Stop paying 18–35% more than you should for Dynamics 365 licenses
Most organizations overpay on Dynamics 365 licensing by 18 to 35 percent ($1,000 to $3,000 per month). A named consultant reviews your user mix, agreement type, attach eligibility, and module usage. You receive a written recommendation in five business days.
What is a Dynamics 365 licensing advisory? It is a structured engagement where a certified consultant audits your current license assignments against Microsoft's use-rights guide, checks your Cloud Solution Provider or Enterprise Agreement tier, identifies attach pricing opportunities, and delivers a specific cost model showing what you should pay per month versus what you currently pay.
What Microsoft charges and where to reduce it
These are Microsoft's published list prices effective 2025. Most organizations do not pay list price. Cloud Solution Provider, Enterprise Agreement volume, nonprofit, and academic discounts apply. The advisory identifies which tier and agreement type gives you the best net unit price.
| License type | Per user / month (list) | Key capabilities | Common roles | Advisory note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $80 | Finance, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, Projects, Supply Chain, Human Resources | Finance team, sales operations, purchasing | Most users qualify for Essentials. Over-assigning Premium is the most common overspend. |
| Premium | $110 | All Essentials plus Manufacturing (material requirements planning and production orders) and Service Management | Production planners, service dispatchers | Only users who access production orders or service management need Premium. |
| Team Members | $8 | Read access, light data entry, approve time and expenses, run reports | Executives, approvers, read-only staff | Underused. Many read-only users are on Essentials unnecessarily. |
| Device | $40 | Full Essentials access tied to a shared device, not a named user | Warehouse scanners, shared kiosk stations | One device license replaces multiple named licenses. Net saving often 60 to 80 percent per station. |
| External Accountant | Free | Limited access for an external accounting firm | Outsourced bookkeeper, accounting firm | No cost. Most clients are not using this for their external accountants. |
| License type | Per user / month (list) | Key capabilities | Common roles | Advisory note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamics 365 Finance | $180 | General ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets, budgeting, cost accounting, financial reporting, multi-entity consolidation | Finance director, controller, accounts payable and receivable teams | Base qualifying license. Unlocks attach pricing for Dynamics 365 Sales and other first-party apps. |
| Dynamics 365 Finance Attach | $30 | Dynamics 365 Sales, Commerce, Human Resources, and others when added to a qualifying base license | Users who also need customer relationship or human resources functions | The attach rule is the highest-impact advisory finding. A Dynamics 365 Finance user adding Dynamics 365 Sales pays $30 not $95. |
| Activity | $50 | Limited to specific functional workflows: time entry, expense submission, purchase requisition approval | Approvers, project staff, field employees | Review whether light users need full Finance access or qualify for Activity. |
| Team Members | $8 | Read data, run reports, approve simple tasks | Senior executives, board members | Often overlooked for senior stakeholders who only view reports. |
| License type | Per user / month (list) | Key capabilities | Common roles | Advisory note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamics 365 Sales Professional | $65 | Core customer relationship management: leads, opportunities, accounts, contacts, basic reporting | Inside sales reps, account managers | Sufficient for most sales teams. Enterprise features are rarely needed by all users. |
| Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise | $95 | All Professional plus artificial intelligence insights, forecasting, sequences, LinkedIn integration | Field sales, managers who use forecasting | Check whether all users need forecasting and artificial intelligence features before assigning Enterprise. |
| Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise Attach | $20 | Same as Enterprise but for qualifying base license holders (Dynamics 365 Finance, Business Central Premium) | Finance or Business Central users who also need customer relationship management | The most commonly missed attach opportunity on mixed enterprise resource planning and customer relationship environments. |
| Team Members | $8 | Read customer relationship data, view pipeline, update assigned records only | Executives, customer service leads | Many pipeline viewers do not need full Sales licenses. |
| License type | Per user / month (list) | Key capabilities | Common roles | Advisory note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management | $180 | Advanced warehouse, transport, manufacturing, master planning, quality management | Warehouse managers, supply planners | Base qualifying license. Review whether Business Central Premium can serve the same need at lower cost. |
| Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Attach | $30 | Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Sales, or other qualifying apps added to Supply Chain base | Supply chain users who also need finance or customer relationship management | Attach applies if Supply Chain is the qualifying base. Map all dual-role users before renewal. |
| Activity | $50 | Purchase requisition, time entry, expense approval workflows | Warehouse clerks, receiving staff | Many floor-level users do not need full Supply Chain licenses for transactional data entry. |
| Team Members | $8 | Read access, run reports, approve light workflows | Operations director, logistics stakeholders | High-value management roles that only consume dashboards are often over-licensed. |
All prices shown are Microsoft United States list prices for 2025 and are subject to change. Volume discounts, Cloud Solution Provider partner margins, nonprofit pricing (up to 75 percent discount), and Enterprise Agreement tiers all affect your net cost. The licensing advisory calculates your actual net unit cost, not list price.
Four situations where the advisory pays for itself
Your Cloud Solution Provider or Enterprise Agreement renews in 90 days
Microsoft does not proactively tell you when your current agreement tier, license mix, or user count qualifies for a lower rate. Renewing without an advisory means locking in the same overpayment for another 12 to 36 months.
- We review your agreement before renewal date and provide negotiation points for your Cloud Solution Provider or Microsoft account manager.
- Multi-year commitment discounts and add-on bundling are negotiated before signing, not after.
Renewal advisory identified 12 users misclassified on Premium who only needed Essentials, plus 6 warehouse device licenses replacing named seats. Annual saving: $22,800.
The advisory takes five days. Start it at least 30 days before your renewal date to allow time for license reassignment and agreement renegotiation.
You are adding 10 or more users in the next quarter
Every new user added without a licensing review is a missed opportunity to apply attach pricing, assign the correct tier, and hit volume discount thresholds. The cost of wrong decisions compounds with headcount.
- We define the correct license type for each new role before purchase, preventing month-one overspend.
- Volume thresholds that trigger Enterprise Agreement discount tiers are mapped so you know exactly when to negotiate.
Growth advisory correctly assigned 23 new users across Team Members, Essentials, and one new Premium role. Applying attach on 9 of those users saved $8,640 annually from day one.
You are adding Dynamics 365 Sales, Field Service, or Project Operations
Adding a first-party Dynamics 365 module on top of an existing enterprise resource planning system changes which licenses qualify as base licenses for attach pricing. Getting this sequence wrong locks you into full list price for every added user.
- We map the correct sequence of license additions to maximize attach eligibility across all affected users.
- The recommendation includes whether Dynamics 365 or Power Platform custom apps are more cost-effective for your specific use case.
All 19 users held qualifying Dynamics 365 Finance base licenses. Applying attach cut their Dynamics 365 Sales cost from $95 to $20 per user per month: $17,100 annual saving on the customer relationship layer alone.
Microsoft or your Cloud Solution Provider has flagged a licensing compliance issue
Microsoft's Software Asset Management program actively audits Dynamics 365 deployments. Non-compliance findings result in back-billing, penalty fees, and forced license upgrades at list price. An advisory performed before an audit finding is always less expensive than one performed in response to one.
- We prepare a compliance position document you can share with Microsoft or your Cloud Solution Provider to demonstrate proactive remediation.
Redefine Innovations does not provide legal advice. For active audit enforcement actions, engage your legal counsel alongside this advisory. We provide the technical licensing analysis.
Your dynamics 365 licensing advisory consultant, not a junior analyst.
Leads all Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance licensing advisory work across manufacturing, distribution, and professional services clients.
Leads all enterprise licensing advisory work where the customer holds multiple Dynamics 365 workloads with complex attach structures across Dynamics 365 Finance, Supply Chain, and Project Operations.
Real engagements. Measurable outcomes.
JWE Inc: Dynamics 365 Streamlines Operations
Inventory, orders, and customer data were spread across multiple systems with inconsistent license assignments, creating inefficiencies, data inconsistencies, and increased operational overhead.
Core business processes including inventory management, order processing, and cross-platform data synchronization were streamlined. Automation reduced manual effort and increased overall productivity.
Renewable Energy Provider: Cost Control at Scale
Rapid headcount growth created license sprawl across multiple Dynamics 365 modules. No clear owner for license assignment decisions led to significant month-on-month cost overruns.
Annual licensing cost reduced. Attach pricing applied to 28 dual-role users saved $19,200 in year one. License governance process now embedded in onboarding.
Mid-market Distributor: Pre-Renewal Advisory
44-user organization approaching Cloud Solution Provider renewal with all users on Essentials. Warehouse team running six shared kiosk stations under named licenses at $80 each.
Annual saving. Six device licenses at $40 each replaced 18 named licenses. Twelve users downgraded from Essentials to Team Members for read-only workflows.
Questions about Dynamics 365 licensing
Talk to a dynamics 365 licensing consultant. Walk away with a licensing recommendation.
Tell us your user count, which Dynamics 365 products you use, and when your agreement renews. As your dynamics 365 licensing advisory partner, we will confirm whether an advisory is likely to save you money before you commit to anything.
- Certified consultant, not a sales representative
- Fixed-price statement of work before work starts
- Written recommendation delivered within five business days
- Microsoft Solutions Partner with MB-800, MB-300, MB-330 certified consultants
