machines.
- When creating or editing a desktop flow, configure it to run in unattended mode. This involves specifying the machine or machine group, and providing credentials for the unattended session.
- When an unattended desktop flow is executed, it automatically consumes one Power Automate Process license from the environment's allocated capacity for each bot instance.
Summary Table: Power Automate Process License Assignment
| Step | Location | Action | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1: Allocate Capacity | Power Platform Admin Center | ||
| 1. Go to Capacity | Resources > Capacity | Select Capacity | View overall capacity usage. |
| 2. Manage Add-ons | Add-ons section | Select Manage | Access add-on allocation. |
| 3. Select Environment | List of Environments | Choose target environment | Specify where capacity will be available. |
| 4. Allocate Process Capacity | Power Automate Process row | Enter desired number | Make process licenses available in the environment. |
| 5. Save Changes | Bottom of page | Select Save | Confirm capacity allocation. |
| Part 2: Configure Flow to Use | Power Automate Portal | ||
| 6. Select Flow | My flows / Solutions | Choose the specific flow | Identify the flow that needs to consume the license. |
| 7. Configure Flow (Cloud) | Flow Details/Settings | Ensure flow uses premium connectors & owner lacks premium user license (often implicit consumption). | Enable premium features for the flow. |
| 7. Configure Flow (Unattended RPA) | Monitor > Machines / Flow run | Set desktop flow to run in unattended mode on a machine/group in the licensed environment. | Enable autonomous execution of desktop flows. |
Practical Insights and Best Practices
- Monitor Usage: Regularly check your environment's capacity usage in the Power Platform admin center to ensure you have enough licenses allocated.
- Solution Awareness: For cloud flows, embedding them in solutions can sometimes offer better management and licensing options. Learn more about Power Platform solutions.
- Cost Management: Only allocate the necessary number of process licenses to environments to optimize costs. Unused allocated capacity doesn't automatically get returned.
- Dedicated Environments: For complex business processes requiring multiple unattended bots or high-volume premium cloud flows, consider creating a dedicated environment to simplify management and capacity allocation.
- Review Flow Ownership: If a cloud flow uses premium connectors and its owner has a Power Automate Premium (per user) license, it may not need to consume a separate Power Automate Process license. Always review the owner's licensing.
By following these steps, you can effectively allocate and utilize Power Automate Process licenses to empower your business processes.
