Making the Most of Microsoft 365: Features That Could Save Your Business Time and Money 

What you’ll learn:

• Automate repetitive tasks and reduce manual administration with Power Automate.
• Streamline business processes using Microsoft Lists and Excel Power Query.
• Improve collaboration and keep projects on track with Microsoft Loop, Teams and Planner.
• Make better use of Copilot, including features you may already have access to.
• Strengthen security using Microsoft 365’s built-in tools and recommendations.
• Get better value from your subscription by making use of existing capabilities before investing in additional software.

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Since it’s launch in 2011, Microsoft 365 has been an essential part of everyday business. But are you obtaining the full potential of your organisation’s Microsoft 365 subscriptions? 

Beyond the familiar applications is a collection of productivity tools, automation capabilities and security features that many organisations have yet to explore.  

Some are overlooked because they’re hidden within existing applications, while others require a little initial configuration before their benefits become apparent. We’re all guilty of tech procrastination sometimes, so let us guide you through the most efficient and effective ways to get these features up and running. 

The good news is that most of the features we’ll cover are already included in common Microsoft 365 business subscriptions. 

We’ll explored some of the lesser-known capabilities worth investigating, with practical examples of how they can reduce administration, improve productivity and help your organisation get a better return on its Microsoft 365 investment. 

Automate everyday business processes with Power Automate 

Think about how much time your employees spend on repetitive administration. Processing requests, chasing approvals, updating spreadsheets and sending reminders can take up valuable time that could be spent on more productive work. 

Microsoft Power Automate allows organisations to automate many of these processes by connecting applications and creating workflows that run when certain conditions are met. 

These workflows can be surprisingly sophisticated, often without requiring any programming knowledge. 

How could your business use it? 

Consider a business that manages new employee onboarding manually. 

Every time someone joins, HR sends emails to IT requesting equipment and account access. Managers need to approve various requests, while someone else ensures the new starter has completed their paperwork. 

With Power Automate, much of this process could be coordinated automatically. 

For example, when HR submits a new starter form, Power Automate could create a task for IT, notify the relevant manager, record the request in a Microsoft List and send reminders if actions remain outstanding. 

HR would retain oversight of the process, but much of the repetitive coordination could happen automatically. 

Similar workflows could manage purchase requests, holiday approvals, document reviews or customer enquiries. 

Getting started 

Visit Power Automate and explore the available templates. 

These provide examples of common workflows and can be a useful starting point before building something more specific. 

For IT managers, we’d recommend identifying one repetitive process involving several employees, documenting how it currently works and testing whether automation could remove unnecessary steps. 

Business benefits:  

• Less time spent on repetitive administration. 
• Fewer missed actions and more consistent processes.  
• Even modest time savings can become significant when a workflow is repeated hundreds of times. 

Licensing: Eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions include limited Power Automate capabilities using standard connectors. Premium connectors, certain enterprise scenarios and more advanced automation may require additional licensing. 

Replace complicated spreadsheets with Microsoft Lists 

Excel is an incredibly capable application, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best tool for every job. 

Many businesses use spreadsheets to track everything from equipment inventories and customer enquiries to project requests and maintenance schedules. 

Over time, these spreadsheets can become difficult to manage. Multiple people make changes, information becomes outdated and employees spend time checking which version contains the latest information. 

Microsoft Lists offers an alternative designed specifically for tracking and managing structured information. 

Rather than maintaining a traditional spreadsheet, teams can create shared lists with custom fields, different views, assigned responsibilities and automated notifications. 

How could your business use it? 

Imagine an IT department managing requests for equipment. 

Instead of maintaining a spreadsheet or relying on emails, the department could create a Microsoft List containing: 

• Employee name and department 
• Equipment requested 
• Date submitted 
• Approval status 
• Assigned IT technician 
• Expected completion date 

Employees can submit requests through a form, while the IT department can view outstanding work, filter requests by priority and update their progress. 

Microsoft Lists can also automatically notify colleagues when information changes. 

For example, a manager could receive a notification when a new request is submitted, or an employee could be informed when their request has been approved. 

More complex actions can be handled by integrating lists with Power Automate. 

Getting started 

Open Microsoft Lists through your Microsoft 365 applications. 

You can create a blank list, use an existing Excel spreadsheet as a starting point or choose a template. 

Once you’ve created a list, explore its rules and notification settings to automate simple actions. 

Microsoft’s Lists guidance explains how to organise information, share lists and configure rules. 

Business benefits:  

• Better visibility of operational information. 
• Fewer spreadsheet-related problems. 
• Less time spent manually updating colleagues.  
• Lists can also provide a useful foundation for more sophisticated business automation. 

Reduce manual reporting with Excel Power Query 

For many businesses, reporting involves an unfortunate amount of repetitive work. 

Employees export information from different systems, copy it into spreadsheets, remove unwanted columns, correct formatting and combine data before they can begin analysing it. 

The frustrating part is that much of this work is repeated every week or month. But with Excel’s Power Query, you can automate many of these data preparation tasks. 

Power Query allows users to import information from different sources, transform it into a consistent format and refresh the results when new data becomes available. 

Unlike a macro that simply repeats actions, Power Query records the steps used to prepare data and applies those transformations when the query is refreshed. 

How could your business use it? 

Imagine your finance department receives monthly sales reports from five regional offices. 

Each office submits a spreadsheet containing the same columns of information. 

Ordinarily, someone might open all five files, copy their contents into a master spreadsheet, check formatting and prepare the combined report. 

With Power Query, the department could create a query that imports the files from a designated folder, combines the information and applies the required transformations. 

The following month, provided the incoming files follow the expected structure, the process could be as simple as adding the new reports and refreshing the query. 

Getting started 

In a supported version of Excel, navigate to Data > Get Data. 

From there, you can connect to files, folders and other data sources. 

Microsoft provides a useful guide to combining multiple files using Power Query. 

For your first project, choose a report that requires the same preparation steps every month. 

Business benefits:  

• Less manual data processing. 
• More consistent reporting. 
• Reduced risk of copy-and-paste errors. 
• It can also free employees to spend more time interpreting information rather than preparing it. 

Power Query is included in supported versions of Excel, although available connectors and functionality vary between Windows, Mac and web versions.  

Keep projects moving with Microsoft Loop 

One of the challenges of modern collaboration is that information becomes scattered across emails, Teams conversations, meetings and documents. 

Someone circulates a document for feedback; colleagues respond with different suggestions and before long nobody is quite sure which version contains the latest information. 

Microsoft Loop provides a way to collaborate on shared content across Microsoft 365 applications, and its most useful feature is arguably Loop components. 

These are editable pieces of content, such as tables, checklists and task lists, that can be shared within supported applications. 

Unlike copying information into multiple messages, a Loop component remains connected to the original content. So when someone updates it, those changes appear wherever that component is shared. 

How could your business use it? 

Imagine your marketing department is organising a customer event. The marketing team has a list of tasks covering invitations, venue arrangements, promotional materials and follow-up communications. 

Instead of emailing the list between colleagues, the team could create a Loop task list within Teams, which enabled employees to update their responsibilities directly within the conversation. 

The same component can be shared in a supported Outlook email, with changes remaining synchronised. 

Loop task lists can also integrate with Microsoft Planner, allowing assigned tasks to be managed alongside other work. This reduces the need to maintain separate documents and repeatedly circulate updated information. 

Getting started 

In a supported Teams chat or Outlook email, look for the Loop components option. Try creating a shared checklist or task list and inviting colleagues to contribute. 

You can also explore the dedicated Microsoft Loop application for larger projects involving shared pages and workspaces. 

Business benefits:  

• Less duplicated information. 
• Fewer unnecessary messages. 
• Better visibility of shared tasks. 
• Keep teams updated on project progress. 

Licensing: Microsoft expanded access to Loop workspace creation in February 2026 for eligible users who meet its storage requirements. Availability remains subject to organisational policies and licensing.  

Turn meeting discussions into trackable actions with Teams and Planner 

Most businesses don’t need more meetings, and most employees are secretly sick of them. People need to get more value from the meetings they’re already having. 

The problems start as soon as the meeting is over. Actions are discussed, responsibilities are agreed and someone takes notes. But those notes may never see the light of day again, leaving people uncertain about what needs to happen next and creating the potential for important action points to get missed.

So what’s the answer? Microsoft Teams includes collaborative meeting notes that can help turn discussions into actionable work. Participants can contribute to a shared agenda, record notes and assign follow-up tasks. 

These tasks can then synchronise with Microsoft Planner, providing a central place to track progress. 

How could your business use it? 

Let’s say your business has a weekly project meeting involving several departments. Teams allows participants to add items to a shared agenda in the run up to the meeting.

During the meeting, someone records decisions and assigns tasks to the relevant employees, including deadlines. Those tasks can subsequently appear in Planner, where employees can manage them alongside their other responsibilities. 

At the following meeting, the team can review outstanding actions rather than spending time trying to establish who was responsible for which tasks from the previous meeting.

Getting started 

When scheduling a supported Teams meeting, select the option to add a shared agenda. 

Use the collaborative notes to record important decisions and assign follow-up tasks. 

Assigned actions can be managed through Microsoft Planner, which is also accessible within Teams. 

Microsoft’s meeting notes guidance explains how the feature works.  

Business benefits:  

• Clearer accountability. 
• Fewer forgotten actions. 
• Less time spent repeating discussions or chasing colleagues. 

Licensing: While collaborative meeting notes don’t require an additional Copilot licence. AI-generated meeting summaries and intelligent recap features are separate capabilities with their own licensing requirements. 

Use Microsoft Copilot without immediately upgrading everyone’s licence 

Microsoft Copilot has attracted enormous attention, but businesses understandably want to establish whether the additional investment is worthwhile. 

What some organisations may not realise is that eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions already include access to Microsoft “Copilot Chat”, which is the little brother of the more advanced “Microsoft 365 Copilot” add-on. Let’s explain.

Copilot Chat can assist with everyday activities such as drafting communications, researching unfamiliar subjects, preparing project plans and summarising information provided by the user. 

This provides a useful opportunity to introduce employees to AI-powered productivity without immediately purchasing the full Microsoft Copilot add-on. 

How could your business use it? 

Consider an account manager preparing for a meeting with a prospective customer. 

They could use Copilot Chat to research the customer’s industry, identify relevant market challenges and develop a structured meeting agenda. 

Alternatively, an IT manager could use it to help prepare an internal policy, compare technical approaches or explain a complicated concept to non-technical colleagues. 

These tasks don’t necessarily require access to company emails or internal documents, they are more generic jobs which Copilot excels at.

For more advanced use cases, the paid Microsoft Copilot licence provides deeper integration with Microsoft 365 applications and organisational information. 

This can allow employees to work with information from their emails, documents and meetings, subject to permissions and licensing. 

Getting started 

Eligible business users can access Copilot Chat using their Microsoft 365 work account. 

We recommend starting with a small group of employees and identifying specific tasks where AI could provide genuine value. 

Establish simple guidelines covering acceptable use, information handling and the need to verify important outputs. 

Then assess whether additional Copilot licensing would deliver enough value to justify the investment. 

Business benefits:  

• Employees can begin experimenting with AI-assisted productivity. 
• Can act as an informal AI training experience. 
• Organisations assess where more advanced capabilities could provide a measurable return. 

Licensing: Copilot Chat is included with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions, but full Microsoft Copilot functionality and some agent capabilities require additional licences or usage-based billing.  

A word of caution about Copilot and company data 

Before expanding Copilot access, businesses should review how information is stored and shared. 

Microsoft Copilot operates within existing permissions. However, if sensitive information is already accessible to employees who shouldn’t have access to it, Copilot may make that information easier for them to discover. 

For this reason, reviewing SharePoint permissions, document sharing settings and information governance should form part of any wider Copilot deployment. 

Before employees use any AI tool, ensure you have an AI use policy in place. 

Microsoft provides guidance on preparing SharePoint for Copilot, including identifying and reducing oversharing risks. 

Make better use of the security tools in your Microsoft 365 subscription 

Getting more value from Microsoft 365 isn’t exclusively about improving productivity. There may also be opportunities to strengthen your organisation’s security using capabilities that are already included in your subscription. 

For example, Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes Microsoft Intune for device management and Microsoft Defender for Business for endpoint security. These tools can help organisations manage devices, apply security policies and protect company information. 

However, having access to security software doesn’t automatically mean it’s fully deployed or configured appropriately. 

Discover potential improvements with Microsoft Secure Score 

Microsoft Secure Score provides organisations with an assessment of their Microsoft security configuration. 

It examines supported products and identifies recommended improvements, helping administrators prioritise areas that may require attention. These could include identity protection, email security, authentication settings and device management. 

For example, an IT manager might discover that some accounts aren’t adequately protected by multifactor authentication, or that additional security settings could be configured. 

Not every recommendation will be appropriate for every business, and some will require licences that aren’t currently held.  Nevertheless, Secure Score offers a useful starting point for identifying improvements. 

Getting started 

IT administrators with appropriate permissions can access Secure Score through the Microsoft Defender portal. 

Review the recommended actions, prioritising those that reduce meaningful risks. 

Rather than simply trying to achieve the highest possible score, consider each recommendation in the context of your organisation’s systems, existing controls and security requirements. 

Business benefits:  

• Better visibility of potential security weaknesses. 
• Greater understanding of your organisations attack surface. 
• Opportunities to improve protection using existing technology investments. 

Microsoft confirms that Secure Score recommendations can include capabilities beyond an organisation’s current licence. Each recommendation should therefore be assessed before implementation.  

Before buying more software, review what you already have 

It’s easy for businesses to accumulate software subscriptions. 

A scheduling tool for one department, a workflow automation platform for another, a separate application for tracking tasks and additional software for managing internal requests. 

Individually, these subscriptions may seem relatively inexpensive. Across an organisation, however, the costs and administrative overhead can add up. 

Microsoft 365 already offers capabilities that may overlap with some of these tools. 

That doesn’t mean Microsoft 365 will always be the best solution. Dedicated applications often provide specialist functionality that Microsoft’s broader productivity tools cannot match. 

But before introducing another product, it’s worth asking whether your existing Microsoft 365 environment could meet the requirement. 

The same principle applies to licensing. 

Businesses sometimes purchase higher-tier subscriptions to access a particular capability without fully understanding what else becomes available. 

A periodic review of licence allocation, feature usage and software requirements can help identify opportunities to consolidate applications, reduce unnecessary expenditure and make better use of existing investments. 

Getting more from your Microsoft 365 investment 

The features we’ve explored demonstrate that relatively small changes to the way Microsoft 365 is configured and used can have a meaningful impact on everyday work. 

However, the biggest benefits often come from looking beyond individual applications. 

The key is to identify where time is currently being wasted, where processes could work more effectively and which capabilities are already available. 

At Trustco, we help organisations make informed technology decisions and get more from their IT investments. Our Digital Workplace services can support businesses looking to improve collaboration, streamline workflows and assess their Microsoft 365 environment, with our Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security expertise helping address wider opportunities and risks. 

Want to understand whether your business is making the most of Microsoft 365 and identify opportunities to improve productivity without unnecessary spending? Speak to Trustco.