THE BRAINTREE APPROACH
Inventory to renewal. The commercial model is the deliverable.
A licence list does not explain what the business should buy next. Braintree examines what you own, what people use and what the agreement allows, then models the choices for the workloads and renewal dates in scope.
01
Inventory
Audit subscriptions, SKUs and assigned seats across the Microsoft environment. Identify unassigned licences, overlapping entitlements and mismatched plans before a renewal decision repeats the existing spend.
02
Model
Compare the available CSP and Enterprise Agreement paths using the relevant terms. Account for commitment periods, billing, seat changes and renewal conditions. Evaluate reservations or Azure Hybrid Benefit only where workloads and licences qualify.
03
Consolidate
Bring procurement and oversight into a coherent plan where the agreements permit it. Make the remaining contract boundaries and renewal dates visible, rather than promising every workload can move onto one date.
04
Review
Track assignments and growth against the agreement. Revisit what to retain, change or retire before renewal, so the next commercial decision is based on current use.
SERVICE SCOPE
What’s in scope.
01
Subscription and entitlement inventory
Review the existing agreements, products, service plans, assigned users and renewal dates. Identify unassigned seats, overlapping entitlements and differences between what is licensed and what the organisation has configured or intends to use.
02
Microsoft 365 and security fit
Compare productivity, Copilot and security requirements by user role. Review Microsoft 365 plan choices alongside Defender, Purview and Entra requirements so a licensing decision reflects the capabilities and controls that need to be available.
03
Dynamics 365 and Power Platform
Map business application licences to the users and workloads involved. Consider Business Central, Finance, Sales, Customer Service and the related Power Platform scope, recording assumptions that need product-specific licensing confirmation.
04
Azure consumption and commitments
Review Azure usage and the commercial options relevant to the estate. Reservations and Azure Hybrid Benefit require workload and eligibility evidence; compare them with current demand and architecture before treating a commitment as an optimisation.
05
Renewal and commercial modelling
Compare the relevant CSP and enterprise agreement options using current contracts, growth assumptions and renewal constraints. Build a calendar and cost view that makes change decisions visible before the organisation commits.
A licensing review produces a model and an action list.
The useful result connects entitlement, usage and the business plan. It should distinguish changes that can be made now from those constrained by contract terms, dependencies or future requirements.
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Subscription, seat and agreement inventory.
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Entitlement gaps, overlap and unused allocations for review.
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Workload and role-based product recommendations.
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A renewal calendar and commercial scenario comparison.
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Assumptions requiring Microsoft product-term or eligibility confirmation.
Licensing and implementation are related decisions.
A licence can make a capability available without configuring it or preparing the team to use it. Security controls, Copilot adoption and application deployment still require technical and operational work. Use the review to connect commercial decisions with that work, while preserving the actual terms and renewal dates of each agreement.
01
Separate entitlement, assignment and actual use
A subscription inventory can look complete while users lack a required capability, inactive seats remain assigned or overlapping products are funded by different departments. Start with the people and workloads that must be supported. Then compare what is owned, what is assigned and which features are actually needed.
Commercial flexibility depends on the offer and its terms. Microsoft’s new commerce guidance distinguishes commitment terms, billing frequency and renewal choices. Monthly billing should not be treated as evidence of a monthly commitment. Braintree’s review should identify the current agreements and feasible options before presenting a consolidation or renewal recommendation.
02
Bring contract evidence alongside usage evidence
Prepare subscription and licence-assignment exports, invoices, renewal dates, relevant agreements and expected staffing or workload changes. Record existing security add-ons, device requirements and the capabilities planned for Copilot or Dynamics. Usage evidence can identify questions, but low recorded activity is not proof that a licence is unnecessary for an occasional or compliance-related role.
The output should connect every recommended change to an entitlement check, dependency and action date. Customer owners confirm user roles, expected demand and which capabilities must remain available. Commercial changes require confirmation of eligibility and the applicable product terms at the time of purchase. Configuration, migration and support charges should remain visible so a licence-price comparison represents the proposed solution accurately.
03
Commercial comparisons that need explicit assumptions
Decision
Evidence to examine
What to agree
Commitment and cash flow
Subscription term, billing frequency, renewal and change conditions.
Which changes are feasible now and which belong at a future renewal.
Role-based coverage
User duties, device use and required workloads or security capabilities.
The entitlement required for each role and any prerequisite products.
Consolidation
Overlapping subscriptions and implementation dependencies.
Which cost can be removed without removing required functionality.
BEFORE YOU DECIDE
Practical questions.
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Will every product renew on the same date?
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Does a higher plan automatically improve security?
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Can existing licences reduce Azure cost?
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Can unused seats be removed immediately?
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Is monthly payment the same as a monthly contract?
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Should every employee receive the same plan?
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Does a licensing review certify compliance?
BUILD YOUR BUSINESS CASE
Explain the licence decision in terms of use and responsibility.
The problem to solve.
Renewals become harder to defend when subscriptions, user roles and product use no longer match, or when the commercial responsibility sits across several suppliers.
What success should look like.
Build a documented view of entitlements and actual needs, with clear renewal decisions and ownership of future changes.
Bring these into the discussion.
A useful starting point for your team and the people approving the investment.
Useful reading for your proposal.
Evidence, examples and questions to take into the decision.
Insight
14 August 2026
Licence governance
Audit the access behind a Copilot licence
Distinguish assigned licences from the service plans that decide access.
Read the insight
Insight
18 February 2026
Commercial planning
Connect packaging changes to renewal planning
Use the dated analysis to prepare questions for your next licensing review.
Read the insight
Insight
8 June 2026
Operational ownership
Give Business Central licence administration an owner
Include operational licence tasks in the handover and support plan.
Read the insight
LET’S GROW.
Work through the next step with Braintree.
Bring the agreements and intended use. We will help identify the commercial decisions that need attention.
