Microsoft 365 for Business - A very small business - which one makes the most sense?

[britechguy]

I have an acquaintance I've known (not all that well, but have done remote support for him on several occasions over the years) for quite a while who runs a "mom and pop" motel in Minnesota. He has never been tech savvy, but has now hit what I call the "clinger's brick wall." His computer is ancient (still running Vista, if you can believe that) and he really wants to get into the 21st century in a number of ways.

He definitely wants a new computer, which I'd be recommending a business-class laptop, as he wants to be able to work from home and doesn't want multiple computers. His email is more than a bit of a mess and his email service provider keeps getting flakier and flakier.

I think he would do well to consider Microsoft 365 for Business. My gut tells me that either the "Apps for Business" or "Standard" subscription would be more than adequate for his needs. It seems that this would get him email through MS, but it would be nice if we could get a dedicated domain name as part of doing all this. "Premium" level seems to be overkill, but I could be wrong.

He also really needs to get on board with a billing management system, a simple one, so that he can generate and email invoices with ease for the business.

Given those "big picture parameters," I'm turning to the wisdom of the cohort regarding what might be a good fit in all regards.

 

[timeshifter]

Microsoft 365 Business Standard. $12.50 per month. Easy to add a custom domain all through the Microsoft portal.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Apps for Business isn't worth it, with only a single user you're better off getting Office 2022 for the one machine he'll use. At least in terms of minimizing monthly costs. Business Basic is $6 / month. Business Standard is $15 / month by the way... you can only get the $12.50 / month if you agree to an annual commitment now, and given how small he is he's better off paying a year at a time if he does that. YOU DO NOT WANT to be his reseller in that case, because if he doesn't pay you now have to!

Cheapest solution is M365 Business Basic + Office 2022 perpetual.
Easiest solution to maintain and grow with is M365 Business Standard.

 

[britechguy]

YOU DO NOT WANT to be his reseller in that case, because if he doesn't pay you now have to!

Just to be clear, I am never a reseller, only an advisor. I don't sell anything but my time and skill set. I even have most of my residential clients buy the parts I determine they need because that way they know when they arrive, can call me, and are the owners of record.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Just to be clear, I am never a reseller, only an advisor. I don't sell anything but my time and skill set. I even have most of my residential clients buy the parts I determine they need because that way they know when they arrive, can call me, and are the owners of record.

That saves you a ton of headache, but advise your client that the annual subscriptions are an annual commitment. You cannot remove a CC from the platform to not pay for the sub until the thing expires! If you resell that sub, you have to pay when the customer doesn't.

SO... if they want the annual price savings, especially since this is 1 M365 Business Standard seat, just pay a year in advance. Then the payments can be scheduled to terminate immediately and you have the clearest control over when your disconnects happen. In this case it'd be $150 for a year of M365 Business Standard.

If his needs change, he can upgrade to Business Premium later, the upgrade will NOT extend the contract duration, it will be prorated and terminate at the same time the original purchase term applies. The same applies to increasing seat counts on that annual subscription. So you can go up, but you cannot go down until the contract duration terminates.

If he wants the flexibility to turn things on and off at will, that means month to month pricing.

Annual Commitment Pricing:
M365 Business Basic: $5 / month, $60 / year.
M365 Business Standard: $12.50 /month, $150 / year.

Month to Month Commitment Pricing:
M365 Business Basic: $6 / month
M365 Business Standard: $15 / month.

TLDR you save 20% by buying a year at a time. Just beware that annual commitment, but billed month to month mess... it can get VERY confusing as to when your contract terminates. The detail IS IN THE ADMIN PANEL! But your client will likely need assistance to interpret it correctly. M365 is intended to be managed by a properly trained IT professional after all. It is not a product intended for end users to deploy on their own.

 

[putz]

M365 business basic gets you email, onedrive/sharepoint, office apps for web, and teams. If all they can handle doing everything in a web browser, that would work. If he is using his own domain names with existing email services you should be able to bring those into his O365 account and setup aliases. If they are not personal domains he certainly could register one and forward his other emails to the new one. You can have them put their own CC info in the account so they are billed directly.

For invoicing, I would keep it simple and suggest looking at Quickbooks Online plans. They may have a basic invoicing plan. I dont know specifics but I would have to assume that if he ever needed a full on accounting system he could simply upgrade the QB plan.

 

[RUSSIL CASTILLO]

For your acquaintance running the "mom and pop" motel, I'd recommend starting with the "Microsoft 365 Business Standard" plan. This plan provides a good balance of tools, including business email, Office apps, and collaboration services that would help streamline his operations. Additionally, setting up a dedicated domain name for his business email would present a more professional image and improve communication reliability. As for the billing management system, integrating a simple tool like Microsoft Invoicing (part of Business Standard) could significantly ease his invoicing processes and help keep things organized.

Interestingly, I recently read an article titled "The Unseen Threat Stifling SME Growth: Operational Inefficiencies," which highlighted how small businesses often struggle due to outdated systems and inefficient processes. It pointed out that leveraging modern tools, like those offered in Microsoft 365, can greatly reduce these inefficiencies by automating routine tasks and improving overall productivity. This directly correlates with your acquaintance’s situation, where upgrading his tech and adopting a more efficient system could help mitigate the operational inefficiencies he's currently facing.

 

[Markverhyden]

For your acquaintance running the "mom and pop" motel, I'd recommend starting with the "Microsoft 365 Business Standard" plan. This plan provides a good balance of tools, including business email, Office apps, and collaboration services that would help streamline his operations. Additionally, setting up a dedicated domain name for his business email would present a more professional image and improve communication reliability. As for the billing management system, integrating a simple tool like Microsoft Invoicing (part of Business Standard) could significantly ease his invoicing processes and help keep things organized.

Interestingly, I recently read an article titled "The Unseen Threat Stifling SME Growth: Operational Inefficiencies," which highlighted how small businesses often struggle due to outdated systems and inefficient processes. It pointed out that leveraging modern tools, like those offered in Microsoft 365, can greatly reduce these inefficiencies by automating routine tasks and improving overall productivity. This directly correlates with your acquaintance’s situation, where upgrading his tech and adopting a more efficient system could help mitigate the operational inefficiencies he's currently facing.

I'm pretty confident that the OP has taken care of this in the nearly 2.5 years since it first posted.

 

[britechguy]

I'm pretty confident that the OP has taken care of this in the nearly 2.5 years since it first posted.

Yep. That client ended up with 2 seats of M365 Business Standard and one or two others (I've forgotten right now) of Business Basic, because access to the desktop apps wasn't needed, just to the SharePoint data store that OneDrive taps into.

They've been humming along quite happily ever since with no fine tuning for M365 and just a bit for other stuff.

 

[frase]

For your acquaintance running the "mom and pop" motel, I'd recommend starting with the "Microsoft 365 Business Standard" plan. This plan provides a good balance of tools, including business email, Office apps, and collaboration services that would help streamline his operations. Additionally, setting up a dedicated domain name for his business email would present a more professional image and improve communication reliability. As for the billing management system, integrating a simple tool like Microsoft Invoicing (part of Business Standard) could significantly ease his invoicing processes and help keep things organized.

Interestingly, I recently read an article titled "The Unseen Threat Stifling SME Growth: Operational Inefficiencies," which highlighted how small businesses often struggle due to outdated systems and inefficient processes. It pointed out that leveraging modern tools, like those offered in Microsoft 365, can greatly reduce these inefficiencies by automating routine tasks and improving overall productivity. This directly correlates with your acquaintance’s situation, where upgrading his tech and adopting a more efficient system could help mitigate the operational inefficiencies he's currently facing.