Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based software that lets you run your business effectively. It offers best-in-class cloud services such as One Drive, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Skype For Business, Word, PowerPoint, etc. You can access these tools while sitting at your home. You will only require a stable internet connection to perform your business activities. Of course, every business is goal-oriented. An operational business plan helps to perform day-to-day activities to reach the company’s goals and ambitions. With Office 365, it has become much easier to carry out an effective operational business plan that ensures all the team members are aware of their individual responsibilities.
Office 365 is a subscription-based suite. Like other SaaS products, Office 365 has a subscription fee. You will get access to its apps and tools depending on the plan you select. You will be able to begin working on business-related tasks after you have signed up. Here, we list some essential tips to use Microsoft Office 365 for small businesses.
Essential Tips to Use Microsoft Office 365
1. Utilize Apps and Tools on Any Device
Even if your business is small, it demands you to stay connected all time to be successful. The cloud-based technology of Microsoft 365 allows your team members to utilize its features or apps on any device from anywhere they want. Your team can access all business-related documents, presentations, emails, etc. If you have purchased a premium plan, you can utilize all tools such as Outlook, Teams, Word, PowerPoint, etc.
2. Sort Emails
When you open your inbox, you will see two tabs: Focused and Other. With the “Focused Inbox” feature, you can prioritize your important emails. It sorts emails based on the content and the emails that you open on a daily basis. Other insignificant emails will go to the “Other” tab.
3. Ignore “Reply All” Emails
If your inbox is loaded with a lot of emails, Office 365 will prompt you to “Reply All” emails. Of course, it would be time-consuming to reply to all emails, even those which are unimportant to you. To ignore “reply all”, you have to click the Home button and select the Ignore option. If you wish to disable this functionality later, simply go to More and choose Stop Ignoring.
4. Use Smart Lookup
If you’re using the Word app of Office 365, and you need to search for something on the internet, you can utilize its Smart Lookup feature. Instead of wasting your time in toggling tabs, you can quickly search using Smart Lookup. To utilize it, right-click on any word and select Smart Lookup.
5. Monitor Licenses Regularly
If an employee leaves Office 365, shift his license to the new employee rather than buying a new license. It will save you an amount.
6. Use the OneNote feature of Outlook to Remember Meetings
You cannot forget things if you use the OneNote app of Microsoft 365. OneNote is a reminder with which you can convert your notes to items in your calendar so that you will never miss your deadlines, meetings, reminders, etc.
7. Disable Old Accounts
Always disable the accounts of employees who have worked in the past with your company. This is to ensure that only current working employees have permission to use the company personnel.
8. Use Keyboard Shortcuts
If you’re working in Word or Excel, you should remember the shortcuts to save time and easily maneuver spreadsheets and word files.
9. Send Emails with Microsoft Teams
You can increase your productivity by using Teams. You may send emails straight to Teams and have them viewed by your whole team. For this, you need to click the “Get Email Address” option. This address should be copied and pasted into the email you’re sending to the channel. In this way, you will not skip anyone.
10. Save Important Items from Chats
It often happens that when you want to find out the important items, you scroll down and waste your time. This is the amazing feature of Microsoft 365 that you can bookmark your important items. Select the Flag option after clicking on the item you wish to preserve. This will keep your stuff safe. To check the saved items, click on the Saved option under your profile icon.
11. Use Microsoft Planner
You can organize different tasks with Microsoft Planner. You may keep a record of due dates, cards, and create groups to focus on the most important activities.
12. Setup OneDrive
If you’re running a small business, storage space is important to keep in mind. Put your essential documents in one place to access them easily. OneDrive provides 1TB storage space. This space is sufficient to organize and save your emails, invoices, and pictures, etc.
These tips will encourage your workers to fully utilize each tool.