Microsoft gives you Copilot.
I set it up so it does real work.
A done-for-you Microsoft 365 Copilot install for small businesses, from $4,500.
Copilot works inside Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and it can reach your email, files, and meetings. Out of the box it doesn't know which files matter, how your business sells, or what a good reply from you looks like. That's the part I install.
From $4,500, about 2 weeks, roughly 3 hours of your time. Reserve a slot with a $1,500 deposit that's applied in full to the install invoice.
Justin McKelvey
Fractional CTO · I install AI for small businesses
Quick Answer
Copilot for Small Business is Justin McKelvey's done-for-you setup of Microsoft 365 Copilot: from $4,500, about 2 weeks, with a $1,500 deposit applied in full to the install invoice. As of September 2026, Microsoft sells Microsoft 365 Copilot Business as an add-on to Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, or Business Premium at $21 per user per month on an annual subscription ($18 for annual subscriptions through December 31, 2026). The license turns Copilot on. The install makes it useful: your files and data sources organized so Copilot finds the right ones, a business-context agent built on how you sell, one workflow pack, training, and 30 days of support.
Author: Justin McKelvey, fractional CTO · Microsoft facts checked September 12, 2026
You bought the Copilot seats. It still gives generic answers.
The license is the easy part. Copilot answers from what your account can reach: your mailbox, your OneDrive and SharePoint files, your Teams chats and meetings. If those files are a junk drawer and nobody knows what to ask, you get generic drafts and seats nobody opens.
Microsoft built the engine and wired it into the apps. It didn't organize your files, write down how you sell, or decide which weekly jobs Copilot should take off your plate. That's your business, so that part is on you.
The fix isn't a better prompt. It's a setup: the right files in the right places, a business-context agent that knows your voice and offers, and a few workflows your team actually runs every week.
What you get from Microsoft, as of September 2026
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business: $21 per user per month on an annual subscription, $18 for annual subscriptions through December 31, 2026, or $25.20 billed monthly. Enterprise plans pay $30 per user per month for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Copilot Business is an add-on for Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, or Microsoft 365 Apps for business. Microsoft's business plans are listed for up to 300 users.
Copilot in Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and OneNote, plus the Researcher and Analyst agents and Agent Builder for making your own agents.
Your Microsoft 365 data, plus more than 100 Copilot connectors in Microsoft's gallery, including Salesforce, ServiceNow, Box, Confluence, and Google services.
Admin requirements, as of September 2026: each Copilot user needs an eligible Microsoft 365 license assigned, a Microsoft Entra ID account, and a primary mailbox on Exchange Online. Microsoft 365 Apps need to be deployed, and Teams transcription or recording has to be on for Copilot to use meeting content after a meeting ends. Web-based Copilot Chat is included with eligible subscriptions; chat over your work data needs a Copilot license.
Copilot set up on your business in about 2 weeks.
I do the setup. You show up to training with it already working on your own email, files, and meetings.
Copilot for Small Business
- →Discovery call + intake: how your business runs, sells, and sounds
- →Copilot readiness check with your admin: licenses assigned, apps, OneDrive, Teams transcription
- →Up to 5 files, data sources, or connectors organized so Copilot finds the right ones (SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Outlook, or a Copilot connector)
- →A business-context agent built in Agent Builder: your voice, your offers, how you sell
- →One workflow pack (Owner Ops or Client Delivery)
- →60-minute training + plain-language handoff doc
- →30 days of async support
My promise
30 days of support included. If something I set up isn't working, I fix it. No extra invoice.
Applied in full to the install invoice. Email first, then secure payment on Stripe. Microsoft license costs are separate.
Rather talk first? Book a free discovery call.
- • Weekly business pulse from your email, Teams, and spreadsheets
- • Inbox triage with reply drafts in Outlook for your approval
- • Meeting recap to follow-up email from Teams transcripts
- • Proposal draft in Word from your notes and offers
- • Project status summary from Teams and shared files
Extra workflow packs and custom agents are quoted on the discovery call.
Compared to the alternatives
Same goal: Copilot doing weekly work for your team. Different cost, different time, different amount of your attention.
| Path | Time to working setup | Cost | Your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turn on licenses and hope | never quite | license cost only | trial and error |
| Copilot for Small Business install | ~2 weeks | from $4,500 | ~3 hrs |
| Hire an AI agency | 8–12 weeks | $15K–$50K | weekly calls |
| Hire a fractional AI/CTO | ongoing | $5K–$15K/mo | weekly meetings |
Four steps, about two weeks, mostly hands-off
- Discovery call: confirm fit, your Microsoft 365 plan, and which workflow pack.
- Intake: a guided interview captures your voice, offers, and how you sell. Once, applied everywhere.
- Build (done for you, remote): readiness check with your admin, files and sources organized, the business-context agent built, the workflow pack set up. Delegated access only, never a password handoff.
- Train and hand off: a 60-minute session so your team can run it, plus a plain-language guide.
Copilot drafts. You approve.
In everything I set up, a person approves anything a customer will see. Copilot writes the reply, the recap, the proposal draft. You decide what goes out.
Internal summaries, like your weekly business pulse, can run without a review step. They never leave your team.
Who this is for, and who it isn't
- ✓Solo operator up to a $5M business with repeatable workflows
- ✓Already on (or willing to start) Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium
- ✓Your team lives in Outlook and Teams
- ✓Willing to buy Copilot licenses for the people who'll use them
- ✓Willing to give 4 to 6 hours of intake and training input
- ✓Someone on your side can grant Microsoft 365 admin access (you or your IT person)
- ✗You run on Google Workspace. The Claude for Small Business install is the better fit.
- ✗You want automation nobody on your side owns
- ✗Shopping on price alone
- ✗Looking for an AI strategy deck. Book the AI Readiness Assessment instead.
I'd rather tell you Copilot is the wrong tool than sell you a setup you won't use.
I'm a fractional CTO. 15 years building products, 50+ shipped. I install AI for small businesses, on Claude and now on Microsoft 365 Copilot.
If your team lives in Google Workspace, the Claude install is probably the better fit, and I'll say so on the call. If you already pay for Microsoft 365, Copilot is the shortest path, and this is the setup that makes it earn its seat price.
About me · The Claude install · Writing on AI for business owners
Things people ask before they book
- What is Copilot for Small Business?
- It's my done-for-you setup of Microsoft 365 Copilot for small businesses. From $4,500, about 2 weeks, with a $1,500 deposit that's applied in full to the install invoice. The Copilot license turns Copilot on. The install makes it useful: your files and data sources organized so Copilot finds the right ones, a business-context agent that knows how you sell, one workflow pack, training, and 30 days of support.
- What does Microsoft 365 Copilot cost?
- As of September 2026, Microsoft lists Microsoft 365 Copilot Business at $21 per user per month on an annual subscription, discounted to $18 per user per month for annual subscriptions between July 1 and December 31, 2026, or $25.20 per user per month billed monthly. It's an add-on for existing Microsoft 365 Business customers. Organizations on enterprise plans pay $30 per user per month for Microsoft 365 Copilot. License costs are paid to Microsoft and are separate from my install fee.
- Which Microsoft 365 plans work with Copilot Business?
- As of September 2026, Microsoft lists Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, and Microsoft 365 Apps for business as the base plans for Microsoft Copilot Business. Microsoft's business plans are listed for up to 300 users.
- Is Copilot Chat free?
- Partly. As of September 2026, web-based Copilot Chat is included at no extra cost with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Work-based chat that uses the emails, files, and meetings your account can access needs a Microsoft Copilot license.
- What can Copilot connect to besides Microsoft 365?
- As of September 2026, Microsoft's Copilot connectors gallery lists more than 100 connectors, including Salesforce, ServiceNow, Box, Confluence, Google services, and Azure services. Custom synced connectors need an admin to register an app and grant consent in the Microsoft Entra admin center. The install covers up to 5 files, data sources, or connectors, and we confirm your stack on the discovery call.
- What do I need in place before the install?
- As of September 2026, Microsoft requires each Copilot user to have an eligible Microsoft 365 license assigned, a Microsoft Entra ID account, and a primary mailbox on Exchange Online. Microsoft 365 Apps need to be deployed, and Teams transcription or recording has to be on for Copilot to use meeting content after a meeting ends. If you're not there yet, we sort it out in week one with whoever manages your Microsoft 365.
- How long does the install take?
- About 2 weeks from discovery call to trained team, and roughly 3 hours of your time: a discovery call, an intake interview, the build, then a 60-minute training session and a plain-language handoff doc.
- What does the install cost?
- From $4,500. You can reserve a slot with a $1,500 deposit, and the deposit is applied in full to the install invoice. Extra workflow packs and custom agents are quoted on the discovery call. Microsoft license costs are separate.
- Do you take my passwords?
- No. Whoever manages your Microsoft 365 gives me delegated access, and you remove it when we're done. You keep your own credentials.
- Will Copilot send things to my clients on its own?
- Not in anything I set up. Copilot drafts, and you approve anything a customer will see. Internal summaries, like a weekly business pulse, can run without a review step because they never leave your team.
- Should I use Copilot or Claude?
- If your team lives in Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint, Copilot is usually the simpler fit because it works inside the apps you already pay for. If you run on Google Workspace, or you want an assistant that isn't tied to the Microsoft apps, the Claude for Small Business install is usually the better fit. Same price, same timeline. I'll tell you which one on the call.
Microsoft prices, plans, and requirements on this page come from Microsoft's own pages, checked September 12, 2026. Microsoft changes these, so check the source before you buy licenses.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot plans and pricing for business
- Microsoft 365 Copilot pricing for enterprise
- License options for Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft Learn)
- App and network requirements for Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft Learn)
- Microsoft 365 Copilot connectors overview (Microsoft Learn)
- Microsoft Copilot service description (Microsoft Learn)
Related reading
Copilot vs Claude for Business
Which assistant fits a small business, and why the apps you already use decide it.
Claude for Small Business
The done-for-you install for teams on Google Workspace or Claude.
AI Readiness Assessment
Not sure which tool yet? Get a written plan first.
Make the Copilot seats earn their price.
Reserve a slot with the deposit, or book a free call first and I'll tell you straight whether Copilot is the right tool for your business.
From $4,500. The deposit is applied in full to the install invoice.