Renewal season is when Thai SMEs discover they are paying for people who left months ago, Premium seats for staff who only read mail, or duplicate tools (Zoom plus Teams) on the same invoice. You do not need a full IT audit firm to spot the obvious waste—a focused 15-minute review in the Microsoft 365 admin center often surfaces thousands of baht in savings.
This guide is for owners, finance leads, and ops managers who can sign in to the admin center (or sit with someone who can). It is not legal or tax advice; partner billing rules under New Commerce Experience (NCE) may differ—confirm seat changes with your CSP before you cancel.
What you need
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Global admin or Billing admin access | To view users and subscriptions |
| 15 uninterrupted minutes | Long enough to export and scan, not a full project |
| Simple spreadsheet | Track name, license, last sign-in, and your decision |
If you buy through a partner, you may also have a monthly invoice PDF—keep it open to compare seat counts with what Microsoft shows.
Step 1 — Count what you are paying for (3 minutes)
1. Sign in to admin.microsoft.com.
2. Go to Billing → Your products (or Licenses depending on menu layout).
3. Write down each subscription: product name, total seats, and assigned count.
Red flag: assigned seats equal total seats with no spare capacity—common before renewals when headcount has dropped.
Also note billing frequency (monthly vs annual). Under NCE, annual commits usually cost less per month but reduce mid-term flexibility. See the licensing overview for plan families; this audit tells you *how many* seats and *which tier* you need.
Step 2 — Find zombie accounts (5 minutes)
A zombie is a licensed user who no longer works for you—or never signed in after onboarding.
1. Go to Users → Active users.
2. Open each licensed account (or export the list if your admin enables it).
3. Check Last sign-in (or sign-in logs in Entra ID for deeper review).
| Signal | Likely action |
|---|---|
| Left the company, still licensed | Remove license after mailbox archive plan |
| Never signed in after 30+ days | Disable sign-in or remove license if onboarding failed |
| Shared role (reception, warehouse tablet) | Consider Frontline or shared device policy—not Standard |
Shared mailboxes (`support@`, `billing@`) often need no full user license if configured correctly—verify current Microsoft rules before you delete accounts. See our shared mailboxes guide.
Step 3 — Match SKU to real work (5 minutes)
For each active user, ask one question: *What do they do in a normal week?*
| If they mainly… | Often enough SKU |
|---|---|
| Read mail and join Teams on phone | Business Basic |
| Need desktop Word/Excel offline | Business Standard |
| Need Intune, Defender, or advanced policies | Business Premium |
| Deskless / shift worker on shared device | Frontline (F1/F3) — confirm fit |
Over-provisioning is common: Standard or Premium for users who only use Outlook mobile and Teams chat. Downgrading requires planning (desktop Office removal, policy changes)—partners help avoid disruption.
Step 4 — Spot duplicate spend (2 minutes)
Scan your non-Microsoft subscriptions against what M365 already includes:
- Zoom when Teams meetings cover internal and most client calls
- Dropbox/Google Drive when OneDrive and SharePoint are licensed but unused
- Standalone antivirus when Defender is already in your tier
You may keep a second tool deliberately—document why so renewal debates stay factual.
Worked example — 40-person Thai SME
| Finding | Seats | Rough monthly waste (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 departed staff still on Standard | 3 | 3 × plan price |
| 5 users on Standard, only use mail + Teams | 5 | Difference vs Basic |
| 1 duplicate Zoom host license | 1 | Zoom fee |
Illustrative Business Standard vs Basic gap in Thailand is often hundreds of baht per user per month—five misassigned users can exceed ฿1,000/month before you count zombies. Exact THB depends on partner pricing and term; use M365 Deals for current SKUs in baht.
Annual vs monthly — quick decision frame
After you right-size seat count, choose billing term:
| Choose annual when… | Stay monthly when… |
|---|---|
| Headcount stable 12+ months | Hiring/layoffs likely this quarter |
| Cash flow allows upfront commit | You need maximum flexibility |
| Partner discount is meaningful | You are still piloting M365 adoption |
Proration rules apply when you add or remove seats mid-term—your CSP should show the math on a quote.
When to call a partner
Bring in your Microsoft partner when you find:
- 10+ seats to change or downgrade
- Mailboxes to preserve for ex-employees (litigation hold, handover)
- Mixed Enterprise and Business SKUs in one tenant
- Annual term changes at renewal
M365 Deals can right-size subscriptions, quote THB/SGD pricing, and align changes with NCE billing—useful after you complete this worksheet.
Downloadable checklist (copy to your sheet)
| User | License today | Last sign-in | Actual need | Action (keep / downgrade / remove) |
|---|
Re-run this audit quarterly and 30 days before renewal. Pair with planning your rollout when you are growing again—not just cutting.
