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A short guide to Microsoft 365’s Bookings featureMicrosoft Bookings is not just any scheduling app; it's a powerful tool that lets you create an effortless booking experience for your customers. What sets it apart is its seamless integration with Outlook, ensuring that you have a real-time overview of your availability and simplifying the appointment booking process. In this article, we discuss some […]

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A short guide to Microsoft 365’s Bookings feature

Microsoft Bookings is not just any scheduling app; it's a powerful tool that lets you create an effortless booking experience for your customers. What sets it apart is its seamless integration with Outlook, ensuring that you have a real-time overview of your availability and simplifying the appointment booking process. In this article, we discuss some of the most useful benefits of Bookings.

Enhanced visibility

With Bookings, you gain access to an innovative scheduling application compatible with desktop computers. It allows your customers to choose their preferred times and dates, all in alignment with real-time availability. They just need to input the necessary contact details, and the system takes care of the rest.

No more hassles caused by cancellations

Cancellations and no-shows can leave valuable time slots empty, resulting in lost income, unless you have a system to fill those gaps. Bookings helps prevent revenue loss by allowing you to set specific cancellation notice requirements.

Moreover, Bookings automatically sends a confirmation email to customers upon booking, followed by a timely reminder just before their appointment. If customers need to reschedule or cancel, they can do so easily. They can simply click on a link in the confirmation email and select a more convenient time for them.

Seamless synchronization

Once a booking is confirmed, it seamlessly syncs to a centralized calendar, which you and your staff can all view. This allows you the flexibility to reschedule, cancel, or reassign appointments to different staff members as needed.

When it comes to reassignment, Bookings offers a handy feature called "split view." This intuitive tool displays the schedules of all staff members side by side, making it easy to see who is booked at specific times.

Furthermore, this adaptable system accommodates various calendar services, including Office 365, Outlook, and even Google Calendar. This ensures that clients and staff can use their preferred calendaring service, offering convenience for both parties.

More than just appointments

While appointment scheduling is the primary function of Bookings, it goes the extra mile by helping you expand your company's customer database. When customers input their information into the system during the booking process, it automatically generates contact entries for them. These contact cards include essential personal details such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, all conveniently stored for future reference.

Scalability and cost-effectiveness

As your company grows, Bookings accommodates your expansion plans effortlessly. You can easily onboard more staff members and create additional booking pages at no extra cost. What's even better is that staff members don't need Office 365 subscriptions to utilize this service, making it accessible and cost-effective for your growing team.

One way to differentiate yourself from competitors is to use a comprehensive appointment management solution like Bookings. If you have any questions about this feature or need more tech tips, don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post A short guide to Microsoft 365’s Bookings feature appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

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What Microsoft 365 Groups connectors can do for your teamOne of the biggest obstacles for many teams is how to share resources like calendars, spreadsheets, and even Microsoft Outlook inboxes. Luckily, there’s Microsoft 365 Groups, a cross-application service that enables team members to collaborate and share resources with ease. What’s more, its connectors feature permits users to share content from third-party services right in […]

The post What Microsoft 365 Groups connectors can do for your team appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

What Microsoft 365 Groups connectors can do for your team

One of the biggest obstacles for many teams is how to share resources like calendars, spreadsheets, and even Microsoft Outlook inboxes. Luckily, there’s Microsoft 365 Groups, a cross-application service that enables team members to collaborate and share resources with ease. What’s more, its connectors feature permits users to share content from third-party services right in Outlook. Read to find out how connectors work and how they make workflows more seamless.

How do connectors work?

Connectors enable users to access third-party apps and services within their Outlook groups, eliminating the need to scour through dozens of tabs to open a specific application. For example, your staff can keep tabs on a particular hashtag your company is following on Twitter without having to open the app in another tab. They can also receive the latest news and current events by adding the Bing News connector, or keep track of projects by connecting to Trello or Asana.

Content and updates from connected apps and services are delivered via connector cards, which offer a user-friendly way to interact with external applications. When a particular connector is added to a Group, connector cards are generated within the group’s activity feed. While most cards will display events in plain text, some applications like Twitter and Trello provide actionable messages. Trello, for example, allows you to assign or comment on an event card, which you can do without leaving Outlook.

The connectors feature allows users to configure apps and services to connect to as well as set the frequency of delivery and updates, enabling you to better manage your Outlook inbox.

Who can create a connector?

Any group member can configure and use a number of connectors. Once they configure a connector for a group, that app will be made available to other members. However, only the person who added the connector can modify the settings of that app.

Microsoft 365 also lets your business develop its own connectors by embedding the “Connect to Microsoft 365” button on your site. This allows users to connect to your service and get updates on your company as they would with other third-party services. Your Microsoft 365 client basically becomes a hub for third-party apps, keeping your company in sync to get more work done.

How do you access Microsoft 365 connectors?

Simply navigate to a Group from your Outlook page and click on the Connectors tab at the top of the page. From here, you can choose the apps and services your group needs, and connect these to any of your Outlook groups.

As your business grows, you’ll need to use more apps and services to be on top of your tasks. By aggregating your tech resources all in one place, you save time switching across apps to find the information you need. So the next time you create a Microsoft 365 Group, help your team members work more efficiently by setting up some connectors.

Microsoft tools like Groups and Outlook help organizations of all sizes improve their workflows and enhance their productivity. If you’re interested in learning about Microsoft apps and what they can do for your business, contact us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Essential tools for remote workingThe global pandemic hasn’t defeated many hard-working managers and teams. By implementing remote work arrangements, they’re meeting deadlines, collaborating on projects, and hitting business goals, all while avoiding the ever-evolving coronavirus. In this article, we’ll go through a list of the essential tools for the new normal that is remote working. But first, here’s why […]

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Essential tools for remote working

The global pandemic hasn’t defeated many hard-working managers and teams. By implementing remote work arrangements, they’re meeting deadlines, collaborating on projects, and hitting business goals, all while avoiding the ever-evolving coronavirus. In this article, we’ll go through a list of the essential tools for the new normal that is remote working.

But first, here’s why remote work is a boon for businesses

For both employers and employees, a remote working arrangement has attractive benefits. Many remote workers report increased job satisfaction ⁠— being spared the stress of a daily commute and having a better work-life balance boost their productivity and overall happiness.

At the same time, organizations can tap into a potentially larger labor pool, hiring from just about anywhere and finding highly skilled talent at lower rates. And in the face of natural calamities, outages, and the ongoing pandemic, a distributed workforce becomes a necessary business continuity measure — a means to protect employees and keep productivity up, even as traditional workplaces remain unavailable.

All of this is possible because we have the technologies to support remote work. With a plethora of software to choose from, we’ve selected the ones that will help your remote teams thrive.

Real-time communication and collaboration software

Every successful organization needs to communicate. When communication breaks down, productivity and engagement suffer. Given the lack of face-to-face contact, regular, real-time communication is arguably more critical for remote teams and their managers. The following apps make it possible, seamless, and simple.

Our picks: Slack, Mattermost, RocketChat, Microsoft Teams, and Join.me

Deemed the alternative to email, Slack is the leader of the pack since it is the easiest to integrate with countless applications. Its basic functionality enables remote workers to direct message (DM) or create “collaboration hubs” around departments, projects, or any topic. Meanwhile, Mattermost and Rocket Chat are open-source tools that recreate many of Slack’s capabilities.

Microsoft Teams and Join.me are well-known video chat and conferencing apps. However, as a full collaboration and communication suite, Teams offers more for Windows users. It allows Voice over Internet Protocol, direct and group messages, and integration with all the Office 365 apps. On the other hand, Join.me does not only provide free video conferencing services,, but it also allows participants to use a cool brainstorming feature called “whiteboarding” for real-time interaction on a shared document.

Remote desktop applications

Work computers often have business apps that our PCs don’t. Accessing your work computer while on the go or out of the office was once unheard of. Remote desktop apps have made it possible, allowing users to work remotely on a computer through another device and from any location.

Our picks: TeamViewer and Splashtop

TeamViewer has capabilities such as screen sharing, file transfer, wake-on-LAN, and clipboard transfer. Free for personal use, the app is easy to set up and is available for multiple operating systems, such as Windows, macOS, and Android. Splashtop has similar capabilities but with the added benefit of “low-latency” transfers or the transfer of a high volume of data and messages with minimal delay.

Project management essentials

When you’re managing dozens of team members located in different parts of the globe, things can start to fall apart quickly. Time differences and distance can create significant complexity if you lack the right tools. These two apps can help you overcome the challenges and streamline project organization and collaboration.

Our picks: Trello and Basecamp

Trello’s overall shining feature is its simplicity. The web-based tool’s approach to project management is built around one concept: the bulletin board. Users can create boards that represent projects, and each board can be populated with cards assigned to specific members and customized with deadlines, comments, and attachments.

Basecamp, on the other hand, is a web-based management tool for planning and collaboration on projects. There’s no installation needed, just your regular web browser to access its powerful core functions that include task management, messaging, collaboration, file sharing, scheduling, quick search, and reporting.

With the current global crisis, remote working tools have become even more crucial to sustaining productivity, accomplishing projects, and solidifying distributed teams. It’s important your organization chooses ones that are well-suited to budget, infrastructure, and goals. Our experts can help make a proper assessment and configure the perfect remote working setup. Talk to us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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A handy guide to keeping computers and mobile devices cleanKeeping work PCs and mobile devices clean not only encourages people to be more organized, but it also prevents glitches and downtime due to poorly maintained hardware. It also contributes to immaculate workspaces, which may positively affect employee morale. If you want your workstations and devices to look spick and span, here’s how to get […]

The post A handy guide to keeping computers and mobile devices clean appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

A handy guide to keeping computers and mobile devices clean

Keeping work PCs and mobile devices clean not only encourages people to be more organized, but it also prevents glitches and downtime due to poorly maintained hardware. It also contributes to immaculate workspaces, which may positively affect employee morale. If you want your workstations and devices to look spick and span, here’s how to get started.

Desktop monitors

You spend several hours looking at your computer monitor, so it's important to make sure it doesn't have any dust or smudges. To clean your monitor, turn it off first and gently wipe the screen with a microfiber cloth.

If there are still spots, try dampening the cloth before wiping but make sure you don’t spray water onto the screen. Don’t press too hard on the display, as this could damage the pixels on the monitor. Also, don’t use paper products like napkins or tissues, as they can leave a residue and scratch the monitor.

Mobile screens

Mobile devices will usually accumulate fingerprints. The best way to clean your mobile device’s screen is to wipe it down a microfiber cloth. For tougher spots, dip the cloth in a small amount of water and then gently wipe the screen. Don’t splash water onto the device itself, as the liquid could get inside and damage internal components, which can void your warranty.

Some people suggest rubbing alcohol to remove fingerprints and disinfect the device. While this will work for some screens, many manufacturers advise against this because the alcohol can wear down the protective film on some devices.

If you find dust or gunk in the edges or cracks of your screen, take the device to a mobile shop for more thorough cleaning. Do not open the device yourself, as this could also void the warranty.

Keyboards

Debris and dirt can accumulate between the keys of your keyboard. Before you start cleaning your keyboard, be sure to unplug it. Then gently run cotton swabs dipped in water or rubbing alcohol over the keys.

To remove dirt between keys, you can use a keyboard brush or compressed air, which can be purchased at most office supply and computer stores. Spraying compressed air in between keys should be enough to get rid of most of the dust and grit.

Computer mice

Similar to the keyboard, mice can get quite dirty with grime from dust and your fingers. To clean a mouse, unplug it then use cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol.

Computer towers

Before you start cleaning your computer towers, disconnect the power source and all wires to avoid short-circuiting.

Next, take a slightly damp microfiber cloth and wipe down all sides. Be careful when cleaning the front and back, as these parts house sensitive ports and components.

Dust can also clog up cooling fans, causing them to stop working properly. This can potentially lead to other components overheating. To clean the insides of your computer tower, remove the casing with a screwdriver. Then, use a brush or short bursts of compressed air to remove accumulated dust.

Making sure your computer is clean and running optimally is important to staying productive at work. If you want more advice on how to optimize your IT, our technicians are here to help. Call us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post A handy guide to keeping computers and mobile devices clean appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

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