Microsoft 365 renewals tend to roll over at the same seat count and the same plans as last year, at this year’s price. Accounts for people who left stay licensed, someone got Business Premium or E3 for one feature, an add-on was bought for a project that ended, and Copilot seats were added to try it out. The renewal date is the cheapest time to fix that, because under Microsoft’s current commercial terms most annual subscriptions can only be reduced at renewal. Our briefing on the Microsoft 365 price increase has the list-price math; this service applies it to your actual licenses.
What you send
- Your license list: users, assigned plans (SKUs) and seat counts. A CSV export from the Microsoft 365 admin center (Users > Active users > Export, and Billing > Licenses) is ideal. A spreadsheet or screenshot works too.
- Your renewal date, term (annual or monthly, paid monthly or yearly) and price per seat for each plan, from Billing > Your products or your reseller’s quote.
- If you can, a last-sign-in or activity report (Reports > Usage, or the Entra ID sign-in report) so we can spot inactive accounts. Without it we flag likely candidates and tell you how to confirm.
- A line on how you work: company size, any shared mailboxes or kiosk/frontline staff, and any compliance needs you know of.
We don’t need admin access and won’t ask for it. Please don’t send passwords.
What you get
A written check, usually 2 to 4 pages, covering:
- Unused and inactive seats: licenses not assigned, assigned to accounts with no recent sign-in, or on accounts that could be shared mailboxes (which usually need no license).
- Over-licensed users: people on Business Premium, E3 or E5 whose use looks like it fits a lower plan such as Business Standard or Basic, and the features they would lose, so you can decide.
- Add-ons: standalone add-ons (for example Defender, Intune, Teams Phone, extra storage or archiving) that may already be included in a plan you have, or that nobody uses.
- Copilot seat review: who has a Copilot license, whether usage data you sent shows it being used, and what to keep, trial longer or drop.
- Renewal timing and terms: annual vs monthly commitment and the price difference, the short window after purchase or renewal when seats can be reduced, and what you’re locked into if you renew annually. We check these rules against Microsoft’s current published terms when we write the check.
- Next steps and savings: a short list of what to change before renewal and what to ask your reseller, with an estimated yearly saving for each item, calculated from the prices you sent.
Savings estimates are only as good as the list and prices you send. If there’s little to cut, we say so plainly.
Turnaround
2 business days from when we have your files and payment is in, including Emilio’s review. Send it at least a week before your renewal date so you have time to act. If we need more information, the clock starts once you reply.
Scope
Included
- One Microsoft 365 tenant, up to about 150 users.
- Microsoft 365 and its add-ons, including Copilot.
- One round of follow-up questions by email.
Not included
- Logging into your tenant, changing licenses or contacting Microsoft or your reseller for you.
- Other software. For your whole stack, see the Renewal Audit.
- Security configuration reviews, migrations or legal review of your agreement.
- Calls. Everything happens by email.
What this is, and isn’t
This is a review of the information you send, not an audit of your tenant. We can’t see usage you don’t export, and we can’t see why a person has a given plan. Every recommendation says what it’s based on, so you or your IT person can check it before changing anything.
Who does the work
Emilio Santos does the work, with AI assistance. He uses general-purpose AI tools to help sort, draft and check, which means parts of what you send are processed by those tools. He reads every line of what you send and every line of the check before it goes to you.
Your data
- Send files by email to circuits50capital@circuits.fit. They arrive and are stored in that mailbox.
- User lists contain names and email addresses. You can replace names with initials or employee numbers if you prefer; we only need the plan and activity columns to line up.
- Please remove passwords, keys and payment card numbers before sending. We never ask for system access or credentials.
- Parts of your material are processed by AI tools as part of the work. Where a tool’s settings let us turn off the use of our inputs for model training, we turn it off, and we do not use your files to train models.
- We delete your files and our working copies within 30 days of delivery. Copies kept by email or AI providers under their own retention or backup schedules may last longer, and we do not control those. See the privacy policy.
How to order
- Email circuits50capital@circuits.fit with the subject "Microsoft 365 Renewal Check", your renewal date and rough user count. You can attach the export now or after we reply.
- We confirm the scope with you by email.
- Payment is arranged after the scope is confirmed. The 2 business days start once payment and files are in.
After the scope is confirmed by email, you’ll be sent a secure Stripe card payment link.
FAQ
Why not just ask our reseller?
You should, and the check gives you the questions to ask. Resellers are paid on what you buy, so it helps to arrive knowing which seats and plans you actually need.
What if our renewal is in a few days?
Email us with the date. If we can’t deliver in time to be useful, we’ll tell you before you pay.
We renew monthly. Is this still useful?
Yes. Monthly terms let you cut seats any month, so the check is a cleanup list you can act on right away, plus a comparison with the annual price.
What if we have more software to review?
The Renewal Audit covers up to 25 software renewals for $199, Microsoft 365 included. If you order the audit within 30 days of a Renewal Check, tell us and we’ll reuse your Microsoft 365 work rather than redo it.
Disclaimer
A Microsoft 365 Renewal Check is general research and opinion based on the information you send, not legal, tax, accounting or licensing-compliance advice. Microsoft’s terms and prices change; confirm them with Microsoft or your reseller before you commit. You decide what to act on.
Circuit & Capital services are research, writing and advisory deliverables prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by Emilio Santos before delivery. They are not legal, tax, accounting, audit or compliance-certification services, and no attorney-client, auditor or fiduciary relationship is created. You decide what to act on and remain responsible for your contracts, deadlines, security controls, filings and submissions. Our total liability for any order is limited to the fee paid for that order. If a deliverable doesn’t match its published scope, tell us within 14 days and we’ll fix it or refund it.