How to actually decide
Count how many staff genuinely need the desktop apps versus those who only check email and chat
Check whether you are contractually or legally required to prove data protection controls (NDIS providers, healthcare, finance and trades handling client contracts often are)
Think about device loss risk - if staff use laptops or phones outside the office regularly, remote wipe capability in Premium is worth the extra cost
Remember you can mix plans across your team rather than putting everyone on the same licence
Which plan for a business like mine?
Rules are easier to apply against real examples. Here is how the decision usually lands for the Sydney small businesses we work with:
A cafe or retail shop (2-6 staff) - most staff only need email, a shared roster and a few files. Business Basic covers the casual team, with one or two Standard licences for the owner or manager who lives in Excel. Cheap, and nobody pays for apps they never open.
A trades or construction business (5-15 staff) - office staff on Standard for the desktop apps and quoting, field staff often fine on Basic via phone. If laptops and phones travel to sites daily, Premium for the people carrying client contracts is worth it for the remote-wipe alone.
An accounting, legal or NDIS practice - go Premium across the board. You are handling sensitive client data and almost certainly have a compliance or insurance obligation to prove data-protection controls. Here the security features are not optional extras, they are the reason to be on Microsoft 365 in the first place.
The pattern to notice: it is rarely "one plan for everyone." Matching the licence to each role is usually both cheaper and better fitted than a single blanket choice.
Common mistakes we see
The most expensive mistake is putting every staff member on the top-tier plan "to be safe" without anyone using the extra features - that is pure waste, every month, forever. The second most common mistake is the opposite: staying on Basic because it is cheaper, then losing hours a week to staff working around the lack of desktop apps.
The other issue we fix constantly is businesses that bought a plan correctly, but never configured it properly - no custom domain email, no folder structure in SharePoint, no security baseline. The licence is only half the job; proper setup is what actually makes it useful.
Frequently asked questions
Business Basic gives you business email, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive through a web browser and mobile apps only. Business Standard adds the fully installed desktop versions of Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, plus Teams webinar and small-business tools like Bookings.
Only if you need advanced security controls such as device management, conditional access, or protection against phishing and identity theft. Most teams under 15 people are well served by Standard until they are handling sensitive client data or regulated information.
Yes. It is common and often the cheapest approach - for example, giving Standard licences to staff who need desktop apps and Basic licences to casual staff who only need email and Teams on the web.
Current Microsoft 365 pricing changes periodically, so we always check the live Microsoft pricing page before recommending a plan rather than quoting from memory. If you want a second opinion on what your team actually needs, that is a free conversation.
Ranjal
Solutions and growth at Trivion - websites, dashboards, automation and AI for Sydney small businesses.
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