Most Microsoft renewals are decided months before the paperwork arrives. By the time a quote lands, the quantities, the products and the assumptions behind them have usually been set by conversations and decisions that happened earlier in the year. That is why the best time to check a renewal is well before anyone asks you to sign.
This article sets out seven checks that are worth making. Each one is simple on its own. Together they give you a picture of what you own, what you use and what Microsoft is likely to propose.
1. Compare what you pay for with what people use
Start with usage. For each major product, compare the number of licences you hold with the number of people who actually use the service, and over what period. A licence that was assigned two years ago to someone who has since changed role may still be costing you money every month. Microsoft’s admin reports show activity by user, and they are the quickest way to find the obvious gaps.
2. Find licences that nobody needs
Look for licences assigned to leavers, to shared mailboxes that do not need one, to test accounts and to people who hold two products that overlap. Also look for premium licences given to users who only need a basic one. These are the savings that cost nothing in functionality, and they are usually larger than people expect.
3. Understand the pricing that has changed
Two changes matter for anyone renewing now. On 1 November 2025, Microsoft collapsed the Enterprise Agreement discount tiers, and Info-Tech Research Group estimated that organisations at the former Levels B, C and D could see resets of roughly 6, 9 and up to 12 percent. Then on 1 July 2026, list prices rose. Microsoft 365 E3 went from 36 to 39 dollars per user per month and E5 from 57 to 60 dollars. Check which of these your current agreement has already absorbed and which will arrive at renewal.
4. Question any upgrade to E5 or E7
Microsoft is actively moving customers towards its premium suites. M365 E7 bundles E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Entra Suite and Agent 365 at 99 dollars per user per month. On its latest earnings call, Microsoft said E7 had already reached millions of paid seats, and it also acknowledged weaker sales execution in E3 and standalone products. That tells you where the sales effort is pointed.
If you are offered an upgrade, ask what specific use case it solves, how many people would use the added features, and what you would stop paying for elsewhere. An upgrade without a clear usage case is a price increase.
5. Treat Copilot as a separate decision
Copilot add-ons are often bundled into a renewal conversation, so decide on them separately. Microsoft reported on 28 October that the number of Copilot customers consuming credits through usage-based billing grew more than 75 percent in the quarter, which shows that the pricing model itself is changing. Ask whether you are being offered seats, usage-based credits or both, and what you would pay if adoption is lower than planned.
Check promotions as well. Microsoft ended its E5, E7 and enterprise Copilot promotions on 30 September, while a Copilot Business promotion for smaller organisations runs to the end of the year. A price quoted from an old promotion may no longer be available.
6. Know your dates and notice periods
Record the end date of each agreement, the notice period for changing quantities and any dates when annual commitments reset. Many organisations have several agreements that renew at different times, including support. Aligning them where you can gives you one negotiation instead of three, and gives you better evidence of the whole picture.
7. Be clear about true-ups and baselines
Understand how additions are reported and paid for during the term, and how reductions are treated at renewal. Check that the quantities in the proposal start from your real baseline, not from the previous quote. If you added licences during the year for a project that has finished, ask whether they need to carry forward.
Make these checks routine
Most of these checks are worth repeating several times a year, not only when a renewal is near. Usage drifts, people change roles and new products arrive. A short quarterly review keeps the picture current, and it means that when the renewal does arrive, you are checking changes rather than starting from nothing.
What good evidence looks like
A renewal conversation is easier when every claim you make is backed by something you can show. For usage, keep exported reports with dates. For unused licences, keep the list with names, last-activity dates and the action taken. For pricing, keep the current price list, your last quote and the quote you have just received side by side. For upgrades, keep a short note of the use case, the group involved and the figure you used to justify it.
This does not need to be a large project. A single shared folder and a one-page summary for each product are usually enough. The point is that when a Microsoft account manager asks why you want fewer licences, you can answer with facts, not impressions.
Who should be involved
Microsoft renewals touch more people than procurement. IT knows what is deployed, security knows which protections are in use, finance knows the budget and the business owners know who really needs what. Get each of them to confirm their part of the picture before you meet the vendor.
It also helps to agree in advance who can say yes. If three people can commit to a change, the vendor will find the one who is easiest to persuade. Decide who owns the decision, and make sure everyone else routes requests through them.
A sensible ninety-day plan
If your renewal is about three months away, spend the first month on the data: usage, unused licences and the current baseline. Spend the second month on the questions: which upgrades and add-ons are being proposed, and what use case supports each. Spend the third month on the negotiation, with quantities, pricing, dates and protections written down. If the renewal is closer than that, do the same steps in compressed form and prioritise the biggest items by value.
Conclusion
A Microsoft renewal is shaped long before the quote appears. Check usage, remove licences nobody needs, understand the pricing changes, question premium upgrades, treat Copilot separately, know your dates and confirm your baseline.
Do the work early and repeat it through the year. It is the most reliable way to go into a renewal conversation knowing what you need rather than reacting to what you are offered.
