Start with a licence review
In the Microsoft 365 admin centre, export your licensed users and compare them with your current staff list. Look for:
- Licences assigned to people who have left
- Unassigned licences you're still paying for
- Accounts with no sign-in activity for 60+ days
- Shared or service accounts holding a full user licence unnecessarily
- Add-ons bought for a project that has finished
Match the plan to the person
Microsoft 365 business plans are designed for organisations up to 300 users; larger organisations use enterprise plans. Within either family, different staff need different things:
| Who | Often needs |
|---|---|
| Frontline and shift staff | Email, Teams and shared devices — frontline plans can be far cheaper |
| Office staff | Desktop Office apps, email, Teams, OneDrive |
| Anyone handling sensitive data | Stronger security and device management |
Mixing plans is allowed and common. The aim is the right licence for each role — not the same licence for everyone.
Billing terms matter
Monthly-commitment subscriptions typically cost more than annual commitments. For stable headcount, annual terms usually save money; keep monthly only for genuinely variable roles. Align renewal dates so you can review everything at once, and check current Microsoft pricing — it changes.
Use what you already pay for
Many Microsoft 365 plans include tools businesses pay for separately elsewhere: Teams for video calls, OneDrive and SharePoint for file sharing, Forms, Bookings, Planner and, on many plans, Power Automate. Consolidating onto them is often a bigger saving than the licence review itself.
What about Copilot licences?
Copilot is an add-on cost, so treat it like any investment: pilot it with the people who'll benefit most, measure time saved, then expand. Read is Microsoft 365 Copilot worth it?
Keep it lean
- Remove licences as part of every leaver process
- Review licences quarterly
- Keep one owner for all Microsoft billing
- Track renewal dates and commitments
We do this as part of our IT cost reduction work and Microsoft 365 management.
