Free Microsoft 365 Tips for Business Owners
When you’re running your own business, there’s no IT to show you the quick wins. These are some of my favourites: small things that save time or stop a headache. They’re all free to read, copy and use, and you can download the lot as a PDF.
Finding your files
- Start file names with the date, backwards. Writing 2026-10-21 first means your files sort into date order automatically.
- The three-second rule. If you can’t tell what a file is within three seconds of seeing its name, rename it.
- Check Version History. If you’ve overwritten a file in OneDrive or SharePoint, right-click it and open Version History before you panic.
Setting up your business email
- Add email aliases. Addresses like info@ or bookings@ can all land in your one inbox, so you don’t need separate mailboxes.
- Set up your signature first. Do it before you send anything, because an email without one looks unfinished.
- Turn on two-factor authentication straight away. Your business email is the gateway to everything else.
Getting more from Copilot
- Try the role trick. Start your prompt with a role, such as “You are a plain-English editor”, and the tone shifts immediately.
- Paste and ask. Paste in an email or document and ask Copilot a question about it directly.
- Give it context. Say who the writing is for and what it’s for. It improves the results, even on the free version.
Everyday Office
- Teams: mark as unread. Right-click a message to flag it, so you remember to come back to it.
- Outlook search operators. Type hasattachments:yes into the search box to see only emails with attachments.
- Excel: filter by colour. It also works on colours applied by Conditional Formatting, not just ones you’ve added by hand.
Better prompts for Copilot
A framework for presentation prompts
When Copilot gives you something generic, the prompt is usually too vague. Before I type anything, I answer four questions:
- Audience: who is this for?
- Structure: how many slides, and what should each one cover?
- Content: what points, facts or numbers must be included?
- Tone: plain English, formal or friendly? Anything to avoid?
Fill-in-the-blank version:
“Create a [X]-slide presentation about [topic] for [specific audience]. Slide 1: [title/purpose]. Slide 2: [content]. Slide 3: [content]. Slide 4: [content]. Keep the tone [plain English / formal / friendly] and avoid [jargon / technical terms / anything specific to skip].”
Sample prompt: a short intro to Teams
“Create a 5-slide presentation about Microsoft Teams for small business owners who are new to it. Slide 1: title only. Slide 2: what it is, in plain English, no jargon. Slide 3: three practical benefits, one sentence each. Slide 4: one common misconception. Slide 5: three next steps the audience can take this week. Keep language simple and avoid technical terms.”
Sample prompt: a client pitch
“Create a 6-slide presentation pitching my bookkeeping services to a prospective client who runs a small retail business. Slide 1: title only. Slide 2: the problem — time lost on manual admin. Slide 3: how I can help, three services. Slide 4: pricing overview. Slide 5: a simple case study or example result. Slide 6: next steps to get started. Keep the tone warm and confident, avoid heavy financial jargon.”
Sample prompt: make a deck look consistent
“Apply a consistent design across all slides, using slide 1’s colours and typography as the anchor. Keep all existing text and content — just align backgrounds, headings, accents and spacing so the deck feels like one set.”
A framework for Custom Instructions
If you’d rather Copilot sounded like you from the start, answer three questions in plain sentences:
- Who am I? “I run [business], and I work with [who you help].”
- How should responses sound? “Keep things friendly and plain English, not corporate-sounding.”
- How should responses look? “Use bullet points where possible. Keep things concise. Avoid jargon like ‘synergy’ or ‘leverage.’”
Each sentence should tell Copilot something specific enough that leaving it out would change the answer.
Everything on this page is free to use, copy and download.