Office 365 Business Premium adds new business apps to help small businesses grow

Microsoft continues to make Office 365 more valuable for small businesses with an announcement earlier this week of three new applications coming to Office 365 Business Premium:

Microsoft Connections – A simple-to-use email marketing service.

Microsoft Listings – An easy way to publish your business information on top sites.

Microsoft Invoicing – A new way to create professional invoices and get paid quick.

Microsoft also introduced the Office 365 Business center, a central place where Office 365 users have the benefit of managing these business apps and getting an end-to-end view of their business. Microsoft also introduced MileIQ, a leading mileage tracking app, as a benefit to Business Premium users. Microsoft Bookings and Outlook Customer Manager introduced earlier this year along with these new services will enable Office 365 Business Premium users to win customers and manage their business easier.

Microsoft Connections, Microsoft Listings, Microsoft Invoicing and Office 365 Business Center are rolling out in preview over the next few weeks to Office 365 Business Premium subscribers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, with first release program customers getting access first. MileIQ is available now to all Office 365 Business Premium subscribers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

Microsoft Connections – the simple email marketing app

Microsoft Connections was created to simplify email marketing for small businesses. Microsoft Connections does that by allowing users to easily create professional-looking email marketing campaigns with pre-designed templates for newsletters, announcements or customer referrals. While also providing simple ways for people to join their mailing list or unsubscribe.

As the Office 365 Business Premium users mailing list grows, they can manage their subscribers by creating segments to efficiently target specific groups of customers. Subscriber activity updates and performance charts track open rate, clicks, new sign-ups, new customers, offer redemptions and unsubscribed numbers for each email campaign, so you can see what is and is not working. Microsoft Connections will be available online and on mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Microsoft Listings – Get discovered online by new customers

Microsoft Listings makes it easy for small businesses to publish and manage their business listings on Facebook, Google, Bing and Yelp.

When you update your business profile in Microsoft Listings, the changes automatically populate across Google, Facebook and Bing. You can also monitor your online views and reviews of your listings across sites in this single Microsoft Listings dashboard. Making it easier to manage feedback from customers and help strengthen small businesses online reputations.

Microsoft Invoicing – easy invoicing and online payments

Microsoft Invoicing helps you quickly create professional-looking estimates and invoices, so you get paid quickly.

Microsoft Invoicing works with PayPal, so you can accept credit and debit cards online. Microsoft Invoicing also connects to QuickBooks and lets you sync customer data and transfer invoicing information to your accountant.

Microsoft Invoicing is available online and on mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Office 365 Business Center brings Bookings, Connections, Listings and Invoicing together in a unified user-friendly dashboard where users can view key metrics from all the business apps, including total outstanding invoices, the number of appointments schedules, the impressions across Facebook, Google, Bing and Yelp, and the number of new subscribers and sent campaigns.

The Office 365 Business center includes an activity feed, so Office 365 Business Premium users can see what’s happening within each of the apps, making it easier for them to stay up to date on new customer appointments, invoices and payments being created or updated by the employees in their businesses. The Office 365 Business center will also alert you that a payment is overdue and it’s time to resend an invoice.

MileIQ – track your miles smarter

The leading mileage tracking app on iOS and Android have been added to Office 365 Business Premium plans. MileIQ offers a simple, smarter way to track miles – with automtic drive detection and mileage logging, easy one-swipe classification as business r personal, and comprehensive reporting.

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