Microsoft 365: Are You Using It or Just Paying for It?

Most small and mid-sized businesses in the UK are already paying for Microsoft 365, but very few are using it to its full potential.

From booking systems and e-signatures to low-code automation and AI-powered writing tools, Microsoft 365 offers far more than Word, Excel and Outlook. Yet in our work with SMEs, we consistently find teams using just 20–30% of the tools available to them.

This isn’t just about getting your money’s worth. It’s about improving workflows, cutting admin, and making your team more productive — without buying extra software.

What Most SMEs Use in Microsoft 365

Here’s what we typically see in small business environments:

Commonly Used Tools	Description
Outlook	Email and calendar
Word, Excel, PowerPoint	Office desktop apps
Teams	Chat and video calls
OneDrive	Personal cloud file storage

All useful. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

What You’re Probably Paying for But Not Using

1. Microsoft Bookings – Online Appointment Scheduling

Let clients book meetings, consultations, or services without endless back-and-forth emails.

✅ Perfect for accountants, solicitors, marketing teams, or onboarding calls

✅ Integrates with Outlook calendars and Teams

✅ Custom branding, automated confirmations, and buffer time control

👉 Great alternative to Calendly or Acuity, already included in Business Standard and Premium plans.

2. Approvals App in Teams – Streamline Decision-Making

Need to sign off on expenses, holiday requests, or supplier quotes? The Approvals app lets staff send and track approvals inside Teams.

✅ Instant notifications

✅ Email-free workflows

✅ Attach files, comments, and keep an audit trail

Ideal for businesses where decisions often get lost in inboxes.

3. Forms and Power Automate – Automate Common Processes

Collect data from customers or staff, and trigger automated actions:

• Send a notification

• Update a spreadsheet

• Create a SharePoint task

• Generate an approval flow

Examples:

• New client onboarding

• Incident reporting

• Annual leave requests

Power Automate offers drag-and-drop logic without needing coding knowledge and it integrates with over 500 other apps (e.g. Xero, Trello, Salesforce, Mailchimp).

4. SharePoint – More Than Just File Storage

SharePoint isn’t just a backend to OneDrive. It can be used for:

• Company intranets

• Project dashboards

• Client portals

• Team document repositories with permissions

You can control access, version history, and even embed videos, calendars, and forms all without third-party tools.

5. Microsoft Lists – Track and Organise Anything

Manage inventories, contracts, contacts, onboarding steps or IT assets with Lists — a powerful tool that’s more visual and collaborative than Excel, but less complex than databases.

✅ Pre-built templates

✅ Built-in alerts and reminders

✅ Can be used inside Teams or SharePoint

6. Loop and OneNote – Shared Notes & Ideas

OneNote: Take meeting minutes, share research, and collaborate in real time.Loop: Microsoft’s newest collaborative tool, ideal for brainstorming, drafting, or shared checklists works across Teams, Outlook and Word.

7. Microsoft Copilot (if enabled) – AI in Your Everyday Work

Available as an add-on, Copilot uses GPT-4 to help you:

• Summarise email threads in Outlook

• Draft content in Word

• Analyse data in Excel

• Turn bullet points into PowerPoint decks

If you’ve already licensed it, but staff aren’t using it ... you’re missing out on one of the biggest workplace shifts of the decade.

Bonus Tools for Security & Management

• Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) – Manage user logins, device access, and multi-factor authentication

• Defender for Business – Endpoint protection, threat monitoring and reporting

• Compliance Centre – Setup data loss prevention (DLP), retention policies and audit logs

How to Get the Most from Microsoft 365

✅ Review what’s included in your current licence: Many features are bundled into Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Premium at no extra cost, just unused.

✅ Run a team workshop: Ask your staff - "Which processes feel clunky? Could bookings, approvals, or shared documents help?"

✅ Talk to your IT provider or MSP: They should be helping you identify features relevant to your business and provide basic training if needed.

✅ Build one small automation first: Even something simple like a staff onboarding checklist or a customer feedback form can unlock hours of saved time each month.

For most SMEs, Microsoft 365 is already installed and paid for. But without guidance, its best features stay hidden.

With a bit of planning and support, you can automate repetitive work, improve collaboration, and deliver a better experience to your team and customers, using tools you already have.