How to organize a Teams meeting: a practical guide

Microsoft Teams has become one of the leading video-conferencing and online collaboration tools. The platform grew rapidly during the pandemic, rising from 20 million users in 2019 to 115 million in early 2020, and it remains essential for hybrid work. Its popularity comes from native integration with Microsoft 365 and Outlook. This guide walks you through how to organize a Teams meeting step by step, from creating a free account to using advanced features in paid plans, including Office integrations and best practices.

Create a free Microsoft Teams account

To organize a Teams meeting, start by creating a free Teams account, then:

• Go to the official Microsoft Teams website and click “Sign up for free.”
• Enter a valid email address (either work or personal) and follow the account creation steps.
• You can then use Teams directly in your web browser or download the Teams app for desktop (Windows/Mac) and mobile (iOS/Android)

Once registered, you’ll have access to the basic features, including instant messaging, virtual meetings, and file sharing.

Organizing a Teams meeting with a free account

Learn how to schedule and run a Teams meeting from your computer or smartphone.

On a computer: Teams app or web browser

• Access the calendar: Open the Teams app on your PC or use the web version at teams.microsoft.com. In the left sidebar, click the Calendar tab.
• Schedule the meeting: Click New meeting (the + icon). Enter a meeting title, set the start and end time, and add participants’ email addresses (or groups) in the Add participants field.
• Customize options: Optionally, add a meeting description and adjust settings such as enabling the lobby or assigning presenters.
• Send the invitation: Click Send (or Save). Participants will receive an email invitation with a unique link to join the meeting, which can also be copied and shared at any time.
• Join the meeting: At the scheduled time, open Teams, select the meeting from your calendar, and click Join. You can turn your microphone and camera on or off before entering. Participants can also join directly by clicking the invitation link.

On mobile: Teams app for iOS/Android

• Open the app: Launch Teams on your smartphone.
• Access the calendar: Tap the Calendar tab (calendar icon at the bottom of the screen).
• Schedule a meeting: Tap the + icon, usually at the top right. Choose Schedule a meeting to set a specific date and time, or Meet now to start a session immediately.
• Enter meeting details: Add a title, select the date and time, and include participants by selecting contacts or entering their email addresses.
• Finish creating the meeting: Tap Done (or Save). The event will be added to your Teams calendar, and a meeting link will be generated. This link appears in the associated conversation and can be shared via message or SMS.
• Join the meeting: At the scheduled time, open Teams > Calendar, select the meeting, and tap Join.

Also explore: How to equip a Teams video conference room

Limitations of the free Teams account

The free version of Teams offers many features, but it comes with some limitations compared to paid plans.

In particular, group meetings are limited to 60 minutes, and the maximum number of participants is 100.

Free users also have limited OneDrive storage, with 5 GB per user.

Another key limitation is that meeting recording is not available in the free version. Some advanced features, such as custom backgrounds and enhanced lobby options, are also excluded. For longer or larger meetings, a paid Teams license is required.

Learn more: The Teams Room guide

Paid versions of Microsoft Teams: Business, Enterprise, Premium, Teams Phone

To remove these limitations and access advanced features, Microsoft offers several professional plans.

Microsoft 365 Business (Basic/Standard/Premium)

Designed for small and medium-sized businesses (up to 300 users), these plans include Teams, the Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), and Microsoft cloud services (Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive).

For example, Microsoft 365 Business Basic includes Teams, Exchange, and OneDrive, while the Standard plan adds the installable Office apps.

With these plans, Teams meetings can last up to 30 hours and accommodate up to 300 participants. Business Premium also adds advanced security features, such as threat protection and device management.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise (E3/E5)

These plans target large organizations with complex needs. They include everything in the Business plans plus additional tools (Power BI, Power Apps, Dynamics 365) and advanced security and compliance features (Enterprise Mobility + Security, archiving, eDiscovery, etc.). Enterprise licenses allow longer meetings, larger participant volumes, and priority support.

Teams Premium

An add-on for any Teams subscription, Teams Premium enhances meetings with AI features. Highlights include:

• AI-generated meeting notes and summaries
• Real-time subtitle translation in multiple languages
• Advanced features like task tracking, custom lobby settings, and document watermarks

Teams Premium is ideal for organizations looking to enhance meeting experiences and strengthen security.

Teams Phone

This paid license enables telephony services within Teams, providing a full cloud-based phone system (hosted PBX) with voicemail, call forwarding, call queues, automated attendants, and more.

To make external calls, you can add Calling Plans or connect via a third-party PSTN service. Teams Phone effectively replaces a traditional phone system with an all-in-one solution integrated into Teams, suitable for businesses that need fixed-line telephony.

Teams integration with Microsoft 365 tools

Teams stands out for its tight integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. For example, each Teams team automatically creates a corresponding SharePoint site:

• Upload documents to SharePoint and share them directly in Teams channels
• Add files stored in OneDrive to a channel via the Files tab
• Use the Planner tab within a Teams channel to manage team tasks and projects
• In Outlook, the Teams add-in allows you to click New Teams Meeting to schedule a Teams meeting directly from your calendar

In short, Teams works seamlessly with Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Planner, and other Microsoft 365 tools to provide a unified collaboration experience.

Microsoft Teams solutions by Motilde

To help businesses get the most out of Teams, Motilde offers turnkey solutions. We provide Microsoft Teams-certified video equipment, including webcams, speakers, and meeting room kits (Microsoft Teams Rooms) that meet Microsoft standards.

Motilde is also a certified Teams partner, supporting full integration of your Teams environment.

Our experts advise on network architecture (internet connection, VoIP), deploy devices, and configure licenses.

We also offer training and support services to ensure smooth Teams adoption. By combining the Teams application with the right audiovisual equipment, Motilde helps you create an efficient and professional video conferencing environment.

Learn more: Choosing the right video conferencing system

Smooth, professional meetings?

Get the Teams Room Guide !

Download the guide