M365 licence management: save up to 20% without losing functionality

Most SMBs carry 15–20% more licences than they need — former employees, wrong plan, duplicate subscriptions. Here's a review approach that pays for itself.

For a typical 40-person SMB, spending €2,000–4,000/month on M365 licences is not unusual. With regular licence reviews, trimming 15–20% off that bill is entirely achievable.

Where does licence waste hide?

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• Former employees whose licence was never reclaimed ("forgotten to free up").
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• Users on E3 who only use the basics.
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• Users on Business Premium whose work only calls for Business Standard.
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• Duplicate add-ons (Teams Phone on top of an E5 that already includes it).
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• Licences assigned to shared mailboxes under 50 GB (these are free — no licence needed).
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Quarterly review

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1. Export users and licences from the Admin Center.
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2. Cross-check with HR: who is still employed?
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3. Check usage: last sign-in > 60 days = review required.
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4. Check feature usage (M365 Usage Reports): on E3 but only using Word/Excel? Downgrade may be possible.
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5. Remove unused licences within 2 weeks.
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Link to offboarding

Right at the point of offboarding: retain the licence for 30 days for mailbox access, then release it. Otherwise it keeps "renting" at €12–35/month.

What's the payoff?

For 40 users: average saving of €300–600/month. That's €3,600–7,200 per year. The review itself takes 2 hours per quarter. The return on investment speaks for itself.

See also: M365 pillar, periodic access reviews.