Who owns your Business Central licences?

Many people assume the licences belong to the partner who sold them. That is not quite right. Business Central online is bought as a subscription through Microsoft's CSP programme, and the customer has a relationship with both Microsoft and the reseller. This article explains what sits with whom, what a change of partner means for the subscription, and which questions you should have answered before you sign.

How the CSP model is built

According to Microsoft Learn, a partner that wants to sell and service Business Central licences must be enrolled in the Cloud Solution Provider programme. Most are indirect resellers who buy licences through a distributor, while some are direct billing partners.

In practice it is usually a reseller that invoices you. The subscription is created in your own Microsoft tenant, and you have accepted the Microsoft Customer Agreement. Your company is the customer. The reseller manages the subscription on your behalf.

Reseller and consultant are not always the same

Microsoft Learn says the CSP model allows several resellers to sell subscriptions to the same customer. A company can also have one partner for Microsoft 365 and another for Business Central.

Access to your environment is a different matter from selling licences. Consultants get access as delegated administrators through a GDAP relationship that you approve. You therefore have two separate relationships: the reseller relationship for licences and the GDAP relationship for access.

This means you can get support from one company and buy licences from another. In practice it is often the same company, but it is worth asking, because it gives you freedom of choice. If you are unhappy with the support, that does not have to mean changing the subscription, and the other way round.

What happens if you change partner

If you remove delegated permissions, the old partner can no longer sign in to the environment. Microsoft Learn notes, however, that the partner can keep the reseller relationship and so still manage the subscription, for example adding or removing licences. If you want to end the relationship entirely, the partner must remove it in Partner Center.

This means the two relationships have to be ended separately. Ask both the old and the new partner how the transition is handled and when the first invoice will come from the new one.

Ask for the transition to be described as a timetable: the handover date, the date of the last invoice from the old partner and the first from the new one, and who has access to what in the meantime. If the licences are tied to fixed renewal dates, it may be simplest to move at a renewal. Check this with both parties, and do not let users lose access on a day when posting has to be done.

Questions to ask before you sign

A quote where only one party knows what happens at termination is not sufficient. Write the questions into your requirements.

Is the subscription in our tenant, and who is the administrator on it?
Can we see the licences in our Microsoft 365 admin center?
What are the lock-in, notice period and renewal date?
How is a transfer to another reseller done, and are there fees?
Who can add and remove users, and how quickly?
Were the apps bought through you, or do we have an agreement directly with the publisher?

Check your own status now

Ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to look in the admin center under licences and billing. There you can see which Business Central licences your tenant has and how many are assigned. Note who your current reseller is and when the subscription renews.

Prices and terms for each licence type are in Microsoft's current licensing guide. Check it, and do not let a partner's overview be your only source.

Support and licences at Addverk

We help with support and advice on your setup. You can see how it is priced on the page about services and prices.