Business software installation and licences

For each business application, decide what work it supports, who may use it, where it should be installed and who pays for it. Keep those decisions together.

An installation, an assigned licence and a paid subscription are separate records; none alone shows that staff can do their work or that billing matches their needs.

Keep one application record

Include desktop programs, browser-based services, mobile apps and paid extensions. Start with purchase records, administrator views and staff reports. Compare them with installations where relevant, and give each unknown an owner.

Keep the order and applicable terms with the record. Store passwords and recovery codes separately. A controlled spreadsheet may be enough for a small team if someone maintains it.

Approve the route to use

Ask the work owner what staff must do and whether an approved application already meets that need. Check the current terms for the exact product, plan and purchase route.

Installation rights do not establish that another person may use the same account. Microsoft 365 business subscriptions, for example, assign licences to people; device installation allowances apply to specified products for each licensed person.

Check supported operating systems, required integrations, where work is stored and how it can be retrieved. Compare the cost for the intended term, including extra users, setup, support and any commitment that cannot be reduced immediately. Ask the seller to clarify uncertain terms before purchase.

Install and confirm access

Use the business's approved source and installation route. Record the application, version, device or user, approver and update owner. Give staff individual accounts where supported and access suited to their roles.

Have the intended user complete a safe, representative task with their own account. Record the result and assign any permission or compatibility problem. An installation marked complete does not show that the task works.

Record the commercial route

For a recurring subscription, record the product as well as the subscription name: the apps and services included depend on the product purchased. In Microsoft 365 for business, the subscription quantity is based on the organisation's people; accounts are then created and licences assigned to those people. Separate subscriptions can cover different groups or services.

Record who controls the billing account and how the subscription was bought. Microsoft's requirements differ by billing account type.

A Microsoft Customer Agreement account requires an eligible billing account or billing profile owner or contributor to make subscription changes, while a Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement account requires at least a Billing Administrator.

The seller or purchase route can also determine who can change a subscription. Microsoft says customers who bought through a Microsoft representative should contact that representative to increase or reduce the licence count. Its admin guidance also notes that an administrator cannot assign or unassign licences for an employee's self-service purchase until the purchase or trial subscription is taken over.

Microsoft 365 Subscription Types and Access Requirements

Advantages and Risks of Self-Service Purchases vs. Representative Purchases

Make licence assignment traceable

For Microsoft 365, assignment can be managed in the admin centre from either Active users or Licences. On the Licences page, an administrator selects a product, adds the relevant user or group, chooses which apps and services to turn on or off, and assigns the selection.

Keep the product and intended access with the approval record so that the administrative action can be checked against the business decision.

Assigning a licence can trigger service access, not just mark a purchase as allocated. For example, Microsoft says an Exchange Online mailbox is created for the person, SharePoint Online edit permissions are assigned to the default team site, and Microsoft Teams features associated with the licence become available.

Record any service choices made during assignment where they affect the approved access.

Treat administrator authority as part of the application record. Microsoft requires at least a License Administrator or User Administrator to assign licences. Some services, such as Sway, are assigned automatically and do not need individual assignment, so check the product's behaviour rather than assuming every service follows the same process.

Microsoft 365 Licence Assignment and Service Activation

Retain change confirmation

When access changes, keep the request, the person or group affected, the product involved and the resulting administrative status together. Microsoft allows licences to be reassigned when someone leaves, and says deleting an assigned user account makes that licence immediately available for assignment to someone else. Confirm the intended handover before making an account change.

For a Microsoft subscription, unassign licences before removing them from the subscription. Follow the seller or agreement instructions for the commercial change.

Keep access and billing aligned

Review the record when someone changes roles, leaves or stops using the application. Arrange ownership of their work before changing access. Check the supplier's assignment view and billing record separately.

In Microsoft 365, unassigning a user licence does not itself reduce the subscription's purchased quantity; the billing action and its timing depend on the agreement and purchase route.

Before renewal, confirm the needed quantity, next charge and change deadline from the current contract, notice or seller. Removing software from a device does not cancel its subscription. Record each requested change and check the resulting account state or invoice.