10 Essential Office 365 Features Every Business Should Know About

Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud-based platform that offers all its applications in a single place. Office suite has grown into one of the leading and most popular software for all kinds of businesses.

From office computers to gaming laptops, nearly all devices use Microsoft office applications to streamline their routine workflow and make manual tasks easier.

Microsoft keeps introducing new features and updating the existing ones to provide us with the best user experience.

Office 365 support is awesome too. You can seek help from Microsoft’s internal support team or their vibrant & active support forum. Businesses prefer to outsource support to an IT help desk provider for all Microsoft Office 365 issues.

You might think you are utilizing all features of office 365, but there are some less-known yet highly effective functions that can make a huge difference to your work routine.

Below we’ve researched the top 10 Microsoft Office features that everyone using Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and other Office applications should know. Let’s take a look.

Microsoft Bookings

Released in 2017, Microsoft offers a built-in booking feature that allows businesses of all sizes and natures to track bookings made with the company. Using Microsoft Bookings, you can now build a Booking Calendar, which stores information related to the virtual and in-person visits in your office.

It makes it easy for your team to schedule appointments based on the staff’s availability. The feature comes with a notification system, which is set to send a reminder to the staff and the attendees about the upcoming appointment. Attendees can join the meeting virtually through their mobiles or laptop.

Tell Me

Open a Word file on your desktop and locate the “Tell me what you want to do” option at the top right corner right next to a bulb symbol. Tell Me does exactly what the name suggests.

It can process any command, such as inserting a photo from your computer, adding a new table, saving a document, sharing it with your team, and so on.

It’s simple to use. Just type your command in the Tell Me search bar and run it. You can also use this feature when editing the document with your team so that everyone can track the changes you have made.

Edit Documents Simultaneously

It’s one of the most convenient features of Office 365. Different members of your team (that are given access to the particular file) can make edits to it simultaneously. You can check which member made what changes, the previous version of the file, and suggestions in real time.

The feature is available in nearly all Microsoft applications, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

Easy Sharing

Microsoft Office has a perfect solution for those tired of attaching documents, presentations, and other files in emails. The share button in Microsoft Office 365 enables your team to share presentations, texts, and excel files with the entire team in a single click.

There’s also an option to set permission levels. You can choose from access, edit, and comment rights for each member.

Send Links Instead of Attachments

Have you ever compiled large files into a single zip file just so that they can be delivered to the recipient? Well, that was a real struggle. Attaching large files and waiting for them to be delivered was not only time-consuming but inconvenient.

Office 365 saves you the time of attaching these documents. Now, you can save them on OneDrive and share their link with whoever you want.

This applies to all kinds of files, including invoices, presentations, infographics, and even videos.

Digital Signatures

Since most of the business files are exchanged online, digital signatures can help prove the authenticity of these documents.

There’s no need to get a printed copy of the file just so you can sign it. Office 365 offers DocuSign, a feature that allows users to add their signature to just about any document with ease. This proves that the information in the document is verified by the sender.

New Chart Types

If you are bored of the same, dull graphical representation of the data in Office, you can try one of the innovative charts. They include Waterfall, Pareto, Sunburst, Treemap, and more. Each chart comes with different functionalities and a unique layout, which makes your presentation interesting.

Fortunately, all Microsoft products are compatible with these new layouts, offering you an excellent variety of charts. Here’s how you can insert a new chart in a Word document.

Edit PDF Files

Whether you are an IT service provider or a recently hired employee, a common issue that most of us have experienced is the inability to edit a PDF file. You may have to go back and forth between Adobe and Word Document just to make the necessary edits in the PDF.

Well, that’s no longer needed.

Office 365 allows you to convert PDF files into word and vice versa, making it easy to make changes to these files. In Microsoft Word, click on “Save As” and from the list of options, select “PDF”. Likewise, save the file to Word when you want to make edits.

Skype Integration

Get all features of Skype on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with Office 365. It’s integrated with Skype, allowing you to text, call, and screen share within the document.

You don’t have to switch apps to communicate while making changes to the documents. The integrated communication options allow you to continue your work while conducting meetings.

Company License

Buying and tracking multiple software licenses can be a real hassle. Small or mid-sized companies find it hard to handle employees’ licenses, especially if they have bought individual licenses for each employee.

It’s also not a cost-effective option, as you will find that a majority of employees in your organization might not need the software, which you are paying for.

Microsoft Office 365 has made the licensing part easier with a single license fee that covers all Office applications.

Bottom Line

All these features show why Office 365 has become an ideal tool for businesses. These tools allow you to be more productive at work and manage your routine business operations efficiently.

Whether it’s a screen-sharing feature or the Tell Me What You Want To Do, the Microsoft Office suite has a plethora of smart functions that can streamline your workflow and make management easier.