Forum Discussion
RMC1974
Nov 27, 2025Copper Contributor
M365 Licensing for small retail store
I have a client who is a small retail store, using generic email addresses based on department, as opposed to individual users. Looking for the best way to license for Office Desktop Apps. Scenario...
Kidd_Ip
Dec 02, 2025MVP
Under Microsoft 365 licensing requirements, each Business Standard license must be allocated to a specific, named user. Assigning licenses directly to shared or generic mailboxes is not permitted. The compliant approach is therefore Option 2: provision individual user accounts (one per PC/user) with the appropriate licenses, and configure shared mailboxes (e.g., sales@, admin@) for departmental use. This model maintains licensing compliance while enabling multiple staff members to access and send messages from the shared addresses.
About shared mailboxes - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn
Understand subscriptions and licenses in Microsoft 365 for business | Microsoft Learn