Microsoft 365 Business Basic Plan Overview

Starting Smart with Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Welcome to TechMilestoneHub, a blog dedicated to simplifying cloud technologies and cybersecurity for everyday users, aspiring IT professionals, freelancers, and small business owners.

In this first post of our cloud journey series, we’ll introduce you to the Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan — a powerful, budget-friendly subscription designed for small teams and businesses that want to work efficiently, securely, and from anywhere.

🧩 What Is a Microsoft 365 Plan?

A Microsoft 365 Plan is a subscription-based offering from Microsoft that gives users access to cloud-based productivity tools, business email, file storage, and collaboration services.

Plans are tailored for different types of users — from home users to large enterprises. Each plan offers a bundle of services like:

• Microsoft Outlook (Email + Calendar)
• Teams (Chat + Video Calling)
• SharePoint and OneDrive (File Storage & Sharing)
• Word, Excel, PowerPoint (Online versions or installable apps)
• Security and compliance features

As a business grows, it can move up to more advanced plans with additional features such as desktop apps, device management, or stronger security controls.

💼 Why We Chose Business Basic for TechMilestoneHub

For our fictitious company TechMilestoneHub, we’re just getting started — a small team of a few people offering digital consulting and training services. We don’t want to invest in expensive servers or software upfront. We need:

• A professional email system (yourname@yourcompany.com)
• Cloud storage for collaborating on documents
• Team chat and video meetings
• Shared calendars and task management
• Access from laptops and mobile phones

The Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan meets all these needs — at a very affordable price.

💲 Plan Details: Microsoft 365 Business Basic (As of 2025)

Feature	Description
💰 Price	$6 USD/user/month (or regional equivalent, billed annually or monthly)
📧 Email	Business-class email with 50 GB mailbox via Outlook and custom domain name support
☁️ Storage	1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user
📞 Communication	Microsoft Teams for chat, meetings, and video calls
🧰 Office Apps	Web-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint (no desktop installation)
📁 File Sharing	SharePoint and OneDrive for team file management
🔐 Security	Basic security and admin controls, including MFA and compliance options
🌍 Accessibility	Access all tools from any browser, anywhere in the world

💡Note: This plan does not include the desktop versions of Office apps (like Word/Excel installed on your PC). Those come with higher-tier plans like Business Standard or Business Premium.

🎯 Who Is This Plan Ideal For?

• Freelancers who want professional branding (email, calendar)
• Startups or micro-businesses looking for collaboration tools
• Remote teams who don’t want local file servers
• NGOs or nonprofits operating on a tight budget
• Students or beginners exploring the Microsoft cloud ecosystem

📺 What to Expect in This Blog Series

In this series, we’ll follow TechMilestoneHub’s journey, starting from scratch:

1. Creating a Microsoft 365 account
2. Setting up a domain-based email address
3. Creating users and assigning licenses
4. Using Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive for daily operations
5. Securing the environment with admin tools
6. Sharing files, organizing meetings, and collaborating effectively

We’ll walk through everything with step-by-step instructions and screen-recorded video demos, so even if you’re not tech-savvy — you’ll be able to follow along confidently.

As TechMilestoneHub grows in later blog posts, we’ll explore more advanced plans and dive into tools like Microsoft Defender, Power Automate, Intune, and more.

🛠️ Your First Milestone Starts Here!
Whether you’re starting a business, changing careers, or simply trying to understand what “the cloud” really is, you’re in the right place. Let’s build your skills — and your digital foundation — one step at a time.

🌐 Getting Started with Microsoft 365 Business Basic – Sign Up & First Steps

Starting a business or managing a small team? One of the first things you’ll need is a reliable, secure, and affordable way to handle communication, file sharing, and collaboration. That’s where Microsoft 365 Business Basic comes in.

In this post, we’ll walk you through how to get started — from signing up for the plan, to setting up security, and exploring the admin dashboard. It’s a perfect starting point for new users and small business owners like the team at our fictional company, TechMilestoneHub.

Video Explanation

📝 Step 1: Choosing the Right Plan

Before diving in, it helps to understand what you’re signing up for.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic is one of the most budget-friendly cloud productivity plans available from Microsoft. It’s priced at just $6 USD per user per month (billed annually), and it gives you:

• A professional business email address (yourname@yourcompany.com)
• 1 TB of cloud storage with OneDrive
• Access to Microsoft Teams for chat and video meetings
• Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint (no desktop apps)
• Basic security and user management tools

This plan is ideal for freelancers, startups, and small businesses who want modern collaboration tools without installing heavy software or managing their own servers.

You can sign up for a free trial, which gives you full access for 30 days — enough time to explore and evaluate if it’s right for your team.

🛒 Step 2: Signing Up for the Free Trial

To begin:

1. Visit microsoft365.com
2. Navigate to Products > For Business
3. Choose Business Basic
4. Click Start free trial

You’ll be asked to:

• Enter how many users you need (you can always change this later)
• Choose between monthly or annual billing (for post-trial, if you continue)
• Enter your email, organization name, and contact info
• Provide payment details (don’t worry — you won’t be charged if you cancel before the trial ends)

Once submitted, your Microsoft 365 tenant (organization) is created, and you are assigned the Global Administrator role — giving you full control over users, apps, and settings.

🔐 Step 3: Setting Up Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

After creating your account, Microsoft will ask you to secure it using multi-factor authentication (MFA). This adds an extra layer of protection by requiring a mobile device in addition to your password.

Here’s what you’ll do:

• Download the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone
• Scan a QR code shown during setup
• Approve the sign-in using the app

This step ensures your admin account is secure — essential for any business environment.

🧭 Step 4: Exploring the Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Once MFA is complete, you’ll be redirected to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This is the central dashboard for managing your business’s Microsoft cloud services.

Here’s a quick tour of what you’ll see:

• Users – Manage Active Users, add new users, and reset passwords
• Groups & Teams – Create teams, distribution lists, or security groups
• Billing – View your licenses, usage stats, and subscription details
• Support – Open help requests or chat with Microsoft support
• Settings – Control organizational defaults, password policies, and more

You’ll also see links to other admin centers:

• Azure Active Directory (identity management)
• Exchange Admin Center (email)
• Teams Admin Center (collaboration settings)
• Security Center (basic threat protection and alerts)

Even at the Business Basic level, Microsoft gives you powerful tools to manage and grow.

💡 Why This Is a Smart Start

At TechMilestoneHub, we chose this plan to get up and running quickly, without needing IT staff or expensive software licenses. It offers:

• A professional image with domain-based email
• Easy collaboration through Teams and OneDrive
• Centralized control over users and data
• A secure, compliant environment from Day 1

As our fictional company grows in future blogs, we’ll move to more advanced plans like Business Standard and Business Premium — but Business Basic is more than enough to start.

✅ What’s Next?

In the upcoming sections, we’ll walk you through:

• Creating user accounts for your team
• Customizing your business email domain
• Setting up file sharing and document collaboration
• Exploring Teams for meetings and internal communication

For now, if you haven’t yet — go ahead and start your free trial. No strings attached, and it could be your first step into running your business securely in the cloud.

Video Explanation

🔍 Exploring the “Users” Section

Once your Microsoft 365 setup is complete, one of the first things you’ll want to do is manage your users — especially if you’re running a team or planning to collaborate with others in your organization.

In this section, we’ll walk through some of the most common user management tasks inside the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Start by opening the Users > Active Users menu from the left sidebar of the Admin Center.

Here, you’ll see a list of all the accounts created under your organization’s Microsoft 365 tenant. Clicking on any user opens a side panel, where you’ll find options such as:

• Resetting the password
• Blocking the sign-in
• Assigning or updating licenses
• Viewing user details and activity

➕ Adding a New User

To add a new member to your team:

1. Click “Add a user”
2. Fill in their name, username, and domain (e.g., user@yourcompany.com)
3. Choose whether to auto-generate a password or set your own
4. In the next step, assign them a license — typically Business Basic for most users
5. Review and create

Your new user will now appear in the Active Users list.

🎫 Checking and Assigning Licenses

To verify what license a user has:

1. Select the user from the Active Users list
2. In the side panel, go to the Licenses and Apps tab
3. You’ll see which license (e.g., Microsoft 365 Business Basic) is assigned to them, and you can enable or disable specific services like Teams, OneDrive, etc.

🔑 Making a User a Global Admin

Sometimes you’ll want to give someone else full administrative control — especially useful if you have a trusted IT person or co-founder.

Here’s how to make a user a Global Administrator:

1. Open Users > Active Users
2. Click the user you want to promote
3. In the side panel, scroll down to Roles
4. Click Manage roles
5. Choose Admin Center Access, then select Global Administrator
6. Save the changes

That user now has the same admin access as the original account creator.

🔄 Testing the New Admin Account

To make sure everything works:

1. Open a private/incognito browser window
2. Log in as the user you just promoted
3. You’ll see a welcome message like:
   “Good afternoon, [User Name]”
   confirming that the login is successful and the account has Global Admin privileges.

You can now repeat this process for any additional admins or users you need to set up.

🔐 Managing Roles in Microsoft Entra for Small Businesses

In a small cloud-first company like TechMilestone Hub, it’s crucial to manage user access responsibly. Microsoft Entra (Azure AD) lets you assign roles to control who can do what across your Microsoft 365 environment.

Video Explanation

✅ What Are Roles?

Roles define permissions and responsibilities — for example:

• Who can add users?
• Who can reset passwords?
• Who can configure devices?

Instead of giving everyone Global Administrator access (which is a security risk), it’s best to assign limited roles based on what each person needs to do.

👥 Assigning Roles in Microsoft 365 Business Basic

With Microsoft 365 Business Basic, you can:

• Assign built-in roles directly to individual users
• Access this via:
  Entra admin center → Roles & administrators → Select role → + Add assignment

🚫 You cannot assign roles to groups unless you have Azure AD Premium P1 or P2 (included with Microsoft 365 E3/E5). This is a limitation in Business plans like Basic, Standard, and Premium.

🧠 Why this matters: While best practice in large orgs is to assign roles to groups, smaller businesses on Business Basic must assign roles individually.

📌 Common Admin Roles & What They Can Do

Here’s a quick reference table of useful roles for small businesses:

Role	What They Can Do
Global Administrator	Full control of all Microsoft 365 settings. Can assign any role.
User Administrator	Add/edit users, reset passwords, assign licenses
Groups Administrator	Manage Microsoft 365 groups and security groups
Helpdesk Administrator	Reset passwords, monitor service health
Billing Administrator	Manage subscriptions, view invoices, update payment methods
SharePoint Administrator	Manage SharePoint site settings and OneDrive sharing
Intune Administrator	Manage devices and deploy policies via Microsoft Intune
Security Reader	View security reports and alerts (but cannot make changes)

🔐 What It Means for TechMilestone Hub

As a 5-person startup using Business Basic:

• Assign only essential roles to reduce risk.
• Assign Global Admin to 1 trusted user (e.g., the IT founder).
• Give User Admin to whoever handles employee onboarding.
• Track all role assignments in a shared document or secure OneNote.

When your company grows, you may upgrade to Microsoft 365 E3 or purchase Entra ID P1, which enables:

• Group-based role assignments
• Conditional access
• Privileged Identity Management (PIM)

🌐 Setting Up a Custom Domain in Microsoft 365

When you first create your Microsoft 365 tenant, user email addresses look something like this:
username@yourcompany.onmicrosoft.com

While that’s fine for testing, it doesn’t reflect a professional business presence.

At TechMilestoneHub, one of our first real branding steps was to connect our own domain — like yourname@techmilestonehub.com — to Microsoft 365.

Let’s walk through how to add a custom domain to your organization and assign it to your users.

Video Explanation

🏷️ Step 1: Get Your Own Domain

Before you can use a custom domain in Microsoft 365, you’ll need to purchase one from a domain registrar. Some popular options include:

• GoDaddy
• Namecheap
• Hostinger
• Google Domains

Pick a domain that represents your business name or brand. For our demo, we’re using techmilestonehub.com.

⚙️ Step 2: Add the Domain to Microsoft 365

Now that you own a domain, it’s time to add it to Microsoft 365.

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center
2. Navigate to Settings > Domains
3. Click Add domain
4. Enter your domain name (e.g., techmilestonehub.com)
5. Microsoft will begin a domain verification process

You’ll now see a list of DNS records that need to be added to your domain registrar.

🛠️ Step 3: Update DNS Records

To prove that you own the domain, Microsoft asks you to add certain TXT and MX records in your domain registrar’s DNS settings.

• Login to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, etc.)
• Find the DNS management or Name Server Settings area
• Add the records exactly as Microsoft provides them

📌 Note: DNS changes can take up to 24–48 hours to fully propagate.

Once DNS verification is successful, your domain will be active in Microsoft 365.

👤 Step 4: Assign the Domain to Users

To start using your new domain for emails and logins:

1. Go to Users > Active Users
2. Click on the user you want to update
3. In the side panel, click the Account tab
4. Click Manage username and email
5. Change the primary email to something like user@yourcompany.com by selecting your domain from the dropdown
6. Click Done, then Save

Repeat this step for each user you’ve created.

📬 You Now Have a Professional Email Setup

That’s it! Your organization now uses a professional, branded email domain — a small step with a big impact on how your business is perceived.

At TechMilestoneHub, this marked the shift from setup mode to real operations — showing clients and partners that we’re serious, legitimate, and trustworthy.

In the next blog section, we’ll explore how to customize your email signature and branding across Microsoft 365 to match your new domain.

Enforce Security Defaults — For a New Microsoft 365 Tenant

If you’re just starting out and setting up a new Microsoft 365 tenant for your company, this step is crucial for protecting your environment from unauthorized access and identity-based attacks — without any extra cost or complexity.

🧭 What Is Entra Admin Center?

Microsoft Entra is the identity and access management platform that powers user logins, authentication, and security in Microsoft 365. It’s essentially “Azure Active Directory” (Azure AD) — just rebranded as Microsoft Entra ID.

🔗 Access it at: https://entra.microsoft.com

If this is your first time:

• You’ll land on the Microsoft Entra admin center dashboard.
• You might see a simplified overview — that’s okay! We’ll guide you step-by-step.

🔒 What Are Security Defaults?

Video Explanation

Security Defaults are Microsoft’s built-in protection policies that apply baseline security measures to all Microsoft 365 environments — free of charge.

Here’s what they do automatically:

Feature	What It Does
🔐 Require MFA	All users (especially admins) must verify login via multi-factor authentication (e.g., phone, authenticator app)
🚫 Block Legacy Protocols	Prevents insecure login methods like IMAP, POP, and SMTP (often used by old email apps that can’t do MFA)
🌍 Sign-in Risk Protection	Adds protection if users log in from unusual or new locations or IP addresses

✅ Best part? You don’t need any extra license or setup — it’s just one toggle.

✅ Why Enable Security Defaults?

Your Microsoft 365 environment is connected to the internet — anyone can try to guess or steal passwords.

Without MFA, all they need is one compromised password.

Security Defaults:

• Help prevent 99% of identity attacks
• Are on by default for new tenants
• Are simple to enable manually if turned off

📌 How to Enable Security Defaults (Step-by-Step)

1️⃣ Go to Entra Admin Center

• Visit 👉 https://entra.microsoft.com
• Sign in with your global administrator account (e.g., the main account used during Microsoft 365 setup).

2️⃣ Navigate to Identity Settings

• In the left panel, click:
  Identity > Overview > Properties

You’ll see tenant information like your organization name, region, etc.

3️⃣ Manage Security Defaults

• Scroll to the bottom of the Properties page.
• Click on “Manage Security Defaults”.
• A pane will slide in from the right.

4️⃣ Enable It

• If it’s disabled, set it to “Yes”.
• Click Save.

🟢 That’s it! You’ve enabled strong security for your organization.

👥 What Happens Next?

🔄 For All Users

• Within 14 days, each user will be forced to set up MFA when logging in.
• They’ll see a banner at the top of Outlook, Teams, or other apps prompting setup.

🔑 For Admin Accounts

• Immediately prompted to configure MFA on next login.

🎯 MFA Setup Options include:

• Microsoft Authenticator App (recommended)
• Phone Number (SMS/Call)
• Email (in limited scenarios)

🧪 How to Test MFA (Simulate as Employee)

You can try this in your test VM acting as a regular employee.

1. Open a browser (or InPrivate window) on your VM.
2. Go to https://portal.office.com
3. Sign in with a test user account (non-admin).
4. You’ll see a prompt to set up additional security.
5. Complete the setup using your preferred method (e.g., Authenticator app or SMS).
6. Log out and back in to see how MFA is enforced.

🚫 What’s Blocked with Security Defaults?

If your organization tries to use:

• Old Outlook apps
• Third-party mail clients like Thunderbird
• Devices that only support IMAP/POP/SMTP

They will fail to connect, because Security Defaults block legacy authentication.

This is intentional to keep your environment safe from phishing and brute-force attacks.

📝 Summary

Security Feature	Available in Business Basic	Notes
MFA for all users	✅ Yes	Enforced via Security Defaults
Legacy Auth Blocked	✅ Yes	Helps secure older protocols
Admin Sign-in Protection	✅ Yes	Triggered from Entra settings

🛠 Pro Tips

Don’t disable Security Defaults unless you’re moving to advanced Conditional Access (needs Premium P1).

Train your users on MFA — most confusion comes during the first login.

Document MFA backup options (e.g., phone vs app) in case users lose devices.

💡 What It Means for TechMilestone Hub (Business Basic Plan)

For a startup like TechMilestone Hub using Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Security Defaults offer enterprise-grade protection with zero additional cost or setup overhead.

Benefits for TechMilestone Hub:

Benefit	Description
🛡️ Basic Security Setup Ready	Admins don’t need to be security experts — defaults are pre-applied
🔐 All Users Get MFA	Protects against password leaks, phishing, and brute-force attacks
🚫 Legacy Protocols Blocked	Prevents old email apps and methods from becoming security holes
✅ Fits Budget	Works entirely within the Business Basic license — no upgrades needed
📱 Simplifies IT for CEO-led Teams	CEO or non-technical admin can manage this without outside help

🧠 In short: This is your first layer of defense, fully integrated, beginner-friendly, and cost-effective.

Understanding Microsoft Entra Admin Center

As your business grows, so does the need to manage user identities and secure access to apps and devices. That’s where Microsoft Entra comes in — Microsoft’s cloud-based identity and access management platform (formerly Azure Active Directory).

In this post, we’ll explore:

• What Microsoft Entra Admin Center is
• How it connects to Microsoft 365
• Why and how users sign into Windows PCs using their work account
• What works — and what doesn’t — when using Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Let’s dive in.

🧭 What is Microsoft Entra Admin Center?

The Microsoft Entra Admin Center is the control hub for managing users, groups, devices, roles, and sign-in policies for your organization’s cloud environment.

If you’re using Microsoft 365, you’re already using Microsoft Entra ID behind the scenes — it’s the engine that powers sign-ins to:

• Outlook
• Teams
• SharePoint
• OneDrive
• Admin Center
• Office.com

You can access it by visiting https://entra.microsoft.com and logging in with a Global Admin account from your Microsoft 365 tenant.

🔑 Tip: Every Microsoft 365 tenant, even on the Business Basic plan, includes Microsoft Entra ID Free.

💻 Signing Into a Windows PC with a Work Account

When setting up a new Windows 10 or 11 PC for the first time — such as during the initial setWhen setting up a new Windows 10 or 11 PC for the first time — during the initial setup screen (Out of Box Experience) — you’re prompted to sign in with a Microsoft account or a Work or School account.

At TechMilestoneHub, we signed in using a Microsoft 365 organizational account (e.g., user@techmilestonehub.com) during that initial setup.

This does several important things:

• ✅ Joins the PC to Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD)
• ✅ Makes the user a local administrator on that PC
• ✅ Establishes a trusted connection between the device and your Microsoft 365 tenant
• ✅ Enables Single Sign-On (SSO) — meaning the user is automatically signed in to web apps like:
  • Outlook
  • Teams
  • Office.com
  • OneDrive
  • SharePoint

With SSO, users no longer have to enter their username and password every time they access Microsoft 365 apps — making things smoother and more secure.

💡 Even without advanced management tools like Intune, this gives small businesses a clean, secure, and modern login experience right out of the box.

🧪 What Happens After You Sign In?

Once signed in with a work account on a joined device:

• ✅ You can access office.com and all web apps without entering your password again
• ✅ OneDrive and Teams are pre-connected to your account
• ✅ Microsoft knows this is a “trusted” device tied to your organization
• ❌ You don’t get desktop sync or advanced device policies on Business Basic

You can verify the join status by opening Command Prompt and typing:

dsregcmd /status

You should see:

• AzureAdJoined : YES
• DomainJoined : NO (since there’s no local AD)
• EnterpriseJoined : NO

This confirms your device is now cloud domain joined.

✅ What You Can Achieve with Entra Join on Business Basic

Even on the entry-level Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan, joining a device to Entra ID gives you useful benefits:

Feature	Works on Business Basic?	Notes
Sign in to PC with work account	✅	Enables unified experience
Single Sign-On (SSO) to apps	✅	Outlook, Teams, Office.com
Entra ID Join	✅ (manual only)	No auto-enrollment
MFA-enabled secure login	✅	Protects identities
Access cloud apps from browser	✅	Seamless with joined device

❌ What’s Missing in Business Basic?

While you can join the device and sign in, Business Basic doesn’t include:

Feature	Included?	Available in…
Device management (Intune)	❌	✅ Business Premium
Conditional Access policies	❌	✅ With Entra ID P1
Auto-enrollment of devices	❌	✅ Business Premium
Desktop Office apps	❌	✅ Business Standard/Premium
Remote wipe, compliance policies	❌	✅ With Intune

This means if a user logs into another PC, they’ll have to:

• Manually set up OneDrive
• Manually configure Outlook
• Manually install any required apps

There’s no profile roaming, and no enforcement of security rules like “require BitLocker” or “block sign-ins from non-compliant devices.”

🔄 What Syncs Across Devices?

Item	Syncs Automatically?	How
OneDrive files	✅	After OneDrive login
Outlook emails	✅	Cloud mailbox
Teams chats	✅	Cloud data
Desktop layout, theme, etc.	❌	No profile sync
Windows settings & apps	❌	Not supported in Basic

So while a user can work from any device, they won’t get a full “roaming desktop” experience.

🧩 Final Thoughts

Signing into a PC using your Microsoft 365 work account is absolutely useful, even on a budget plan like Business Basic. It helps unify access, simplify logins, and create a trusted connection between your users and the Microsoft cloud.

At TechMilestoneHub, we use this approach to keep costs low while still maintaining secure and convenient access to business apps.

If you’re ready to enforce policies, manage devices, or automate deployment, upgrading to Business Premium unlocks the full device management experience.

🔗 Coming up next: We’ll explore how Microsoft Intune works — and what changes when you upgrade from Business Basic to Premium.

🗂️ Customize Company Branding in Microsoft Entra

Branding is more than just logos — it creates trust, professionalism, and a consistent user experience for your employees when they sign in to Microsoft 365 services.

Whether it’s your startup’s first impression or an internal morale booster, Microsoft Entra (formerly Azure AD) allows you to customize the login experience your users see when signing in to services like Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and more.

Video Explanation

🔧 What is Company Branding?

Company branding customizes the Microsoft 365 sign-in pages by adding:

• Your company logo
• Banner/background images
• Custom welcome text
• Localized language prompts

This helps users feel confident they’re logging in to a trusted, professional environment — not a generic Microsoft site.

📍Where to Set It

You can configure company branding from:

Entra Admin Center → Identity → Customizations → Company Branding

Or go directly:
🔗 https://entra.microsoft.com

🖼️ What Can You Customize?

Here’s what you can change in the default branding profile:

Branding Element	Purpose
Banner Logo	Appears above sign-in form; typically your company logo.
Background Image	Appears on sign-in page behind the login box.
Sign-in Page Text	Optional welcome message or legal info.
Username Hint Text	Example: name@techmilestonehub.com to guide users.
Custom CSS (Advanced)	Limited to Enterprise plans (E3/E5)

🔒 Licensing Note

Microsoft 365 Business Basic supports basic branding (logo and sign-in message).
However, full branding capabilities (like multiple branding profiles per language, advanced styling, and conditional branding per domain) require:

• Azure Active Directory Premium P1/P2, included in Microsoft 365 E3/E5

🔹 So, while you can still personalize the experience with Business Basic, your customization will be universal (no per-user group or regional variation).

✅ Steps to Set Up Company Branding

1. Go to: https://entra.microsoft.com
2. In the left menu, go to: Identity > Customizations
3. Click Company Branding (or Just search Company Branding)
4. Select + Configure
5. Upload:
   • Banner logo (PNG, 280×60 recommended)
   • Background image (1920×1080 or similar, under 300 KB)
6. Add optional fields like:
   • Welcome message
   • Sign-in hints
   • Privacy or Terms links
7. Save changes

👀 What It Looks Like

Once enabled, users visiting the Microsoft 365 sign-in page (e.g., office.com) with your custom domain (user@yourcompany.com) will:

• See your company logo and background
• Read a friendly or informative sign-in message
• Feel reassured they’re logging in to the correct account

🚀 What It Means for TechMilestone Hub

Even with a Business Basic license, TechMilestone Hub can:

• Reinforce company identity to its 5-person team
• Reduce login confusion or phishing fear
• Create a welcoming sign-in experience for new hires

As TechMilestone Hub grows, upgrading to Microsoft 365 E3 or adding Entra ID P1 will unlock advanced branding features — like different styles for different departments or regions.

🎯 Summary

Feature	Available in Business Basic?
Add logo, background, text	✅ Yes
Multiple branding profiles	❌ No (P1/P2 only)
Branding per language/domain	❌ No (P1/P2 only)
Custom CSS	❌ No (P1/P2 only)

📜 Monitor Sign-ins and Logs in Entra Admin Center

As a small business, understanding who signed in, when, and from where is critical — even when you’re just starting out with a few employees. With Microsoft Entra’s built-in Sign-in Logs, even the Business Basic plan gives you visibility into login activity, helping you spot suspicious sign-ins or troubleshoot access issues.

🔍 What Can You See?

From the Sign-in Logs, you can monitor:

🔹 What You See	🔍 Why It Matters
User name	Who logged in
Application	Which app (Outlook, Teams, etc.) was accessed
IP address & location	Where they logged in from — flag unexpected countries
Sign-in status (Success/Failure)	Detect login failures, MFA challenges, etc.
Conditional Access results	If any policies blocked or allowed the login

🧭 Where to Find It

🔗 Go to: https://entra.microsoft.com
Then navigate to:
Monitoring & Health → Sign-in Logs

You’ll see a list of recent sign-in activities across your organization. Clicking on any entry opens a detailed panel from the right.

📋 Details in the Sign-in Entry Panel

When you click on a sign-in log entry, you’ll get multiple tabs showing deep insights:

Tab	What It Shows
Basic Info	Username, App name, Sign-in result, Time, Status
Location	IP address, City, Country
Device Info	Operating system, Browser, Device ID
Authentication Details	Methods used (password, MFA, etc.), Failure reasons
Conditional Access Report Only	Shows whether a Conditional Access policy would have impacted the sign-in

📊 Other Logs You Can Access

In addition to Sign-in Logs, Entra Admin Center (even with Business Basic) provides access to:

Log Type	Purpose
Audit Logs	Track changes made to users, groups, apps, policies, and configurations
Provisioning Logs	Monitor automated user provisioning (if connected to external sources)
Health Log Analytics	More advanced insights (requires enabling diagnostics to Log Analytics)

💡 Tip: Audit logs are useful when troubleshooting account changes, while sign-in logs help with security monitoring.

✅ Step-by-Step: View Sign-In Logs

1. Log in to entra.microsoft.com as a Global Admin or Cloud Administrator
2. On the left navigation, go to:
   Monitoring & Health → Sign-in Logs
3. Use filters to narrow down by user, app, location, status
4. Click on any log entry to explore the detailed panel

🧠 Why This Matters (Even for Small Teams)

For a startup like TechMilestone Hub, this monitoring helps:

• Detect unauthorized access (like logins from unfamiliar countries)
• Investigate user login issues (like failed MFA)
• Prove compliance during audits
• Begin building a security-aware culture early on

💡 What You Can’t Do in Business Basic

Capability	Business Basic	Requires Upgrade
View sign-in logs (7 days)	✅ Yes	—
Filter & export logs	✅ Yes	—
Risk-based reports	❌ No	Entra ID P1 / P2
Long-term sign-in log retention	❌ No	Entra ID P1 or Azure Monitor
Identity Protection & Risk Detection	❌ No	Entra ID P2

📦 Summary Table

Task	Supported in Business Basic?
See who signed in and where from	✅ Yes
Track sign-in failures	✅ Yes
Analyze user behavior via basic logs	✅ Yes
Long-term log storage or advanced alerts	❌ No