Are you getting the most out of Microsoft?

Do you use Microsoft in your business? At Upsource about 60% of our clients are using it, with the remaining 40% using Google Workspace. All the team have their preferences, but at Upsource we’re all about making sure you’re using the tools you have to their full potential and keeping your tech stack as simple as possible.

If you’re using Microsoft, you might not realise the full potential of the tools you already have, so here is our run down of some of the most valuable features within Microsoft 365

Microsoft Planner: Your alternative to Asana & Trello

Best for: Task management and project tracking

• Organise tasks using Kanban boards or list views
• Reduces email overload by keeping assignments in one centralized place
• Ideal for teams looking for a built-in task management system without needing additional third-party tools

OneNote: Your digital notebook

Best for: Note-taking, meeting agendas, and knowledge storage

• Effortlessly convert handwritten notes to text
• Use the email-to-OneNote feature to save Outlook emails directly into your notebooks
• Tag and search notes quickly to find things easily
• A great alternative to Evernote and Notion for organising agendas, business information and SOPs

Power Automate: Automate repetitive tasks

Best for: Saving time on routine admin work

• Automatically flag emails to create Planner tasks
• Send daily Teams reminders to your colleagues, or receive your schedule for tomorrow at the end of every day
• Trigger auto-responses when a Microsoft Form is submitted
• Seamlessly connects with external apps like HubSpot, Shopify, and Google for workflow automation
• Your alternative to Zapier 

Microsoft Loop: A great collaboration tool

Best for: Real-time teamwork and shared documents

• Works inside Outlook, Teams, and Planner for easy and real time collaboration
• Embed a shared table inside an email or meeting invite that automatically updates 
• Great for team scheduling, shared agendas, and tracking actions without version control issues
• Your alternative to Miro and Notion

Microsoft Teams: A chat app and much more

Best for: Centralising communication and work tools

• Integrates with Planner, OneDrive, SharePoint, and external apps like Canva and Asana
• Your alternative to Slack, Zoom or GoogleChat 
• There’s a whole host of upcoming features, which will make your work life even more streamlined:
  • Built-in website live chat support for customer service
  • SMS integration for direct client messaging
  • Voice recognition commands to automate tasks

Outlook Web v desktop: More productivity hacks

Outlook Web will help you to manage emails and calendars better than the desktop version

• Outlook Web has a more accurate search compared to the desktop version
• You can enable calendar change notifications to track when schedules are changed
• Set a 10-second email delay to quickly correct mistakes before an email is sent
• Easily duplicate diary invites without setting up recurring series unnecessarily

If you’re not using all the tools and features in Microsoft 365 you could be missing out, and spending unnecessary money on third party services. If you need some help maximising the potential of your tools, get in touch with Caroline, and she will match you with the right Virtual Assistant for your needs, and your tools!