Transitioning SaaS Offers with Multi-Year Pricing from AppSource to Azure Marketplace
When a SaaS transactable offer on Microsoft AppSource includes a pricing plan for more than 1 year, the offer is delisted from AppSource and becomes available on Azure Marketplace. This is due to the platform's structure: AppSource primarily supports monthly or annual subscription models for SaaS offers. Any pricing model that exceeds 1 year (e.g., 2-year, 3-year plans) is outside the scope of AppSource’s transaction capabilities. When a SaaS solution introduces https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/marketplace-offers/marketplace-commercial-transaction-capabilities-and-considerations, it is automatically transitioned to Azure Marketplace, which can accommodate longer-term contracts and subscription models (such as 2-year, 3-year, or longer terms). Azure Marketplace is designed for more complex transactions, including multi-year deals, and supports deeper infrastructure integration and contract management features compared to AppSource. Thus, any SaaS offer that requires multi-year pricing terms will shift from AppSource to Azure Marketplace, where such transactions can be handled effectively.You’ve built your app, it’s on Marketplace… now what?
Your solution is live on Microsoft Marketplace – so what’s next? How do you make the most of this opportunity? What benefits can you unlock? And what practical steps will set you up for long-term success? As a Partner Solutions Sales Manager at Microsoft, I work with partners every day who’ve just published to Marketplace and want to accelerate their impact. That’s why I’ve launched a new blog series designed to help you go beyond “listing” and start thriving. In this first edition, I share: Best practices for getting started How to move from visibility to real growth The key signal that shows your solution is well-architected …and more. Check out the full post on the Marketplace Community Blog: Your next big move: Thriving in the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace | Microsoft Community HubFrom listing to sale: Microsoft Marketplace made easy
Kyle Heisner is a veteran GTM and Cloud Marketplace leader at Suger with extensive experience helping software companies scale through strategic partnerships and co-sell programs. He is known for transforming complex cloud ecosystems into clear, repeatable revenue motions. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You’ve built an amazing product and listed it on Microsoft Marketplace. Now what? For many software development companies, that’s where progress stalls. Your listing is live, yet transactions aren’t flowing. You’re in the Marketplace, but not yet part of its commerce motion. Going from “listed” to “transactable” is the turning point. It’s when your Marketplace presence becomes a measurable pipeline, eligible for co-sell, incentives, and enterprise purchasing. This guide walks through how top software companies go transactable, combining AI, automation, and integrations to make it simple and scalable. Why Microsoft cares about transactable software companies Microsoft is doubling down on transactable listings as the foundation of its marketplace strategy. Transactable offers enable customers to buy directly through their Azure commitments, simplifying procurement and making cloud adoption measurable. For Microsoft, this shift drives predictable consumption, cleaner billing, and stronger alignment with enterprise buyers. For partners, it opens access to co-sell programs, incentives, and higher placement in Marketplace search. Being transactable isn’t optional anymore. It’s the cost of entry for the next generation of cloud GTM. Why being transactable benefits software companies For software companies, transactable listings transform Marketplace visibility into a repeatable revenue channel. Microsoft handles billing, invoicing, and disbursements, so customers can purchase through existing Azure agreements without new vendor onboarding or security reviews. When your listing is transactable: Enterprise buyers purchase through committed Azure spend. You qualify for Marketplace Rewards and co-sell incentives. Microsoft sellers can align on deals that generate mutual pipeline. Your revenue data flows directly into payout and forecasting systems. Transactable listings reduce friction for buyers, streamline sales cycles, and create a scalable path to growth alongside Microsoft. Aligning your sales methodology Microsoft Marketplace isn’t a side motion; it’s a core sales channel. The best software companies fold Marketplace into their qualification and closing process, turning it into a repeatable path that accelerates deals and reduces friction across teams. Role-based actions for Microsoft Marketplace success Partner & Alliances Identify customers with Azure consumption commitments that can fund your deals. Build joint account plans with Microsoft Partner Development Managers (PDMs). Share pipeline regularly and flag co-sell-eligible opportunities early. Sales Reps Ask early if buyers have Azure budgets or enterprise agreements. Present Marketplace as the fastest purchasing path. Tag Marketplace opportunities in CRM and trigger co-sell workflows. Sales Management Review Marketplace pipeline in forecasts and QBRs. Set targets for the percentage of deals closing through Azure. Align compensation to reward Marketplace adoption. RevOps Standardize CRM fields and automate referral submissions. Track cycle time and win rates versus direct deals. Measure Marketplace impact on deal velocity and CAC. Finance Reconcile payouts with Partner Center data. Sync invoices and taxes into your accounting system. Forecast Marketplace cash flow accurately. Embedding Marketplace into sales motions creates a repeatable, low-friction channel that scales across every team. Go from listed to selling fast Going transactable used to take months of coordination. With automation and AI, it now takes days. Suger helps Azure software companies: Connect Partner Center, CRM, and finance systems. Publish transactable offers. Automate MPOs, invoicing, and payout tracking. Visualize performance in unified dashboards. Whether you’re a startup or enterprise, the path to your first Azure sale is shorter than ever if your systems and workflows are connected. How it works step-by-step Publishing a listing is only the start. To generate revenue, connect your CRM, finance, and partner systems so deals flow cleanly from quote to cash. Many software companies get stuck on manual offers or disconnected data. The fix is automation. The fastest-growing software companies standardize the path from listing to sale. Step 1: Connect your systems You don’t need to integrate everything at once. Connect core systems early to avoid rework. Suger’s 30+ native integrations make it simple, no engineering required. CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot): Link Partner Center so listings, referrals, and private offers live inside Opportunities. Finance (NetSuite, QuickBooks, Stripe): Sync invoices, payouts, and true-ups automatically. Communications (Slack, Teams): Notify teams when offers are created, accepted, or near expiry. These integrations give every team a shared view from day one. Step 2: Build you listing with AI To transact, you need a listing that defines how your product is sold, including pricing, descriptions, and compliance details. That’s where many software companies slow down. Suger’s AI Listing Assistant speeds publishing by auto-filling: Product info (e.g. title, descriptions, and categories) Support contacts Resource links In minutes, you can publish a compliant listing with minimal effort. Suger then syncs pricing, SKUs, and entitlement configurations through your connected systems, ensuring your listing is ready for transactions. Step 3: Validate and go live Once the listing is ready, make it transactable by linking it to offer plans that define pricing, fulfillment, and entitlements. Suger automates this process end-to-end: Imports listing data from Partner Center Prefills pricing and fulfillment details from CRM and finance Validates compliance with Azure transaction rules Publishes back to Partner Center as “transactable” In minutes, your offer is connected and live, ready for reps to create private offers directly in CRM. Step 4: Enable co-sell with Microsoft Going transactable unlocks the Azure Co-Sell program, the fastest way to grow joint pipeline with Microsoft. Suger automates co-sell operations by: Sharing eligible opportunities with Microsoft automatically Enriching missing required referral details (e.g. company, website, address, industry, size, and phone) Syncing updates back to CRM as deals progress That keeps both sides aligned in real time. Step 5: Generate private offers Most software companies start with a Microsoft Private Offer , a custom quote for a specific buyer. With Suger, reps create offers directly in their CRM: Offer details auto-populate from CRM or CPQ records Approvals route through Slack or Teams Accepted offers sync back for payout reconciliation When an offer is accepted, Suger automatically: Attaches EULAs and entitlement documents to the record Notifies Finance to mark the deal as Closed Won Syncs revenue data with accounting systems for payout reconciliation The entire process—from quote to close—takes minutes instead of hours, keeping teams focused on selling instead of administration. Step 6: Automate billing and payouts Once the deal closes, automation continues. Suger’s enterprise-grade billing and metering turn raw usage into clean financial data: Converts consumption into billable records that match Microsoft’s billing format. Handles hybrid and usage-based pricing models automatically. Flags discrepancies before invoices hit Finance. Exports payouts directly into NetSuite or QuickBooks. Finance teams gain accurate, audit-ready data, and sellers gain visibility into when revenue actually lands. No spreadsheets, no missed payments, no confusion. Step 7: Measure and optimize After your first sale, visibility drives optimization. Suger unifies Marketplace, CRM, and finance data into dashboards for every team. Sales: Pipeline by region and offer type. Alliances: Co-sell progress and seller engagement. Finance: Payout timing and reconciliation. RevOps: Deal velocity and attribution. Dashboards simplify forecasting and export easily to Power BI or Tableau. Avoid common pitfalls Most teams hit the same snags. Automation turns bottlenecks into repeatable, scalable processes. Pitfall Impact Automation Fix Disconnected systems Manual entry across CRM & Partner Center Two-way CRM sync keeps data consistent Offer complexity Delays from unclear plans or pricing Guided templates with AI validation Approval bottlenecks Weeks lost in manual review Slack-based approval workflows Limited visibility Finance unsure of payout timing Unified dashboards and auto-reconciliation Scaling challenges Ops can’t keep up with deal volume No-code workflows that clone across regions Check your readiness Before transacting, confirm: Offer readiness: Transactable offer configured, approved, and tested. System readiness: CRM, billing, and Partner Center fully synced. Workflow readiness: Private offer creation and approvals automated. Visibility readiness: Dashboards tracking pipeline, payouts, and cycle time. Team readiness: Roles trained on Marketplace quoting and fulfillment. This helps ensure smooth and scalable processes after kick-off. The Suger difference Suger combines automation, AI, and native integrations in one platform built for hyperscaler marketplaces. Area What Suger Does Why It Matters CRM-native co-sell & offer creation CRM-native co-sell and offer creation Keeps reps in workflow 30+ integrations Plugs into existing tech stacks End-to-end automation Workflow automation Automates listings, enrichment, and approvals Cuts manual effort and errors Unified reporting Real-time pipeline and revenue dashboards One source of truth for every team Enterprise billing & metering Handles hybrid and usage-based pricing Simplifies revenue operations Customer-first success Named CSM, Slack support, 24/7 availability Fast onboarding and resolution This combination helps software companies go live faster and scale sustainably without adding headcount or complexity. Reignite your Marketplace listings If your Azure listing is live but inactive, start here: Convert to transactable. Use guided templates to publish a compliant offer quickly. Connect core systems. Sync CRM, Partner Center, and finance for automatic deal flow. Automate private offers and co-sell. Let reps manage everything directly from CRM. These steps unlock visibility, accountability, and revenue: the foundation for long-term Marketplace success. Impact by team Every team benefits when Azure Marketplace operations are automated and connected. Sales: Faster deal creation and fewer errors by staying inside CRM. Partner/Alliances: Real-time visibility into co-sell pipeline and cloud alignment. RevOps: Unified analytics connecting listing, pipeline, and revenue. Finance: Reliable payout data, no spreadsheets, and automated reconciliation. Engineering: Less manual maintenance thanks to productized integrations. Shared data and workflows make Marketplace revenue predictable. Going transactable is the tipping point between simply being listed on Microsoft Marketplace and generating real, predictable revenue. By connecting core systems, automating private offers, and enabling co sell, software companies turn Marketplace into a repeatable sales channel. Automation removes the operational burden and lets offers generate in minutes while data flows cleanly from CRM to finance. When teams have visibility into pipeline, payouts, and performance, Marketplace becomes easier to forecast, manage, and scale. The companies that win are the ones that treat Marketplace as a core sales strategy, not a side experiment. Start your journey Ready? Publish a transactable offer, enroll in co-sell, and share a referral to get there faster. Need help? Contact Suger for a consultation and go from listed to selling fast. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Resources Microsoft Marketplace Trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents Microsoft Marketplace - Marketplace publisher | Microsoft Learn How to guides for working in Microsoft Marketplace ISV Success Discover offers and benefits of ISV Success to help you take your apps and agents to the next level.Progress Software and Process.Science offer transactable partner solutions in Microsoft Marketplace
Microsoft partners like Progress Software and Process.Science deliver transact-capable offers, which allow you to purchase directly from Microsoft Marketplace. Learn about these offers in this blog post.Unlock bigger deals with flexible billing and five-year terms in Microsoft Marketplace
Many partners are already leveraging flexible billing and multi-year terms to close larger, more strategic deals in the Microsoft Marketplace. These features have been available for some time, but they’re worth revisiting — especially as they enable more personalized, enterprise-grade transactions for both SaaS and Virtual Machine (VM) offers. Why it matters Flexible billing and extended terms aren’t just enhancements — they’re strategic tools that help partners: Align with customer budgeting cycles Support custom payment preferences Simplify complex procurement processes Enable predictable revenue streams If you haven’t revisited your Marketplace offer recently, now is the time. Flexible billing: More control, more opportunity Traditionally, SaaS and VM offerings have been limited to monthly or annual upfront billing. Now, with flexible billing, you can set custom billing schedules with up to 70 installments over the duration of the contract. Key Capabilities Set specific charge dates and amounts Add notes for context (visible to both customer and partner) Support flat-rate SaaS and Professional Services plans Available globally in all Marketplace-supported currencies 💡 Note: Seat-based SaaS pricing is not supported. Metered billing dimensions are still charged monthly. Example Billing Schedule Charge Date Amount (USD) Notes Immediate $0.00 No upfront fee Jan 10, 2026 $5,000.00 First charge Jul 05, 2026 $2,500.00 Mid-year Mar 15, 2027 $8,000.00 Q1 Year 2 Sep 20, 2027 $4,000.00 Final charge Total $19,500.00 Longer terms: Up to five years Previously, term lengths were restrictive: SaaS: Max 3 years VM: 1- or 3-year terms, upfront only Now, both SaaS and VM offers support 1- to 5-year terms, combined with flexible billing. This opens the door to: Multi-year contracts with predictable revenue Enterprise-grade commitments Simplified renewals and fewer procurement cycles Real-world impact: Siemens “Siemens was recently able to transact a 5-year contract with a quarterly payment schedule on the Microsoft Marketplace thanks to the new multiyear contract durations. The process to enable this 5-year contract within one offer with a very large customer was extremely easy, and it simplifies the complex billing schedule. Siemens is excited and will continue to transact complex deals through the Microsoft Marketplace.” — Clare Dennis, Senior Manager, 3rd Party Marketplace Operations, Siemens Best practices to keep in mind Contract Duration: Must be 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years Charge Dates: Must fall within the contract duration and are executed in UTC Immediate Charges: Can be set to $0 to delay the first payment Currency Support: Pricing can be defined in local currencies using export/import tools Multiparty Offers: Channel partners can apply a uniform customer adjustment percentage Modifications: Once accepted, flexible schedules are locked Renewals: SaaS plans renew at public pricing unless auto-renew is disabled Resources to Help You Get Started Flexible billing schedule documentation Video tutorials: Flexible billing for private offers - This video explains what flexible billing is, how the feature works, and covers details of capabilities and restrictions. Flexible billing for private offers - This demo video shows software development companies how to create a direct customer private offers with a flexible billing schedule. Flexible billing for private offers - This demo video shows how to create multi-party private offers with flexible billing. The flexible billing customer experience - This demo video shows the customer purchase experience for a Marketplace private offer which has a flexible billing setup. This video is valuable to software development companies and customers. Take action Review your current offers in Partner Center and consider updating them to include flexible billing and longer terms. These features can help you: Support custom billing schedules Create multi-year partnerships Compete with tailored deal structures Simplify procurement for enterprise customers Need help? Reach out to your Microsoft partner manager or consult the Marketplace documentation for more details.Discover how flexible billing and multi-year terms drive bigger deals
Partners are increasingly using custom billing schedules and extended contract terms to secure larger, more strategic agreements in Microsoft Marketplace. These capabilities—available for both SaaS and VM offers—make transactions more personalized and enterprise-ready. Read the full article to learn how these features can help you close high-value deals.Accelerated Payouts for Marketplace Transactions
In case you missed it - or in case you didn't miss it but disregarded it as too good to be true - Microsoft recently launched accelerated payouts for Marketplace transactions with MCA customers. It is true, and it most definitely is good. :-) And it's even more important now than ever as more and more customers are switched from EA to MCA. We recently did a transaction with an enterprise customer on an MCA: Marketplace transaction was done on 29 September, and we received our payout on 15 October - barely more than two weeks later! This is outstanding news for everyone, from sellers who want their commissions to the finance folks who want the cashflow. Read the full announcement here: Announcing accelerated payouts to Microsoft Marketplace partners with MCA customers | Microsoft Community Hub #MarketplaceChampions #Sponsored
