Do site workers really need a Microsoft 365 licence?

If they receive emails, see programme updates or get documents — yes. Business Basic at £4.83/user/month gives them email and Teams without paying for desktop apps they don't use. The alternative (personal Gmail, missing communications) usually causes more problems than the £58/year cost saves.

Should I store CAD drawings in SharePoint?

For archive and reference, yes. For active drawings on live projects, no — use a dedicated construction document platform (Autodesk Construction Cloud, Viewpoint For Projects, Asite). SharePoint isn't optimised for collaborative CAD editing or revision control.

Which Microsoft 365 plan does a UK construction firm need?

Mix tiers: Business Premium for directors and senior PMs (device management, security), Business Standard for office staff and site managers, Business Basic for operatives who only need email and Teams. Mixing typically saves 30-40% vs putting everyone on the same tier.

Microsoft 365 for Construction UK (2026): Site Workers & Office Staff Mix

Last updated: April 2026

Construction firms get hit with two Microsoft 365 problems most generic IT companies ignore: half your team don't sit at desks, and the half that do produce big files (CAD drawings, programme PDFs, scans of CSCS cards). Pricing every site worker for Business Premium is wasteful. Pricing the office for Basic leaves them stuck.

The right answer for most UK construction firms is a mix of tiers — and a sensible mobile strategy that actually works on a building site.

The right plan: mix tiers

Role	Plan	Why
Site managers, foremen	Business Standard (£10.08)	Need Outlook, Excel, Teams, OneDrive — full kit on a tablet or laptop
Operatives, labourers	Business Basic (£4.83)	Email and Teams chat on a phone is enough — no need for desktop apps
Office staff (admin, accounts, QS)	Business Standard (£10.08)	Full desktop apps for spreadsheets, schedules
Directors, senior PMs, finance	Business Premium (£17.75)	Device management, Defender, Entra ID — handle pricing/contract data

A 30-person firm split 5 directors / 10 office / 8 site managers / 7 operatives is:

5 × Premium = £88.75
18 × Standard = £181.44
7 × Basic = £33.81
Total: £304/month (~£3,650/year) — vs £533/month if everyone was on Premium.

That's £2,750/year saved by tier-mixing without anyone losing functionality they actually use.

OneDrive for site photos

Construction generates photos. Lots of them. Daily progress shots, defect snags, H&S evidence, plant on site, deliveries. The wrong way to handle this is letting them sit on personal phones until someone gets round to emailing them across.

The right way:

Each site manager / foreman gets the OneDrive mobile app installed
Auto-upload turned on for "Camera Roll" — photos go straight to their work OneDrive
Weekly upload to a SharePoint folder named for the project / site
Job complete? Move folder to archive. Future you, looking for evidence in a dispute, will thank you.

Business Standard includes 1TB of OneDrive per user. That's enough for years of site photography per person.

Integration with construction software

Microsoft 365 plays alongside the major UK construction tech:

Procore: Outlook plug-in for emails-to-RFIs; Teams integration for project chat; SharePoint sync for project documents
Autodesk Construction Cloud (BIM 360 / Build / Docs): Outlook integration; SharePoint co-existence (most firms use both — BIM in ACC, general docs in SharePoint)
Trimble (Viewpoint, e-Builder): Outlook syncing; Microsoft 365 SSO via Entra ID
Sage 200 / Sage Construction: runs on Windows, Outlook integration for invoice approvals
Coins: desktop install, manageable via Intune
PlanGrid / Fieldwire: standalone but Microsoft account login supported on most plans

Don't try to put project documents in SharePoint if you're already on a proper construction document control platform. SharePoint is for general business documents (HR, finance, contracts), not for the latest revision of a structural drawing.

CIS, payroll, and contractor data

Construction firms handle a lot of personal data on subbies — UTR numbers, NI numbers, CSCS cards, insurance docs, RAMS. Storing this in random emails is a GDPR risk.

Set up SharePoint with:

A "Subcontractors" library with one folder per subbie
Permission groups so the QS team and accounts can see, but operatives can't
Retention policy: delete subbie folders 7 years after last engagement (CIS retention requirement)
Audit logging on (default in Premium; enable for Standard) so you can show who accessed what

This is dull plumbing but matters when your insurer asks how you store contractor data, or when a subbie raises a SAR.

Mobile and signal — the bit IT companies miss

Site signal is a real problem. Office apps don't work without an internet connection (well, they do — but not the cloud features). Most building sites have patchy 4G at best.

Practical fixes we deploy:

OneDrive offline files — flag specific folders for offline access; documents sync when back in signal
Outlook offline mode — emails and calendar accessible without signal; sync on reconnect
Teams chat offline queueing — messages send when signal returns
Mobile signal review — a hilltop site with no 4G isn't a Microsoft problem; it's a network problem. Sometimes the answer is choosing a network that actually covers your usual sites. CTN does this on the business mobile side too.

VoIP for the office (and the bundle)

Most construction firms still run their head office phones through old PSTN lines or basic hosted VoIP. Switching to a proper cloud system gives you:

Call routing — main number rings office, then mobiles if not answered
Auto-attendant ("Press 1 for accounts, 2 for QS, 3 for site")
Mobile app so office numbers ring on personal phones when staff are at site visits
Call recording (handy when there's a dispute about what was said on a price)

Bundle through CTN: 10% off Microsoft 365 when taken with our VoIP. For a 30-person firm, that's around £365/year saved.

What we'd quote

For a small contractor (10 staff, 1 office):

Mix of Standard and Basic tiers
OneDrive set up for site photos
Office VoIP with mobile app
Round figure: £170-220/month for Microsoft + phones

For a mid-sized contractor (50 staff across multiple sites):

Tier mix as above
SharePoint for subbie data and project docs
Multi-site VoIP with central reception
Mobile devices managed via Intune
Round figure: £600-800/month

FAQs

Do site workers really need Microsoft 365?

If they get emails from the office, see programme updates, or need to receive documents — yes, even if it's just Business Basic at £4.83/user/month. The alternative (using personal Gmail, missing emails, no central directory) creates more problems than it solves.

Can I store CAD drawings in SharePoint?

You can, but for active drawings on live projects you're better off with a dedicated DM platform (Asite, Viewpoint For Projects, Autodesk Construction Cloud). Reserve SharePoint for general business documents and archive folders. CAD files sync slowly over OneDrive; collaborative editing of DWG/RVT files needs a proper construction platform.

What about lone working / SOS for site staff?

Microsoft Teams has lone-worker check-in apps available, and Microsoft 365 Business Premium's Intune can require regular check-in via a managed app. For high-risk lone working, dedicated SOS platforms (Peoplesafe, StaySafe) integrate with Teams.

Does Microsoft 365 work on a Toughbook / rugged tablet?

Yes — any Windows tablet runs full Microsoft 365 desktop apps. Android rugged tablets (Samsung XCover, Cat) run the Office mobile apps. iOS rugged cases for iPads run Office for iOS. All managed via Intune.

Can I get Microsoft 365 cheaper because we're a charity / nonprofit construction firm?

Only if you're a registered charity. Microsoft Nonprofit pricing is up to 75% off — significant. Most commercial construction firms don't qualify.