G’day there,

I know you’ve got a business process you’d like to bring into SharePoint, or one you’re already managing there. You know what information belongs together and what needs to happen next. An app could give you one place to review those records, see what needs attention and make your updates.

Copilot Cowork’s new /app skill lets you build that experience through conversation. You describe what you need, connect the data and refine the application as it takes shape.

​A lightweight CRM is a SharePoint scenario I’m regularly asked about, so I used it for this build. The backend and frontend took a little under an hour to put together, with a build figure of US$46.54. It’s close to ready for a pilot, and it gives us a concrete example of both the capability and the costs to consider.

What /app lets you create

Your brief can describe the screens, information and actions someone needs to do their work. Cowork builds an interactive application that can read connected business data and save changes back. You can preview it, request refinements, then publish and share it within your organisation.

For the CRM, that included:

• Customer workspaces bringing companies, contacts and opportunities together.
• A visual pipeline for reviewing deals and changing their stage.
• Activities and follow-ups attached to the relevant records.
• A dashboard showing the wider sales picture and what needs attention.

You can open a customer before a meeting, review the outstanding work and record the next interaction in the same place. SharePoint holds the records behind that experience.

Copilot in SharePoint created the lists, columns and relationships from a Markdown definition. Cowork built the frontend around that structure. It needed several rounds of fixes, particularly around people selection and document display, so testing remained part of the work.

Budget for the build and everyday use

The US$46.54 figure relates to this build. It doesn’t establish what another application will cost to create or what this one will cost each month.

Building and running Cowork apps both use usage-based billing. Keep these parts of your budget separate:

• Licences: additional access needed, accounting for what you already own.
• Development: consumption while building, refining and testing, including later changes.
• Everyday use: consumption as people use the app, plus any connected-service costs.

To build with the App skill, you currently need an active Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, Cowork and usage-based billing enabled, and Frontier access. Confirm the access requirements for the people who will use your published app too.

The Copilot subscription doesn’t include a Cowork usage entitlement. Pay-as-you-go consumption is US$0.01 per Copilot Credit, so 2,000 credits cost US$20. The amount your app consumes needs to be measured.

Find out what normal use costs

Have a few people use the app for their normal work, then check the consumption. For this CRM, I’d include reviewing customers, updating opportunities and managing follow-ups. Record how much work they complete, and keep further development activity separate.

You can monitor app-building and usage consumption under Copilot > Cost management in the Microsoft 365 admin centre. Work with the reporting available rather than expecting a separate charge against every click.

Repeat that over several sessions. You’ll have a better basis for a monthly estimate, alongside evidence of whether the app makes the work easier.

Start with one piece of work

Before opening /app, write down what you need to see, which records connect and what you need to change or save. That gives you a clear brief and something specific to check when the app is built.

Watch the CRM build to see the application, the SharePoint structure behind it and the fixes needed to get it close to a pilot.

Daniel Anderson Say hi on LinkedIn or X ▶️ Watch my latest YouTube video Work with me

​