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Partner Center new commerce experience operating guide
This guide is designed to help Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners quickly learn and understand the operational aspects of transacting
marketplace offers, Microsoft Azure reservations, software (perpetual) licenses, and server subscriptions through Partner Center. Partner
Center orders for these offering types are built on Microsoft’s new commerce platform so some things may be different than partners are
used to when compared to the legacy billing platform. Additional information can also be found in the Partner Center Help section as these
offers become generally available in market. As Partner Center features and capabilities continue to evolve this document will be updated
periodically to ensure partners have the most current and accurate documentation available to help them quickly and successfully transact
with Microsoft. A Change Log is located at the end of this document summarizing any updates.
NOTE: The new commerce experience for Azure in CSP is covered in the technical documentation here.
March 2021
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Contents Policies ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Key Policies Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Agreements .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Software and Server Subscriptions ............................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Marketplace offers ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Azure reservations ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Price Lists ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Software ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Offer Matrix ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Pricing & offer comparison to other channels ..................................................................................................................................................... 10
Server Subscriptions ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Offer Matrix ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Marketplace offers ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Azure Reserved VM Instances .................................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Offer Matrix ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Azure Pricing Calculator ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Azure Reserved VM Instances .................................................................................................................................................................................. 15
Azure SQL DB Reservations ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Ordering & Fulfillment Through Partner Center .......................................................................................................................................................... 21
Software and Server Subscriptions .......................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Marketplace offers ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Non-consumption offers ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Consumption offers ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 37
Azure Reservations .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 42
Remote Desktop Services license key activation ..................................................................................................................................................... 51
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Guidance on Software Key Distribution ................................................................................................................................................................... 58
Using the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to obtain customer software downloads and license key license keys ................................................ 58
Using Partner Center to obtain customer software downloads and license key license keys ............................................................................ 58
Azure Reserved VM Instance Scope Management ...................................................................................................................................................... 60
Billing, Invoice, & Recon File ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 60
Billing ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 60
How to access your New commerce offer invoices and recon files ........................................................................................................................ 63
How to read the Invoice ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 63
Recon files ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 69
Returns/Cancellation Policy ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 69
Software ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 69
Marketplace offers ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 69
Cancelling a non-consumption offer .................................................................................................................................................................... 70
Azure Reservations .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 72
How to place a Return ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 72
Software License Transfer ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 74
Exchanges ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 75
How to place an Exchange ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 76
Support Requirements ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 78
Software and Server Subscriptions .......................................................................................................................................................................... 78
Azure Reserved VM Instances .................................................................................................................................................................................. 78
Incentives ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 78
Software ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 78
Server Subscriptions ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 79
Azure Reserved VM Instances .................................................................................................................................................................................. 79
Azure Portal: Partner Ordering ................................................................................................................................................................................... 82
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Azure Portal: Enabling Azure Hybrid Benefits with Server Subscriptions ................................................................................................................... 82
Azure Partner Shared Services ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 83
How to purchase Azure Reserved VM Instances through the Azure Partner Shared Services ............................................................................... 83
Sandbox ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 88
Software ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 88
Azure Reserved VM Instances .................................................................................................................................................................................. 88
API/SDK ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 88
Change Log ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 89
March 2021 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 89
January 2021 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 89
September 2020 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 89
July 2020 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 89
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Policies Below is a quick overview of key policy items that partners should be aware of compared across Software, Azure reservations, Marketplace
offers, Seat-based Online Services and Server Subscriptions sold through the Cloud Solution Provider program. For full details regarding policy
information see the Microsoft Product Terms.
Key Policies Overview
Software Server Subscriptions sold through CSP
Marketplace offers Azure reservations Seat-based online services
Billing Up front Up front for 1 year or 3-year term
Variable (offer dependent), see offer description.
Up front for the full term, monthly
Monthly or Annual
License Licensed to the end customer
Licensed to the end customer
Variable (offer dependent), see offer description.
Licensed to the end customer
Licensed to the end customer
Coverage Term Not applicable All Server Subscriptions will have their own unique coverage period, i.e., not coterminous to any previous software subscription purchase.
Variable (offer dependent), see offer description.
All Azure reservations (Azure Reserved VM Instances) have their own unique coverage period, i.e., not coterminous to any previous Azure Reservation purchase.
Additional seat-based licenses will snap into the existing coverage period. EX. O365 bought 100 licenses for 1-year coverage period and two months later purchased 10 more licenses. The additional 10 licenses will expire the same time as the original purchased 100.
Auto-renew Not applicable Not available Available Not available Available
What’s included in the cost
Perpetual software IP Server Subscriptions IP included
Variable (offer dependent), see offer description.
Compute Cost. Does not include the cost of the operating system IP.
Not Applicable
Multi-currency Invoice based on customer country currency. NOTE: Changing to partner billing location currency starting
Invoice based on customer country currency. NOTE: Changing to partner billing location currency starting January 28, 2021, see details here.
Invoice based on customer country currency. NOTE: Changing to partner billing location currency starting
Invoice based on customer country currency. NOTE: Changing to partner billing location currency starting January 28, 2021, see details here.
Based on Partner country currency
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January 28, 2021, see details here.
January 28, 2021, see details here.
Invoice & Recon file
Separate invoice and Recon file for each customer country currency. NOTE: Changing to consolidated invoice starting January 28, 2021, see details here.
Separate invoice and Recon file for each customer country currency. NOTE: Changing to consolidated invoice starting January 28, 2021, see details here.
Separate invoice and Recon file for each customer country currency. NOTE: Changing to consolidated invoice starting January 28, 2021, see details here.
Separate invoice and Recon file for each customer country currency. NOTE: Changing to consolidated invoice starting January 28, 2021, see details here.
All orders on one invoice and Recon file
Price List & Offer Matrix
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page. Separate, single file with all pricing and offer details included. There is no separate Offer Matrix file.
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page. Separate, single file with all pricing and offer details included. There is no separate Offer Matrix file.
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page. No regularly published price list. Marketplace offers and pricing can be exported real-time to CSV file format using Partner Center.
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page. Separate, single file with all pricing and offer details included. There is no separate Offer Matrix file.
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page. Separate price list and offer matrix (2 files).
Geo Availability
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page.
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page.
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page for real-time availability. Availability for Marketplace offers is subject to partner offer company discretion.
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page.
See the Partner Center Sell → Pricing & Offers page. 247 countries.
Returns and Exchanges
-Returns less than or equal to *60 days from order date will receive a 100% credit, license keys will be deactivated. -Partial returns will not be accepted
-Returns less than or equal to 60 days from order date will receive a 100% credit license keys will be deactivated. -Partial returns will not be accepted
Varies between one-month and 12-month license based offers as well as usage-based offers. See Returns/Cancellations Policy section for full details.
-Returns less than 5 days after order date will receive a 100% credit. -Returns greater than 5 days after order date will receive a pro-rated credit and a 12% early termination fee of the pro-rated credit -Cap of $50,000 USD (or local currency) per customer per year
-Suspensions/cancellations less than 30 days will receive a 100% credit - Suspensions/cancellations greater than 30 days will receive a pro-rated credit
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See Returns and Exchanges sections in this document for full details.
Support Please see the Microsoft Partner Agreement for full details.
Standard support requirements of the Cloud Solution Provider program
Partner offer company is responsible for technical support. CSP Partner is responsible for pre-sales activities, transaction, and billing support.
Standard support requirements of the Cloud Solution Provider program
Standard support requirements of the Cloud Solution Provider program
Downgrade rights
Downgrade rights for each product are dictated by that product’s use rights document.
Downgrade rights for each product are dictated by that product’s use rights document.
See offer description Not Applicable Not Applicable
*Effective June 1, 2021 the CSP software return policy as stated in the Microsoft Partner Agreement (MPA) will change from 60 days to 30 days
from purchase. CSP partners received an email in September 2020 regarding this and other updates to the MPA, please refer to this notice for full
details.
Agreements
Software and Server Subscriptions Software and Server Subscriptions (software subscriptions) terms & conditions for partners to transact in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)
program can be found in the Microsoft Partner Agreement – Online Services and Software Channel Authorization (the “Channel Authorization”)
terms.
Marketplace offers The Microsoft Partner Agreement contains the terms and conditions governing Marketplace offers between Microsoft and CSP partners and
partners should review these to ensure they are operating in compliance within the program. If partners have already signed their CSP
agreements (MCRA/MCDA) they do not need to re-sign to sell Marketplace offers. Note that certain Marketplace offers may require additional
agreements to be signed between CSP and the ISV and/or the customer. It is the partner’s responsibility to provide the customer with the
Partner offer Customer Agreement associated with each Partner offer ordered by that customer.
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Azure reservations For Azure reservations, the key agreement to be aware of is the Microsoft Cloud Agreement. Partners in Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program
are responsible for reviewing Microsoft’s terms and conditions, including the acceptable use of Microsoft products and services, with their
customers. In this way Azure reservations are like any other offer in the CSP program.
As for any offer in the CSP program, as a CSP partner you’ll need to:
• Have the customer accept the Microsoft Cloud Agreement (MCA). If the customer has already accepted the MCA they do not need to
re-accept. Note the following terms included by accepting the MCA:
o Online Services Terms & Conditions
o Microsoft Product Terms
▪ Azure reservations are inherently part of this agreement
o Online Services Service Level Agreement
Additionally, Azure third party software plan purchases are governed under the terms and conditions as listed here:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/legal/Marketplace offers-terms/ (See the “Reservations” clause)
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Price Lists
Software Pricing for Software is posted in Partner Center in the Software section of the Sell → Pricing & Offers page. The price list is posted once a month
using the standard Partner Center publication cycle of 1st of the month. The price list is published in Microsoft Excel format.
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The structure of the price list is as follows:
Offer Matrix Please refer to the Software price list for a listing of available offers in the Cloud Solution Provider program.
Pricing & offer comparison to other channels
Software prices are designed to achieve directional alignment with the Open No-Level net-prices, however some variances may exist on a product/geography level.
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Server Subscriptions Pricing for Server subscriptions is posted on Partner Center in the Software subscriptions section of the Sell → Pricing & Offers page. The price
list will be posted once a month using the standard Partner Center publication cycle of 1st of the month. The price list will be published in
Microsoft Excel format.
Offer Matrix Please refer to the Server Subscriptions price list for a listing of available offers in the Cloud Solution Provider program.
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Marketplace offers Pricing for Marketplace offers is posted on Partner Center in the Sell → Pricing & Offers page in a section titled Marketplace. Note that only Marketplace products that ISVs have opted for Partner Center will be included. Pricing is subject to change daily.
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Azure Reserved VM Instances The Azure reservations price list is posted on Partner Center in the Sell → Pricing & Offers page in a section titled Microsoft Azure Reserved
Instances. The price list is posted once a month using the standard Partner Center publication cycle of 1st of the month. Price changes can occur
without notice and if this occurs a new price list will be published (as noted in the Microsoft Partner Agreement). The price list is published in
Microsoft Excel format.
Offer Matrix The price list file is consistent with the Azure consumption-based price list file. See the Azure Reservations (Azure Reserved VM Instances) price
list to see all available offers and pricing.
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Azure Pricing Calculator Listed below are a couple examples of using the Azure Pricing Calculator. As new offers become available the steps involved in using calculator
will essentially be the same:
1. Sign into your organizations Azure Portal
2. Choose the product(s) you’d like to include in your estimate. They will be added below to your view.
3. Select “Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)” from the “Programs and Offers” dropdown at the bottom of the desired product.
4. Proceed to make your product specific selections.
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Azure Reserved VM Instances Step 1: Log in using your Partner Center credentials
Step 2: Choose “Virtual Machines”
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Step 3: Choose “CSP” from the “Programs and Offers” dropdown at the bottom of the Virtual Machines section if not already chosen for you.
Step 4: In the “Billing Option” section choose either 1 year or 3 year.
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Step 5: In the “Virtual Machines” section choose your desired options
Step 6: In the “Billing Options” section enter in the number of reservations. Additionally, you can toggle on/off the Azure Hybrid Benefit cost
savings.
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Azure SQL DB Reservations Step 1: Log in using your Partner Center credentials
Step 2: Select “Azure SQL Database”, this will add it to your view. Scroll down once added.
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Step 3: In the top section of the Azure SQL Database view, choose a Type selection of either “Elastic Pool” or “Single Database”. Then make the
appropriate selections for the other dropdowns.
Step 4: In the “Billing Option” section:
1. Choose one of the three options
2. If using Azure Hybrid Benefit toggle on the Azure Hybrid Benefit cost savings
3. Enter in the number of Instances.
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Step 5: Choose the desired options for the Storage and Long-Term Retention sections:
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Ordering & Fulfillment Through Partner Center
Software and Server Subscriptions Step 1: Log into Partner Center
Step 2: Select the customer:
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Step 3: Select Software. NOTE: this page shows all purchased software
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Step 4: Select Add Products
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Step 5: Choose Software, then choose Perpetual Software
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Step 6: Available software products are displayed. Choose or search for the desired product, enter license quantity, and click Add to cart.
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Step 7: The text will display as “Added!”. Next choose Review.
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Step 8: Products ordered will be displayed as well as the Billing Frequency. In this screen you are also able to update the license count as well
as add more products. If there is an indirect reseller involved enter their MPN ID in the Reseller (MPN ID) field. If not, choose No indirect
reseller.
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Step 9: When finished reviewing the order select Buy.
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Step 10: The order confirmation page is displayed. Order ID is included as well as all products ordered. Choose Review order history to review
the order.
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Step 11: The Order history page displays the orders by date. Find your submitted order and confirm the Fulfillment status is displayed as
“Success”.
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Step 12: Choose Software
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Step 13: In the customer Software screen you will see the purchased software products. Expand the desired software product to:
1. Choose product version, language, bit, and select Get keys and downloads.
2. Choose Get Key which will display the 32-digit product in a pop-up dialogue which you can copy and send to the customer.
3. Choose Download to download the bits.
4. Choose Copy Link if you want to send the customer the link to the bits download.
5. You can also Cancel the software order and receive 100% credit (if done within the 60 days cancellation policy period).
NOTE: If the wrong version is delivered to customer you can come back to these steps and choose the appropriate version.
RECOMMENDATION: While it is possible to obtain software keys and downloads using *Partner Center we strongly recommend that
partners leverage the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and have customer retrieve their own license keys instead. This greatly reduces
partner risks associated with copying and sending license keys directly to the customer. See the Using the Microsoft 365 Admin Center
to obtain customer software downloads and license key license keys section below for details.
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Marketplace offers
Non-consumption offers 1. In Partner Center, select the customer, then select Subscriptions, then select Add subscription
2. Choose Online Services. Next filter Publisher dropdown to be either “Microsoft” or “Partner”. Choose the desired offer and select Add
to cart
Note: You can also filter billing type (monthly or annual) and category type
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3. Choose Review
4. Choose Buy
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5. Some offers require partner to go to publishers’ site to complete activation
6. Subscription now appears on customer Subscriptions page. From here you can select the subscription hyperlink to manage the
subscription.
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7. In this window you can change the subscription nickname, cancel the subscription, turn off auto-renew, and add the Reseller MPN ID.
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Consumption offers IMPORTANT: Customer must have an Azure subscription before you can purchase a usage-based marketplace offer for them. Billing for
Marketplace resources fall under the customer’s Azure subscription.
1. In Partner Center, select the customer, then select Subscriptions. Under Usage-based subscriptions choose All resources which takes
you to the Azure Management Portal.
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2. In the Azure Management Portal choose Create a resource
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3. Choose See all
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4. Select the Publisher dropdown and select “Microsoft” or “Partner”
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5. Select desired offer and choose Create
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Azure Reservations
See also the Partner Center article Buy Microsoft Azure reservations on behalf of your customers.
The ordering example shown is for Azure Reserved VM Instances however the same screens apply for all Azure reservations with only minor
differences for Azure reservation type chosen.
Step 1: Log into Partner Center
Step 2: Navigate to the Customer Page
Step 3: Select customer
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Step 4: Choose “Azure reservations” and then “Add Products”
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Step 5: Choose “Azure” and Segment = Commercial, Type = Reservation, Reservations Type = Virtual Machine. Choose an *existing Microsoft
Azure subscription from the Subscription dropdown.
NOTE: The customer country determines the billing currency for the Azure reservation purchase. This billing currency may be different from other product type purchases and
will show on a separate invoice. [see Billing, Invoice & Recon File for more detail]
NOTE: If customer would like the Azure reservation to be shared across all their Microsoft Azure subscriptions, you’ll have this option at the Review page during order checkout.
NOTE: Azure Reserved VM Instances: When purchasing Azure Reserved (VM) Instances on behalf of your customers you’ll need to choose a virtual machine (VM) sized to meet
the customer’s computing needs. See here for details on how to determine the correct VM size.
*The customer must have an existing Microsoft Azure subscription before you can purchase an Azure reservation. You will be prompted to purchase (shown below) if this is the
case.
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Step 6: Choose a Data center:
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Step 7: The available products list will be populated. The filters above may be used to refine the product list. Choose desired product(s) and
quantity. Click “Review” when finished.
NOTE: You can purchase multiple product types (license-based subscriptions, etc.) with in the same order (cart).
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Step 8: Choose Scope of the Azure reservation. This is the Microsoft Azure subscription that will be covered by the reservation. If you want all
Microsoft Azure subscriptions covered by the reservation, choose the "shared" option in the Scope dropdown. Also choose the Reseller (MPN
ID) option. When finished select “Buy”.
NOTE: See here for additional details on sharing Azure reservations. NOTE: The currency that the product will be billed in is displayed in the Currency column.
NOTE: You will receive a separate invoice and reconciliation file for Azure reservation charges by currency. See Billing, Invoice & Recon File for more detail and here for specific customer country availability and currency.
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Step 9: You will now see the Azure reservation displayed in the customer Azure reservations section of Partner Center. From here you can
manage your customers Azure reservation by selecting the “Manage” link in the reservation which takes you to the Azure Portal. If you choose
“Refund” it will redirect you to the Azure Portal where you will have the ability to submit a service request.
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In the Azure Portal, you can:
1) Mange the Azure reservation
2) Exchange Azure reservation offer types
3) Request a Refund. Note that requesting a Refund will require you to submit a service request which may be subject to an early
termination fee. See Microsoft Product Terms for further details.
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Remote Desktop Services license key activation Remote Desktop Services (RDS) are ordered like any other server subscription however the license key activation is different hence this section
below.
• Remote Desktop Service (RDS) CALs require Windows Server 2016 or above. Server 2016 CALs will work on both a Windows Server
2016 and 2019 install but Server 2019 CALs will only work on a Windows Server 2019 install. Once installed the RDS license server must
be activated against *Clearing House. Once activated follow the steps below to install the 5x5 RDS CAL.
• Once a 5x5 code is used it cannot used again on any other license server including the same license server.
*Clearing House is the RDS Licenses activation site hosted at clearinghouse.one.microsoft.com.
Step1: Launch Licmgr.exe from the Server where RDLS role is installed.
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Step 2: Select the machine name from left tree view control. Right click on the server name then select Install Licenses.
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Step 3: Click Next.
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Step 4: From the License Program drop down list, select the option for Retail CAL installation denoted as License Pack (Retail Purchase). Click
Next.
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Step 5: Enter the 5x5 Retail code in the License Code input boxes and then click Add. Repeat this for all retail codes that need to be installed on
the box. Once all retails codes are added click Next.
Note: The retail CAL’s are first partially validated before sending the request to Clearing House, failure to pass validation will result in an error
message.
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Step 6: After clicking Next in the above step the retail codes are sent to Clearing House where they are validated further, this should only take a
few seconds when in “automatic internet connection” mode. If the retail codes are valid, customer will see a message for successful installation
and can click Finish to complete the process. If not, the user will see a message with errors listed. Examples of both types are listed below.
Example of successful installation message:
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Example of an error message where a 5x5 code was entered that has already been used.
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Guidance on Software Key Distribution
Using the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to obtain customer software downloads and license key license keys Customers can access their software and server subscription downloads (ISO) and license keys using the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This
introduces a huge efficiency gain for both partners and customers and allows those partners selling software and server subscriptions through
CSP the ability to scale this operational component of the implementation process.
Review the Microsoft 365 Admin Center customer license key download how-to article to understand the customer fulfillment experience.
Known Issue: When using the Microsoft 365 Admin Center occasionally users may encounter a 404 Page Not Found error. If this occurs, refresh
the browser page and that should correct the issue. If the issue persists, contact Microsoft 365 Admin Center support referencing issue
#175009074.
Using Partner Center to obtain customer software downloads and license key license keys While it is possible to provide software downloads and license keys using Partner Center please be aware of the risks associated with the
scenarios outlined below and consider having your customer use the Microsoft 365 Admin Center instead to help secure these valuable assets
and protect your customers:
• Keys and tokens are valuable and highly sought-after intellectual property assets
• If keys/tokens & software download links leak they can quickly be depleted of their activation limits and cause a negative customer and
partner experience
• There are steps you can take to proactively protect yourself and your customers from the negative impact of theft and leakage of
valuable keys/tokens & bit download links
Partner Center Process Step/Scenario
Risk(s) Control Recommendation(s) / Guiding Principles
1. Partners can now place Software orders for customers via Partner Dashboard
Multiple action keys are inherently risky and are an attractive nuisance for theft because they can be monetized by professional pirates, fraudsters, and bad actors
Limit the number of people who have access to the keys within your organization
Partner admins ought to regularly audit accounts and remove permissions for users who have changed roles within your organization
Enforce a separation of duties (i.e. people who place software orders should not be the same
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people distribute the keys/tokens & download links)
2. Partners will have a choice in how they distribute keys & download links to their customer
Partner account compromise by professional pirates, fraudsters, and bad actors
All partner accounts ought to have strong passwords
Enable Multi-factor Authorization
Ensure a clear method of verifying that the user account is managed by a verified customer representative agent
3. Copy/Paste the keys from the Portal and deliver keys/tokens & download link via email / chat / or other direct means
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
Only distribute one key at a time via this method otherwise use a digital locker solution
Do not email the key/token without first protecting the email/file that contains the key/token with a password. Send password to the customer separately. Be sure to remove any images or other links customer email systems might consider suspicious in order to avoid emails ending up in the customer’s junk email.
Ensure and verify that only the customer of record is the recipient of a given key
4. Deliver keys & download links to end customer through your own store / portal (via the Partner Dashboard API)
Multiple action keys are inherently risky and are an attractive nuisance for theft because they can be monetized by professional pirates, fraudsters, and bad actors
Do not store keys/tokens that are licensed for your end customer on your marketplace / portal, instead rely solely on the Partner Dashboard API to pull keys/tokens in real-time
Mask the keys/tokens for customer service representative, only show full key (i.e. 5x5) to end customer
Log key/token viewing and download events for your marketplace / portal
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Azure Reserved VM Instance Scope Management With Azure reservations you have an ability to assign the reservation to multiple subscriptions within the customer account or at the
single subscription level.
For details on managing reservations see the following resources:
• Azure reservations: Manage reservations for resources in Azure
• Azure SQL DB reservations: Prepay for reserved capacity
Billing, Invoice, & Recon File
Billing Microsoft’s Partner Center offers are billed using two platforms: Legacy and new commerce. Over time more offers will be moved to the new
commerce platform.
NOTE: Invoice currency for new commerce platform changing to partner billing currency starting January 28, 2021: See the Partner Center
announcement EU/EFTA Change of Partner Billing Currency for new commerce offers for full details.
Offer type Billing Auto-renew? New commerce or Legacy?
Software Billing frequency is one-time up front, billing period is calendar month aligned, and billing date is 8th. Offers do not auto-renew.
No New commerce
Marketplace offers - Azure data Marketplace offers Dev Services per site
one-time up front, new commerce billing date the 8th of each month (service level agreement is end of day GMT)
No New commerce
Azure reservations one-time up front, monthly No New commerce
Azure data Marketplace offers SaaS per site
one-time up front. One month and 12 month offers. Quantity of one
No New commerce
Marketplace offers SaaS per user One month and 12 month offers No New commerce
Marketplace offers SaaS per site One month and 12 month offers No New commerce
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Marketplace offers Consumption offers
metered and billed in arears. One-month offer. Calendar month based
Yes New commerce
O365, Dynamics, Intune Seat-based billed monthly or annual. Yes Legacy
Azure Pay-As-You-Go Consumption, billed in arrears Yes Legacy
Billing/Invoice:
• Legacy billing date based on partner billing date (service level agreement is billing date + 3 days)
• New commerce billing date is the 8th of each month (service level agreement is end of day GMT)
Payment Terms:
• Legacy invoice: 60 days
• New commerce invoice: 60 days
Billing Period:
• Legacy invoice: 30 days leading up to invoice date
• New commerce invoice: calendar month
Billing Invoice Currency:
• Legacy invoice: Based on partners country currency
• New commerce invoice: Based on *customers country currency.
o NOTE: Invoice currency for the new commerce platform changing to partner billing currency starting January 28, 2021: See the
Partner Center announcement EU/EFTA Change of Partner Billing Currency for new commerce offers for full details.
Recon file:
• Legacy
o One recon file for seat-based offers
o One recon file for Azure Pay-As-You-Go
• New commerce
o One recon file for non-consumption-based offers per *currency
o One recon file for consumption-based offers per *currency
Payment Instructions:
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• Legacy and New commerce: Will be displayed on page 1 and last page of the invoice. Please reference your invoice number when
submitting a payment.
*New commerce invoice and recon file per currency examples:
• Scenario 1: Partner located in Ireland and purchases an Azure Reserved VM Instance for customer in Ireland and an Azure Reserved VM
Instance for customer in Germany. Because both customers are in a EUR country partner will receive one invoice and one recon file in
EUR for the one-time Azure Reserved VM Instance purchases.
• Scenario 2: Partner located in Ireland and purchases an Azure Reserved VM Instance for customer in UK and an Azure Reserved VM
Instance for customer in Germany. Because the UK and Germany have different country currencies the partner will receive one invoice
and one recon file in EUR and one invoice and one recon file in GBP for the one-time Azure Reserved VM Instance purchases.
See also the Partner Center article Azure Reserved VM Instances billing.
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How to access your New commerce offer invoices and recon files Step 1: Log into Partner Center
Step 2: Click Billing Page
Step 3: Select One-time tab (if you purchased one-time subscriptions in different currencies you will see a tab for each currency).
Step 4: Click on Invoice and Recon file hyperlinks. NOTE: to access historical invoices and recon files expand the Billing history row below.
How to read the Invoice First page displays the following:
• Invoice #
• Invoice date
• Payment terms
• Payment due date
• Bill To
• Sold To
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• Billing Period
• Charges, Credits, Taxes
• Payment Instructions
Last page displays the following
• Payment instructions
• Partner offer publisher information
The new commerce invoice consolidates all charges and consumption that occurred during the invoice billing period. Invoice line items will be
located on subsequent pages and on the corresponding reconciliation file.
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Recon files Please see Use the reconciliation files for full details There are two billed and two unbilled recon files (both have same format):
• One for consumption offers
• One for non-consumption offers NOTE: The invoice and recon file data can be accessed via the Partner Center user interface or the Partner Center API/SDK.
Returns/Cancellation Policy
Software Partners can cancel software subscriptions either directly from within Partner Center or by using the Partner Center API without need of
assistance from Microsoft. Step by step instructions and API technical details located here.
Returns requests:
• The software subscription cancellation policy is *60 days from Order Date. See the Microsoft Partner Agreement for full policy details. • Partial returns will not be accepted.
*Effective June 1, 2021 the CSP software return policy as stated in the Microsoft Partner Agreement (MPA) will change from 60 days to 30 days
from purchase. CSP partners received an email in September 2020 regarding this and other updates to the MPA, please refer to this notice for full
details.
Marketplace offers
License based offers
One month offers
• Returns less than 24 hours after order placement will receive a full credit on the next invoice
• Returns greater than 24 hours after order placement will be scheduled to occur at renewal.
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12-month offers
• Returns less than 14 days after order placement will receive a full credit on the next invoice
• Returns greater than 14 days after order placement will be scheduled to occur at renewal.
Cancelling a non-consumption offer
1. Choose the customer and the desired subscription then select Cancel and Submit
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2. Confirm the action by choosing Yes, cancel
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Usage based offers
Any consumption-based services, i.e., a Virtual Machine, is not eligible for a return. Marketplace offers that are developer services are not
eligible for returns.
Azure Reservations Please see below Returns Scenarios table for *Azure Reservations. See Self-service exchanges and refunds for Azure Reservations for full policy
detail.
IMPORTANT: Often times customers requesting a cancellation/return don’t realize that a better option may be to perform an exchange. This
would be in the event they have purchased the wrong VM or their needs have changed.
Returns Scenarios:
Return Date (days) Usage Credit Early Termination Fee Credit Limit Cap*
<5 No 100% No $50,000 USD
<5 Yes Pro-rated No $50,000 USD
>5 No Pro-rated 12% $50,000 USD
>5 Yes Pro-rated 12% $50,000 USD
*Total canceled commitment cannot exceed 50,000 USD in a 12-month rolling window
*Returns are not available for Azure third party software plans
How to place a Return
Step 1: Log in to Partner Center
Step 2: Click Customer Page
Step 3: Select Customer
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Step 4: Click Reservations page
Step 5: Click Refund, you will be re-directed to the Azure Portal
Step 6: Select the Refund button
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Step 7: Submit a service request and follow instructions on the screen. If approved the refund (less any early termination fee) will appear on
your next one-time invoice and recon file.
Software License Transfer The license transfer rights for software can be found in the Cloud Solution Provider Microsoft Customer Agreement.
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Exchanges The option to *exchange Azure Reserved VM Instances provides customers with a huge amount of flexibility to change their reservation if their
business requirements change. The benefit of exchange is that there is no Early Termination Fee applied because customer is rebuying a
reservation. Partner will receive a pro-rated credit for the original purchase and be charged for the new purchase. The credit and charge will be
applied to the following month’s invoice. If customer questions the way in which refund is managed via support ticket or pro-ration, note that
it’s the current refund process.
See also the Partner Center article Manage Azure reservations on behalf of your customers.
*Exchanges apply to Azure Reserved VM Instances *only. For Software and Server Subscriptions you must return the software and place a new
order.
Azure Reservations (Azure Reserved VM Instances) Exchanges:
• The exchange will be facilitated as a pro-rated refund to the original purchase instrument in the month the exchange was requested.
• Customers can Exchange as often as needed within their reservation period.
• Any new purchase will be at customer discretion.
Common scenarios for Exchanges:
IMPORTANT: By determining the customers VM requirements up front you can eliminate the need for exchanges, see here for details on VM
sizing and usage.
1. Customers VM usage is not being covered by the Azure Reservation benefit. For example, the Azure Reservation was purchase for
D2_v2 but customer has DS_v2 running. To determine the VM series type you can reference the Azure Portal Usage, details on how
to do so here.
2. Classic and Promo VMs are not covered by reservation benefit: In order to get the reservation benefit, a customer will have to
convert Classic and Promo VMs to ARM VMs.
3. Customers usage requirements change over time: For example, customers usage needs change from D2_v2 (2 core) to a larger
instance D4_v2 (8 core).
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Notes:
• An Exchange will reset the term to the date of the new order
• Exchanges will be accepted if the new order is equal or greater than the pro-rated credit for the early cancellation order.
o Example: If the original order was placed on January 1 and total was $100 the daily proration would be 0.274 (the result of
$100/365). If the exchange was submitted on June 1 the pro-rated credit for the early cancellation order would be $58.636
(result of 214 * 0.274). Therefore, the new order total must exceed or equal $58.636.
How to place an Exchange
Step 1: Log in to Partner Center
Step 2: Click Customer Page
Step 3: Select Customer
Step 4: Click Reservations page
Step 5: Click Manage, you will be re-directed to the Azure Portal.
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Step 6: Select the Exchange button
Step 7: Submit a service request and follow instructions on the screen. If approved, you will see the pro-rated cancellation credit for the original
order and a new charge for the new order on your next one-time invoice and recon file.
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Support Requirements
Software and Server Subscriptions Partners are required to be the first point of contact for customer support issues directly related to the procurement, license key
access/activation, and product media/download fulfillment of products deemed to be Server Subscription offers. Please see the Microsoft
Partner Agreement for full details.
Azure Reserved VM Instances No change for Azure Reservations (Azure Reserved VM Instances), remains consistent with standard support requirements of the Cloud Solution
Provider program.
Incentives
Software Incentives for Software sold through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program will be based on the product rate * the total license cost per
order for that same product. The rates used will match the Microsoft Open Licensing incentive rates used for the comparable product software
(non-annuity contracts). Indirect Providers will earn the same incentive rates as the commercial distributors in the Microsoft Open program.
Direct Providers and Indirect Resellers will earn the same rates as Managed Resellers in the Microsoft Open program.
Example involving an Indirect Provider and an Indirect Reseller:
Customer purchases licenses for Microsoft Office and a license for Microsoft SQL Server. There would be two incentives paid out: One
to the Indirect Provider and one to the Indirect Reseller.
Indirect Provider Incentive = Indirect Provider Product Rate * matching Product total license cost on the order
Indirect Reseller Incentive = Indirect Reseller Product Rate * matching Product total license cost on the order
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Server Subscriptions Incentives for Server Subscriptions sold through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program will be based on the product rate * the total license
cost per order for that same product. The rates used will match the Microsoft Open Licensing incentive rates used for the comparable product
software (annuity contracts). Indirect Providers will earn the same incentive rates as the commercial distributors in the Microsoft Open
program. Direct Providers and Indirect Resellers will earn the same rates as Managed Resellers in the Microsoft Open program.
Example involving an Indirect Provider and an Indirect Reseller:
Customer purchases licenses for Microsoft Office and a license for Microsoft SQL Server. There would be two incentives paid out: One
to the Indirect Provider and one to the Indirect Reseller.
Indirect Provider Incentive = Indirect Provider Product Rate * matching Product total license cost on the order
Indirect Reseller Incentive = Indirect Reseller Product Rate * matching Product total license cost on the order
Azure Reserved VM Instances Key elements to understand regarding incentives for Azure Reservations (Azure Reserved VM Instances):
• Azure partner specific incentives are earned and paid on Azure consumed revenue. Azure Reservations will follow the same concept with incentives earned on consumed revenue.
KEY: The purchase of an Azure Reserved VM Instance and its consumption will most likely occur at separate times • Partners should ensure they purchase the correct Azure Reservation VM Instances for their customer (i.e., right-size):
• Maximizes customer consumption and thus maximizes partner incentives • If the incorrect Azure Reservation VM Instance is purchased the customer may under-utilize leading to lower consumption/lower
incentives OR the obverse where it doesn’t provide enough capacity and they will need to perform an exchange. • A single Azure Reserved VM Instance benefit can be applied to multiple Azure Pay-As-You-Go subscriptions within the same customer
tenant • Incentive rates are unique to partner type (Direct, Indirect Provider, and Indirect Reseller). Please consult your CSP Incentive guide for
rate information specific to your partner organization.
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IMPORTANT: The rates shown are illustrative only
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Example Calculation
IMPORTANT: The rates shown are illustrative only
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Azure Portal: Partner Ordering Partners will have the option to order Azure Reservations through the Azure Portal at general market availability. For more information see the
Partner Center article “Prepay for Virtual Machines with Reserved VM Instances”
Azure Portal: Enabling Azure Hybrid Benefits with Server Subscriptions There are several ways to enable Azure Hybrid Benefits with server subscriptions as summarized below. See the Azure Hybrid Benefit page on
the Microsoft Azure Portal for full details.
1. To enable Windows Server Azure Hybrid Benefit with an Azure Windows Server VM, do one of the following (see demo for a detailed overview):
a. Create or go to an existing Windows Server VM within the Azure Portal, and check the box indicating Azure Hybrid Benefit utilization.
b. Use PowerShell to apply an existing license of type Windows Server to a VM 2. To enable SQL Server Azure Hybrid Benefit with an Azure Windows Server VM:
a. You can bring your own SQL Server license (BYOL) which means using an existing SQL Server Subscription purchased through CSP in an Azure VM. See here for full details.
3. To enable both Windows Server and SQL Server Azure Hybrid Benefits with a single Azure VM: a. Use the Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server and the Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows Server together for cost savings when
choosing the flexibility and control of virtual machines. The recommended bring-your-own-license (“BYOL”) approach is to use Virtual Machines with Microsoft-certified BYOL SQL Server gallery images and then select “Yes” to the “Already have a Windows license?” question.
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Azure Partner Shared Services Azure Partner Shared Services is an offer type enabling Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners the ability to purchase Azure subscriptions for
their own use. It creates the opportunity for partners to use a uniform method for purchasing, tracking, and managing their own Azure
subscriptions in addition to the ability to consolidate their Azure licensing and reselling agreements with Microsoft. With Azure Partner Shared
Services partners have the same flexibility to use Azure subscriptions in CSP as they do in the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement and Web Direct
programs, unblocking scenarios such as: build development and test environments, deploy internal workloads, and host shared services or multi-
tenant applications.
The primary use for the Azure subscriptions through the Azure Partner Shared Services is so that partners can use Azure for their own use and
host shared resources. The shared tenant partners use to provision this offer cannot be used for other services such as Office 365 or Dynamics
seats. The Azure Services including Azure Reserved VM Instances purchased through Azure Partner Shared Services are not eligible for CSP
Margins and incentives.
How to purchase Azure Reserved VM Instances through the Azure Partner Shared Services
Step 1: Log in to Partner Center
Step 2: Select Shared Services in the left menu
NOTE: You must first have created a Shared Services Tenant. Instructions for this can be found in the Partner Center article Add Azure
Partner Shared Services.
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Step 3: Click on Managed Services which will redirect you to the Azure Portal
Step 4: Click Add and then Search for Reserved VM Instances, then select to Create the resource.
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Step 5: Make your Azure Reservation VM Instance selections. When finished press the Calculate ton.
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Step 6: Confirm the order by pressing the “Purchase” button
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The order is complete.
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Sandbox
Software The sandbox will be available for testing and validation of purchase and deploy processes through UI and APIs. No product or software keys will
be available.
For information on how to gain access to the sandbox and how to use it refer to the Partner Center developer documentation.
Azure Reserved VM Instances Sandbox restrictions for Azure Reserved VM Instances at general market availability:
$200 consumption, 2 Azure Reservations (Azure Reserved VM Instances) per customer
For information on how to gain access to the Sandbox and how to use it refer to the Partner Center developer documentation.
API/SDK Software, server subscriptions, and Azure reservations may be purchased utilizing the Partner Center API/SDK. For full and complete details
please refer to the Partner Center API/SDK documentation. For a high-level overview presentation on the perpetual software API/SDK see here.
Notes:
• For software and server subscriptions there will be no API/SDK integration for accessing keys & downloads (asset management) at
release however it is being considered for a future release.
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Change Log
March 2021 • Updated step 13 of the Software and server subscriptions orders and fulfilment section and added back section Using Partner Center to
obtain customer software downloads and license key license keys.
• Updated software returns policy change effective date from April 1, 2021 to June 1, 2021 on pages 7 and 69.
January 2021 • Updated step 13 of the software and server subscriptions ordering section.
• Removed reference to Partner Center software & license key download guidance (retired as of January 19, 2021) and added link to the
Microsoft 365 Admin Center software & license key download how-to article in the Using the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to obtain
customer software downloads and license key license keys section.
• Removed reference to “qualified CSP partner” for perpetual software throughout the entire document. Perpetual software is available
to all CSP partners as of January 19, 2021.
• Added note in the Key Policies Overview and Billing, Invoice, & Recon File sections calling out the invoice currency change to partner
billing location currency for new commerce offers starting January 28, 2021: See the Partner Center announcement EU/EFTA Change of
Partner Billing Currency for new commerce offers for full details.
September 2020 • Note added to software cancellation section for policy change notice
• Note added to end of Software and Server subscriptions section for Partner Center software download and license key capability notice
July 2020 • Original publication date
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