Forum Discussion
Best way to set up computers for new employees in small office
We are a small office of 2 (soon will be 3) employees. We recently purchased a new computer to replace the one I have been using. I'm trying to figure out the best way to set up my computer and the computer for the new employee. My supervisor currently has Office 2021 Home and Student installed on her computer. I was going to install the same thing on my new computer. But I've also been asked to install something on the computer for the new employee as well. If I use my Microsoft account to install Office 2021 Home/Student on my computer - how do I go about setting up the new computer? I don't know that I can be logged in and purchase Office 2021 Home/Student under my Microsoft account, can I? Once I purchase it, doesn't the license go with the account that was logged in to purchase it? We also talked about just creating a generic Microsoft account - like "help" or "tech" or something. But then we would have to sign in to Microsoft using that account and all the purchases would be under that account.
What's the best practice here? What's the best way to set up my computer and the computer for the new employee? What have you found that works and what doesn't work?
Thanks!
- Emily_Swab
Microsoft
Hi chill0907, Great question!
With Office 2021, it’s a onetime purchase per PC or Mac, meaning the license is linked to computer not a user. Once you activate on that computer no Microsoft account is required. However, there are benefits to logging in, such as saving to the OneDrive App. Based on what you provided, activating the account with a telephone instead might be a better option.
I recommend thinking about whether the computer is tied to a single employee, or if it could end up being a shared computer. Licensing individual users instead of each computer may be a better fit in the long run.
You mentioned this is for work, and so you may want to consider some of the business plans, so that you can purchase more as your business begins to grow. Here is a comparison chart to reference. Buy Microsoft Office 2021 | Microsoft 365. Business Basic is not listed on the chart, but if your new hire only needs web versions of the core apps, that is another option to consider.
Here are some additional resources that might also help with your situation.
- Does Office 2021 / 2019 need sign-in to a Microsoft account? - Office Watch (office-watch.com)
- How to active your license: Activate Office after reinstalling or installing on a different device - Microsoft Support
- What's the difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 2021? - Microsoft Support
