Forum Discussion
MicrosoftFAQ: Calculating number of users in billing model in SaaS offers
Q: I'm interested in the Per User billing model in SaaS offers. How does Microsoft calculate the number of users in this billing model?
A: Microsoft does not calculate the number of users in this instance - you would need to do that on your end. However, you control access to your SaaS needs to take this into account. There are technologies to make this easier, such as SCIM, to sync accounts between App and AAD.
The marketplace just allows Microsoft to bill the customer, and then pay ISVs/publishers for that number of user licenses.
You may also find this resource helpful from our Mastering the Marketplace series:
Mastering the Marketplace: Billing and Payouts Registration Page (eventbuilder.com)
I'd also suggest reviewing SaaS pricing options.
For a given plan, as a publisher, you set the minimum and maximum number of users for which that plan applies. Some partners use this flexibility to create a tiered pricing structure. For example:
- Plan A: 1 user up to 500 users is charged $XX/per user
- Plan B: 501 users - 1000 users is charged $YY/per user
As a customer, at time of purchase, I am prompted to enter the number of users or seats I am purchasing for that SaaS plan (from the available range defined by the ISV). For example, if my company has 200 employees and I want everyone to have a user license for the software, I'd purchase 200 "Seats". Customers may also add to or reduce the number of users or seats at any time during their subscription.
This data is available to publishers, in the Marketplace Insights - Orders Reporting.
