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Licensing and renewals

One invoice, and every renewal decided.

Your Microsoft licences through Pax8, the cloud distributor I buy them from, on one invoice, with a renewal calendar I keep. The licence review is free, my margin is the Pax8 wholesale discount, and every renewal gets a written decision before it fires.

Five add-ons your plan may already include
  1. Microsoft Entra ID P1Already in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3 and E5
  2. Microsoft Intune Plan 1Already in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3 and E5
  3. Microsoft Entra ID P2Already in Microsoft 365 E5
  4. Exchange Online ArchivingAlready in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3 and E5
  5. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1Already in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3 and E5

Run the Licence Overlap Check

You leave with

  • A signed licence review workbook

    Per-SKU inventory with source references, waste findings with evidence, and the wholesale-vs-current delta measured against Pax8 suggested retail. UNVERIFIED is an acceptable value in it; a silent guess is not.

  • A renewal calendar with named decisions

    Every line carries its term, window dates and a written decision: renew as-is, true-down, change term, or cancel. A renewal that fires unreviewed is logged as an incident.

  • One reconciled invoice

    EU VAT-clean consolidated billing with a price sheet in writing, and the first invoice reconciled line-by-line against it. Monthly reports attribute every euro to an owner.

  • A savings statement that survives audit

    Realised savings separated from avoided costs, every line referencing a change order or a before/after export. Nobody has to take "projected savings" on faith.

  • Exit Kit

    The transfer-out runbook moves billing to another CSP partner, or plans your return to buying direct from Microsoft, with every register handed over and my access removed. It is in the kit before you sign anything.

What is in the delivery kit
  • Discovery

    The questionnaire that sizes the estate, the channels and the renewal constraints before the review starts.

    00-discovery
    • DISCOVERY-questionnaire.md
  • Architecture decision records

    Channel and term-mix decided in writing, with worked examples carrying real figures.

    01-architecture-decision-records
    • ADR-0001-procurement-channel-and-csp-transfer.md
    • ADR-0002-nce-term-mix-policy.md
    • ADR-TEMPLATE.md
  • Licence review workbook

    Per-SKU inventory, waste findings with evidence, channel delta vs list price, and the renewal calendar every line lives in.

    02-audit-workbook
    • LICENSING-AUDIT-workbook.md
    • RENEWAL-CALENDAR-template.md
  • Runbooks

    Ten operating procedures, from the free licence review to a clean transfer out.

    03-runbooks
    • RUNBOOK-01-licensing-audit.md
    • RUNBOOK-02-csp-transfer.md
    • RUNBOOK-03-nce-renewal-window.md
    • RUNBOOK-04-true-down-at-renewal.md
    • RUNBOOK-05-term-mix-rebalance.md
    • RUNBOOK-06-new-vendor-intake.md
    • RUNBOOK-07-licence-assignment-hygiene.md
    • RUNBOOK-08-leaver-licence-reclaim.md
    • RUNBOOK-09-monthly-finops-review.md
    • RUNBOOK-10-transfer-out.md
  • Exit Kit

    The access I hold, listed, the live commitments, and the known debts.

    04-exit-kit
    • EXIT-KIT-cloud-licensing-and-procurement.md
  • Compliance

    11 controls, 10 of them referenced to GDPR, DORA or NIS2: third-party register, exit strategy, leaver hygiene evidence. An evidence map and my own reading of the rules, not legal advice or a compliance opinion.

    05-compliance
    • control-mapping-matrix.md
  • Report pack

    The monthly owner-attributed report, the T-30 renewal notice, and a savings statement where every line has evidence.

    06-report-pack
    • monthly-finops-report-template.md
    • T-30-renewal-notice.md
    • savings-statement-template.md
  • Scope sheet

    The scope of the licence review and of consolidated billing, signed during discovery.

    07-scope-sheet.md

Shown as it exists in the ITSailor template set. Bracketed fields get filled during delivery, in your repository.

How it runs

Illustrative renewal under Microsoft NCE rules: within a term, seats can be reduced or the subscription cancelled only in the 7 days after purchase or renewal, increased any time, and a reduction for the next term can also be scheduled before the renewal.

  1. T-30: Usage pulled, options modelled

    90-day usage against owned seats: 120 owned, 96 active. Three options modelled with the yearly effect in euro; the T-30 notice goes to the line owner with a recommendation.

  2. T-14: Decision signed in the calendar

    The owner signs "true-down to 96". Had nobody replied, one escalation, then a logged default of renew-as-is: a renewal is never blocked, only reviewed.

  3. Day 0: Renewal fires

    Auto-renew stays on as lapse protection, so the subscription renews at 120 and nobody loses mail. The reduction window opens at the same moment.

  4. Day +1..7: Reduction executed inside the window

    Quantity reduced from 120 to 96 through the partner channel, inside the seven days Microsoft NCE allows. Only unassigned seats go; users feel nothing.

  5. Day +7: Checkpoint: state matches decision

    Post-renewal state verified against the signed decision, the calendar line ticked, and 24 seats stop being renewed, evidence filed.

What is not included

  • Engineering is its own line

    Tenant hardening, migrations and automation are quoted on their own scope sheets. Nothing is smuggled into the per-seat rate as undefined "support", so you can judge each part on its own numbers.

    Tenant hardening for Microsoft 365

  • Google Workspace and AWS

    Workspace stays billed direct and AWS is procurement advisory only. The licence review covers both.

  • Deliberately out of scope

    The engagement does not cover:

    • Signing or renewing an Enterprise Agreement
    • Hardware procurement
    • Microsoft Marketplace listing setup for your own SaaS product

Check it before you scope it

The CSP Marketplace Terms say I remind you at least 30 days before an annual renewal, and that a change to the per-seat renewal price is notified at least 30 days before the renewal.

CommittedCSP Marketplace Terms, section 09, Term, renewal and price

The Cloud Licence & Renewal Pack is a free download: six working templates, among them a renewal calendar, a licence review workbook and a leaver reclaim runbook. It is a working aid; verify commercial terms and notice periods against each agreement.

Open the renewal pack

The free SaaS Auditor reads a users export, a spend export or an SSO export and returns licence waste, spend and shadow IT findings, with a PDF.

Open the SaaS Auditor

Pricing

Licence review
FreeNo obligation, 5 business days
Consolidated Billing
€0 setupPrice sheet in writing before you commit
Margin

No markup on top of Pax8's suggested retail. My margin is the Pax8 wholesale discount. Microsoft CSP Indirect Reseller through Pax8 since May 2026 (Microsoft PLA 7113951).

Open the register of information

Per-seat prices

The live catalogue I quote from, with prices synced from Pax8 and the term beside each one. Usage-priced items are quoted per unit.

Browse the live catalogue

Currency
EUR, excluding VAT.
VAT
Reverse charge for EU businesses outside Malta whose VAT number validates in VIES. Malta VAT otherwise.
Invoiced by
Michal Jatczak, sole trader registered in Malta.
Service level
No service level beyond the CSP Marketplace Terms: an order is placed with Pax8 within one business day of payment (section 04), and a Microsoft SLA credit granted on a claim you report in time is passed on in full (section 10).

Book a 30-minute call

What each tier includes
  • Licence review

    Five business days. You keep the findings whether or not you switch.

    • Per-licence inventory across Microsoft and your other SaaS
    • Waste findings with evidence: leavers, inactive, over-tiered seats
    • Wholesale-vs-current delta against Pax8 suggested retail
    • Renewal calendar v1 with every term and window mapped
    • Read-only access; nothing in your tenant changes

    Outcome. A signed workbook that prices the problem before anyone asks you to commit.

  • Consolidated Billing

    One invoice, a price sheet in writing, renewal discipline contracted.

    • CSP transfer on your existing tenant, no user impact, as Microsoft describes the transfer
    • Microsoft 365 and Azure through Pax8
    • Single EU VAT-clean invoice, price sheet in writing
    • A notice 30 days before each annual renewal and a check 7 days after it
    • First invoice reconciled line-by-line against the price sheet

    Outcome. You see the price in writing before you commit, and every renewal gets a decision before it fires.

Questions

What does it cost to switch billing to you?

Nothing up front. No markup on top of Pax8's suggested retail; my margin is the Pax8 wholesale discount. A transfer keeps the term; quantities and term shape change at the renewal.

Are you a Microsoft CSP?

Yes. Since May 2026 I resell Microsoft licences as a CSP Indirect Reseller through Pax8 (Microsoft PLA 7113951). The seller is Michal Jatczak, sole trader registered in Malta. Google Workspace stays billed direct and AWS is advice only. Neither is resold today.

Can you handle our Enterprise Agreement renewal?

No. Enterprise Agreements are signed with Microsoft directly or through a Licensing Solution Provider (Microsoft Learn, read 2026-10-27), and I am a CSP reseller, so I cannot sign or renew one. I can compare the seat counts and renewal dates of your agreement with CSP pricing before your provider renews it.

What is the catch with the free licence review?

The review is how I win the billing, openly. If the waste findings and the price difference are real, the numbers argue for switching better than I could. If your current arrangement is already clean, the workbook says so and you keep it, along with the renewal calendar. Access is read-only throughout; nothing in your tenant changes.

We are mid-term with our current CSP. Are we stuck?

Usually not. A CSP transfer changes which CSP partner bills your subscriptions on your existing tenant: no migration, no user impact. I send the transfer request and your current partner approves it, so check your contract with them first. Microsoft preserves the licence quantities, renewal settings, price and term end date through the transfer, treats it as the same term rather than a new one (so no new seven-day cancellation window opens), and states that a transfer between partners takes up to 72 hours once the current partner accepts it. Quantities and term shape get reworked at the renewal boundary, which the calendar tracks anyway.

How is VAT handled for a business buyer?

For a business established in another EU member state, with a VAT number that verifies on VIES, the supply is reverse-charged: the invoice is at 0% VAT and you account for VAT in your own member state (Articles 44 and 196 of Directive 2006/112/EC). A business established in Malta is charged Maltese VAT at the current rate. Licences are not provisioned against a VAT number that does not verify. The full wording is section 05 of the CSP marketplace terms.

What can we cancel, and when?

Microsoft sets the window on New Commerce subscriptions, not me. If I execute the cancellation within 24 hours of a purchase or renewal, Microsoft refunds it in full; up to seven days after it, pro rata for the unused days. Seats can be reduced in the same window, pro rata, and seats added mid-term within seven days of being added. I act in Malta business hours, so a request sent on a Friday evening is executed on the next business day. After seven days the term is committed and billed in full, and seat counts cannot be reduced until the next renewal. An annual commitment is therefore twelve months once day seven passes, at a lower per-seat price than month-to-month. You choose on the order whether an annual commitment is paid up front or in 12 monthly payments, which usually cost more over the year; either way all twelve months are owed once day seven passes. The full wording is sections 02 and 06 of the CSP marketplace terms.

Who owns the tenant once licensing moves to you?

You do. Microsoft stays the licensor under the Microsoft Customer Agreement your organisation accepts directly with Microsoft; I am the seller and the billing party. Selling you a licence for your existing tenant gives me no admin role in it. If I order a new tenant for you, Pax8 creates it, and Microsoft may give Pax8 and me a default admin relationship (GDAP) that you are not asked to approve; I assign no one to mine and end it within two business days, and you can remove any partner's roles in the Microsoft 365 admin center at any time. Microsoft issues the new tenant's first administrator sign-in to Pax8, so change that password and set up your own MFA when you first sign in. Any other administrative access is for work you separately ask for, paid or free like the licence review (read-only), as a GDAP grant with least-privilege roles that you authorise, for a set time and with no automatic extension; I then process personal data as your processor under section 14 of the Terms of Service. On request, or in the Exit Kit when an engagement closes, I list every access I hold.

How do we leave?

The transfer-out runbook in the delivery kit. To another CSP partner: you name it, I approve the transfer, and subscriptions move with quantities and term end dates unchanged. To direct: subscriptions cannot be transferred, so mine run to the end of their term and you buy new ones direct on dates we plan together. Registers are handed over and any GDAP access I hold is removed and checked from your side. There is no exit fee; fees up to the transfer date, or to the end of the current term when you go direct, stay due.

Who does the work?

I do, the same engineer who hardens tenants and runs migrations. That matters because licensing decisions are architecture decisions: whether E3 plus the right add-on beats E5 depends on your security design, not on which licence pays a better margin.

Find the cancellation window before the renewal finds you.

The review reads what you pay for today and names the seats to cut, before anything changes.

Every consulting engagement ends with an Exit Kit.

Clause effective 28 October 2026