Microsoft 365
What does Microsoft 365 include, and who should set it up?
If your email looks like a side hustle, your invoices land in spam, or you’re not sure who holds the login, those are all problems a proper Microsoft 365 setup is built to solve. Buying it is the easy part. Setting it up on your own domain, with sign-in protection and the right people having access, is what saves you trouble later.
Updated · By AltaSmith, Calgary
Free guideDo you actually own your business online? A 10-minute check, with worksheets and templates.Get it freeWhat’s in it
- Email and calendar on your own domain, such as [email protected].
- Teams for chat and video calls with staff and customers.
- Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
- Secure file storage and sharing through OneDrive and SharePoint.
Exactly which of these you get depends on the plan. That’s the main reason to talk to someone before you buy: the cheapest plan often leaves out the Office apps you assumed were included.
What a proper setup covers
- A mailbox for each person at your own domain, plus shared addresses like quotes@ that a few people can watch.
- Email authentication records (called SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) so your messages land in inboxes and are harder for someone else to fake.
- Sign-in protection, with multi-factor sign-in switched on, so a stolen password alone isn’t enough.
- Moving your existing email and contacts across, so nothing is lost in the switch.
- The admin login in your hands, with a short walkthrough of adding and removing people.
Moving from Gmail or another provider
Before you move, ask:
- Will my old emails and contacts come across, and how?
- How long will the old address keep forwarding?
- What do I need to update: invoices, business cards, your Google Business Profile, social accounts?
- Who do I call if something stops arriving?
There’s more on why this matters in professional business email.
Why buy through a partner
Microsoft sells the same licences directly. A partner adds the part Microsoft doesn’t do for you: choosing the right plan, doing the setup properly, and being someone to call. AltaSmith is a brand of Code To Cloud Inc., a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partner, so you get the licences and the setup from one provider, and the account stays yours.
What about Copilot?
Copilot is Microsoft’s AI assistant, sold as an add-on to a Microsoft 365 plan. It’s worth considering once the basics are in place. We explain what it does and what to fix first in is Microsoft 365 Copilot worth it for a small business.
What it costs
Licences are billed per person per month. The right plan and the number of people vary from business to business, and Microsoft changes plan names and prices often, so we quote it for your team instead of publishing a figure that would go out of date. The setup is quoted separately. Ask for a Microsoft 365 quote and tell us how many people you have.
Common questions
No. Microsoft 365 and a website are separate. We set up Microsoft 365 on its own for a business that already has a site, or together with a new one.
Yes. If you already own your domain, we work with it, so your address stays the same and only the mailbox behind it changes.
You do. The admin login should belong to you or someone you name, not to your provider. If a provider holds the only admin access, you are renting your own email.
It depends on how your team works. Some people only need email and Teams; others want the full Office apps installed. We recommend the cheapest plan that covers what you actually use, and you can change it later.
Copilot is an add-on to a Microsoft 365 plan, and it works best on a tidy setup. We cover it in a separate guide, and Copilot onboarding is available once your Microsoft 365 setup is in good shape.
Licences are billed per person per month, and the right plan and number of people vary, so we quote it for your team. The setup is quoted separately and usually once.
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