Microsoft volume licensing programs are the commercial agreements under which organizations acquire Microsoft software licenses, Software Assurance and cloud subscriptions. The program does not change what a product license permits; use rights come from the Microsoft Product Terms for every program. What the program decides is how licenses are ordered, priced, counted over time, paid for and renewed. Product Terms entries are published per program (for example EA/EAS/SCE or MCA), and each lists program-specific conditions such as whether a product is True-Up Eligible or Reduction Eligible.[11]
For enterprise customers the three main routes are the Enterprise Agreement, the Microsoft Customer Agreement bought directly from Microsoft, and the Cloud Solution Provider program, in which a partner sells Microsoft cloud services under the Microsoft Customer Agreement. Smaller programs such as Open Value and the Microsoft Products and Services Agreement are outside this article.
Enterprise Agreement
Structure and minimums
The Enterprise Agreement (EA) “is designed for organizations with at least 500* users and/or devices that want to license software and cloud services for a minimum three-year period.” The 500 minimum applies to commercial customers, does not apply to the Server and Cloud Enrollment, and is 250 users or devices for public sector.[1] An EA for online services only needs at least 500 subscription licenses for Enterprise Online Services in a single pool.[1] See the minimum rule.
Purchases are made through enrollments under the agreement:
- The Enterprise Enrollment covers end-user technologies “on a per user, per device, or hybrid basis”, with an organization-wide commitment to the Enterprise Platform (Office Professional Plus, CAL Suites and Windows Enterprise).[3]
- The Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE) covers server and cloud technologies. The program guide states that “100% Software Assurance or Subscription coverage is required on your install base for each product family that you commit to”, and that subscription quantities in SCE components can be reduced annually.[1] It replaced the Enrollment for Application Platform and the Enrollment for Core Infrastructure.[3]
- The Enterprise Subscription Enrollment licenses the same products as subscriptions rather than perpetual licenses.
Pricing and price protection
The EA program guide describes savings “ranging from 15% to 45% off Select Plus pricing”, with four discount levels by number of users or devices (A: up to 2,399; B: 2,400 to 5,999; C: 6,000 to 14,999; D: 15,000 and up).[1] Microsoft’s program page presents the EA as a way to minimize up-front costs “by locking in pricing and spreading payments over three years”, and the True-up guide says customers can buy additional quantities “at any point during your Enterprise Agreement term at pre-negotiated pricing and terms.”[3][2] Payments can be made up front or in three annual installments.[1] The exact price-protection terms (which products have fixed prices and for how long) are set in each customer’s signed enrollment and price sheet, not in the public guides.
True-up and anniversary
Customers can deploy additional copies of products they already license during the year and account for them once a year. Microsoft calls the True-up “an annual inventory of products, services, users, and devices added during the year.”[2] The program guide sets the timing: “Your first two True-up orders are required 60 to 30 days prior to your Enterprise Agreement enrollment anniversary, and your final True-up order is required within 30 days of your enrollment end date.”[1] “If no changes have been made, an Update Statement must be submitted to Microsoft.”[2] Microsoft suggests starting the process 120 days before the anniversary.[2] See the True-up timing rule and the general article on true-ups.
Under the Enterprise Subscription Enrollment the equivalent step “is known as an Annual Order, through which you can increase or decrease your license subscription counts.”[1] Products must also be marked True-Up Eligible or Reduction Eligible in the Product Terms for these mechanisms to apply (rule).[11]
Renewal
Renewal decisions are made per enrollment. After the first three-year term, renewal pricing for on-premises licenses under an Enterprise Enrollment is Software Assurance only, because the customer already owns perpetual licenses once the final payment is made. Under the Enterprise Subscription Enrollment, renewal pricing is license plus Software Assurance, with a buy-out option for perpetual rights.[1] Microsoft may grant Software Assurance credit when SA is renewed early into a new Enterprise Enrollment; it is discretionary, needs pre-approval, and “Credit cannot exceed 35 months”.[1]
Microsoft Customer Agreement
The Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) is “a simple, short document that’s accepted and stored online.” Microsoft contrasts it with the EA: “Traditional volume licensing agreements-such as the Enterprise Agreement-typically expire in three years. The MCA never expires.”[4] All Microsoft cloud products, including Azure, Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, are available through it, and invoices come from Microsoft when buying directly or from the partner when buying through one.[4] The abbreviation MCA-E (MCA for enterprise) is used for the form signed directly with a Microsoft seller; Microsoft’s public program page describes a single agreement used by direct and partner customers alike.
Billing is organized as a billing account containing billing profiles, each of which receives its own monthly invoice and holds its own payment methods, and invoice sections for allocating costs.[6] A customer whose direct EA enrollment is expiring can renew it with an MCA by transferring the billing of its Azure subscriptions; the Learn documentation notes that “Currently, expiring indirect Enterprise Agreements can’t get renewed with a Microsoft Customer Agreement.”[5]
The MCA has been extended to on-premises licensing. On 1 April 2026 Microsoft consolidated the MCA subscription terms for SQL Server and Windows Server and gave subscription customers rights equivalent to Software Assurance. On 1 May 2026 it “Updated terms throughout to support the launch of Software Assurance in the Microsoft Customer Agreement”.[10] See the MCA rules and SA in MCA.
Cloud Solution Provider
In the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program, Microsoft partners sell and bill Microsoft cloud services. Microsoft states that the MCA and the new commerce platform “were introduced in 2019 through Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners”, and that “As of September 1, 2024 all license-based subscription purchases will be on New commerce, except for six-year or five-year public sector legacy offers.”[7] The new commerce experience supports “monthly, annual, or three-year terms for many subscriptions” and monthly, annual or up-front billing.[7]
Two new commerce rules shape how quantities and prices behave:
- Cancellation. License-based subscriptions allow a “Prorated refund within seven calendar days of purchase.” After that window the quantity cannot be reduced until the subscription renews into a new term; a subscription created by a partial upgrade inherits its parent’s window.[8] Microsoft suggests monthly terms for customers at risk of payment default (rule).
- Price changes. “Subscription price changes take effect at renewal, upgrade, or term conversion… If there are price changes mid-term, the new price applies only at renewal.” New commerce prices are published per customer market, with a preview of next month’s changes.[9] An annual or three-year term therefore fixes the price for that term (rule).
Comparison
| Enterprise Agreement | Microsoft Customer Agreement (direct) | CSP (new commerce) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Three-year enrollments, renewable[1] | Agreement does not expire; subscriptions carry their own terms[4] | Monthly, annual or three-year subscription terms[7] |
| Growth during term | Deploy, then report at annual True-up[1] | Buy as needed | Buy as needed through the partner |
| Reductions | At anniversary for subscription and Reduction Eligible products | Per subscription terms | Only within seven days of purchase or at renewal[8] |
| Price during term | Pre-negotiated pricing and terms[2] | Per customer agreement | Price at purchase until renewal[9] |
| Invoicing | Through a reseller or Microsoft | Microsoft | Partner[4] |
Out of scope
- Open Value, Select Plus, the Microsoft Products and Services Agreement and education programs.
- The Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) for hosters.
- Azure consumption commitments, reservations and savings plans.
- Customer-specific pricing, discounts and amendments, which are confidential to each agreement.
- License audits and verification clauses: see software license audit.