The Best Microsoft 365 Tools You’re Not Using (But Should Be)

Most small businesses I meet use the same four Microsoft 365 apps every day: Outlook, Word, Excel, and maybe Teams. The rest of the tools sit there, quietly paid for, never opened. That is a lot of value left on the table.

If you run a small office, manage a restaurant group, or wear the “IT person” hat by default, you probably feel the pressure to do more without adding new subscriptions. The good news is that Microsoft 365 already includes powerful tools that cut busywork, reduce mistakes, and tighten security, without buying anything else.

In this guide, I will walk through a short, practical list of underused Microsoft 365 tools that I see transform real small businesses. No fluff, no deep technical talk. Just clear examples you can picture in your own office or back-of-house, plus a path to get started fast.

If you want more background on how underused these tools are, resources like Cloudworks’ overview of underused Microsoft 365 tools or INNOSEC’s guide to overlooked Microsoft 365 features show the same pattern I see every day: most teams use only a fraction of what they pay for.

Hidden Productivity Powerhouses Inside Microsoft 365

I like to start with tools that replace manual, repetitive work. These are the tasks your staff hates but does anyway: saving files, copying data, chasing approvals, updating the same spreadsheet every week.

Inside Microsoft 365, you already have apps that:

• Save hours per week by automating small steps
• Reduce human error from copy-and-paste
• Keep work tracked in one place instead of random emails

You do not need new software. You just need to turn these on and plug them into the way your office or restaurant already runs.

Power Automate: Put Your Repetitive Work on Autopilot

I explain Power Automate to clients like this: it is a robot that watches your apps and runs simple “if this happens, do that” steps in the background.

You can use pre-built templates, so you do not have to write code. For small businesses, that might look like:

• When a vendor emails an invoice, save the PDF to a OneDrive folder, then tag it for accounting
• When a staff member fills out an HR form, send it to the manager for approval, then notify HR
• At the end of each day, send a sales summary from a shared Excel file to the owner and kitchen manager

Restaurant owners love a daily flow that pulls point-of-sale exports into a folder and emails a quick total. No one has to remember it or stay late to run reports.

If you want more examples, this list of Power Automate workflows every small business needs gives a helpful overview of what is possible.

Automation cuts down on errors from tired staff, missed attachments, or forgotten approvals. More important, it gives you back time for higher-value work, like serving guests or meeting clients.

Microsoft Lists: A Smarter Way to Track Tasks, Inventory, and Issues

Microsoft Lists is my go-to fix when I see three things: messy spreadsheets, paper clipboards, and tasks tracked in someone’s head.

Think of Lists as a shared tracker that lives inside Microsoft 365. You can build simple lists for:

• Open IT tickets or “please fix this” requests
• Menu changes to roll out next month
• Catering orders with contact info, dates, and status
• Vendor deliveries and missing items
• Cybersecurity tasks like patch schedules and device checks

You can color-code priority, add reminders, and switch views between a table, calendar, or board view. Since Lists connects to Teams, your staff can update items while chatting about them, right in the same space.

Compared to a static spreadsheet on someone’s desktop, Microsoft Lists keeps everyone on the same page. The owner, GM, and front-of-house manager can all see the same real-time list without emailing versions back and forth.

Planner: Simple Team Task Boards Without Extra Apps

If your team has sticky notes on a wall, or a whiteboard with tasks and initials, Microsoft Planner is the digital version you already own.

Planner uses a board with “buckets” for tasks. Each task has an owner, due date, and status. You can drag tasks from “To do” to “In progress” to “Done”, just like moving sticky notes with your hand.

Here is how I see small teams use Planner:

• Plan a new menu rollout, from recipe testing to staff training to launch
• Track each step of an office move or build-out
• Onboard new staff, with a standard checklist for HR, IT, and managers
• Manage recurring IT and security work, like weekly backups and monthly checks

Planner ties in with Teams, so your staff sees tasks in the same app where they chat. It also sends reminders before due dates, which stops important work from slipping through the cracks.

Many small businesses pay for extra project apps they do not need. Planner is already sitting in your Microsoft 365 plan, ready to use.

Collaboration Tools That Clean Up Your Email and Meetings

Email overload, long meeting threads, and ten versions of “Menu_Final_Real_Final.docx” are common pain points. When files and notes live in too many places, people waste time hunting instead of working.

Microsoft 365 has collaboration tools designed to keep everyone working in the same place, even if your team is split between the front office, kitchen, and remote staff. These tools make teamwork feel lighter, not heavier.

Microsoft Loop: One Live Page Your Whole Team Can Edit

Microsoft Loop is one of the newer tools that many small businesses skip, mostly because they have not heard of it yet.

Think of Loop as a live page where your whole team can type at once. You can add notes, checklists, and simple tables. The magic is that a single Loop component can live inside Teams, Outlook, or the Loop app, and it stays in sync everywhere.

Here are a few clear uses:

• Meeting notes that everyone edits in real time during a manager huddle
• Prep lists for a large catering order, shared with kitchen and front-of-house
• A project outline for opening a second location, shared with your contractor and core team
• Menu change planning, with sections for ideas, testing notes, and final decisions

Instead of passing around versions, you just open the same Loop component. No more guessing which version is current or digging through email for notes.

OneNote: Capture Meeting Notes and Procedures in One Place

I describe OneNote as a digital binder for your business. You can have multiple notebooks, each with sections and pages.

Examples that work well:

• An Operations notebook with opening and closing procedures
• An HR notebook with training scripts, onboarding steps, and policy notes
• A Sales or Client notebook with meeting notes and follow-up plans
• An IT and Security notebook with “how-to” guides and device records

OneNote shines because it is easy to search and it syncs across laptops, tablets, and phones. Staff can pull up a checklist on a phone while standing in the kitchen or at the front desk.

Compared to random Word files or paper binders that never get updated, OneNote is simple to keep current. I often suggest a structure like: Operations, HR, IT, Security, Menus, and Projects, each as a main section.

Outlook Power Features: Email Scheduling and Focused Inbox

You already live in Outlook, but many people never touch its best time-savers.

Two features I always turn on:

1. Schedule send: Write emails when it suits you, send them when it suits others. For example, you can type a vendor email at 10 p.m., but have it send at 8 a.m. sharp. It looks more professional and gets better responses.
2. Focused Inbox: Outlook separates important mail from less important mail. Your key messages land in “Focused”, and newsletters or promos slide into “Other”.

On top of that, simple rules can auto-file messages from vendors, payroll, or alerts into folders. Your main inbox stays cleaner, and you are less likely to miss something important.

If you want more ideas, guides like this article on underrated Microsoft 365 features show how small tweaks in Outlook and other apps add up to big time savings.

Built-In Security and Compliance Tools You’re Probably Ignoring

Most owners I talk to lose sleep over ransomware, lost laptops, or staff clicking bad links. At the same time, they feel overwhelmed by security tools and jargon.

The truth is, many Microsoft 365 plans already include solid protection tools. The problem is that no one turned them on or tuned them for the business. With a few smart steps, you can control access, reduce leaks, and show you have real policies in place.

Microsoft Purview: Lock Down Sensitive Business and Customer Data

Microsoft Purview sounds technical, but the basic idea is simple. It helps you label and protect sensitive data.

Think about the documents you really care about:

• Payment and card information
• HR files and staff records
• Supplier contracts and pricing sheets
• Private recipes or process documents that give you an edge

With Purview, you can tag these as “Confidential” and set simple rules. For example, staff cannot email certain files outside the company or save them to personal cloud drives.

You do not have to use every feature to get value. Turning on a few basic policies already gives a safety net against common mistakes, like dragging the wrong file into an email.

If you want a sense of how other companies use Purview and related tools, this overview of underused Microsoft 365 security features for businesses is a good reference. An IT partner like RVA Tech Visions can then translate those ideas into rules that actually fit your restaurant or office.

MyAnalytics and Work Insights: Spot Burnout and Fix Meeting Overload

Microsoft’s MyAnalytics and newer Work insights act like a personal scorecard for how time is spent. They do not spy on what people say. Instead, they look at patterns.

For example, you might see that managers spend most of their week in meetings, or that a lot of email happens late at night. Over time, that creates stress, mistakes, and turnover.

Used well, these insights help you:

• Cut back on standing meetings that no longer serve a purpose
• Block focus time for deeper work, like planning or financial review
• Reset expectations about after-hours email

Data is usually shown in trends and averages, not as a tool to single people out. The goal is healthier schedules and smarter staffing, not more pressure. I have seen simple changes, like grouping meetings into certain days, free up hours for real work across a small team.

AI Tools in Microsoft 365 That Make Small Teams Feel Bigger

AI is everywhere in the news, but most small businesses do not know where to start. Inside Microsoft 365, AI is not about robots taking over. It is about giving you a smart helper inside the apps you already use.

As of late 2025, Microsoft is rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot Business for companies with fewer than 300 users. It sits inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, and builds on a system called Work IQ that learns your habits and data patterns. The goal is simple: save time and help you make better calls with the information you already have.

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Your Built-In AI Assistant for Emails and Documents

Think of Copilot as a sharp assistant who knows your files and email history.

Inside Word, you can ask it to draft:

• A customer email replying to a complaint, based on past messages
• A first draft of a new policy, using existing HR documents as references
• A project outline for opening a new location, based on past project notes

In Outlook and Teams, Copilot can summarize long email threads or meeting transcripts so you get the key points fast. In Excel, it can create a quick summary of POS exports, such as weekly sales by category, without you writing long formulas.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Business is expected to be available to small and midsize businesses for around $21 per user per month, with deeper integration across apps. If you are curious about real-world use, this article on underused Microsoft 365 tools and MyAnalytics gives a sense of how analytics and automation already help businesses before AI even enters the picture.

Humans stay in control. You always review and edit Copilot’s work. A partner like RVA Tech Visions can help you set up permissions so Copilot does not see sensitive data it should not touch.

Excel AI Features: Faster Reports From Your Existing Data

Most owners rely on Excel already, but they still hand-build many reports. Modern Excel AI features help you move faster.

You can:

• Use natural language to ask questions like “Which days have the highest sales?”
• Let Excel suggest charts that show trends in your POS exports
• Spot top-selling items, slow movers, and common pairings on tickets

With that, you can adjust staffing, tweak menus, or plan promotions using real numbers, not guesses.

If you want to see broader examples of AI and automation in action, guides like this Power Automate and AI use case article show how businesses tie together data and automation to simplify daily work. Even if you do only a fraction of what is possible, the impact on a small team can be big.

Conclusion: You Already Own The Tools To Work Smarter

Most small businesses I work with already pay for Microsoft 365, but only use a small slice of it. The rest of the tools sit idle while staff fight the same fires by hand. The real win is to unlock a few key tools that fit your day-to-day work.

Start with automation and tracking: Power Automate, Microsoft Lists, and Planner to cut busywork and keep tasks visible. Then clean up collaboration and meetings with Loop, OneNote, and Outlook’s smarter inbox and scheduling. Finally, tighten security and boost insight with Purview, MyAnalytics and Work insights, plus AI helpers like Copilot and Excel’s modern features.

You do not need to turn on everything this week. Pick one or two tools that match your biggest headache and try them this month. If you want a guide, reach out to RVA Tech Visions for a quick Microsoft 365 review and setup session built around your office or restaurant. Together, we can turn the tools you already own into a quieter inbox, stronger security, and a team that feels bigger than its headcount.