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SaaS and seats

Software bills usually follow purchased seats, not active users. Check whether renewals, reductions and cancellations changed the bill when they should have.

Did the renewal honor your seat cut?

  1. 01Billing

    Microsoft's July price rise waits for renewal.

    On 1 July 2026, Microsoft 365 E3 rose from $36 to $39 and E5 from $57 to $60 per user per month. Existing customers keep their price until renewal. Check any earlier increase.

    Microsoft licensing news

  2. 02Billing

    Seats added mid-term are prorated.

    Salesforce's standard terms price added seats at the existing rate for the remaining term. Seats added in month eight should not carry a full-year charge.

    Salesforce master subscription agreement

  3. 03Deadline

    Microsoft gives you seven days to reduce seats.

    Under Microsoft's new commerce terms, seat reductions are allowed within seven days of purchase, renewal or an addition. After that, the count is fixed until the next renewal window.

    Microsoft Partner Center

  4. 04Deadline

    Auto-renew off does not always mean cancelled.

    Since 4 May 2026, affected Microsoft CSP subscriptions enter a monthly extended term unless set to cancel. It adds 3% to the monthly rate, or 23% when no monthly plan exists. Promotions do not carry over.

    Microsoft extended service terms

  5. 05Deadline

    A Salesforce seat reduction can change the rate.

    Standard terms allow repricing when a renewal has fewer seats or a shorter term. Promotional prices renew at list. Check your order form and agree the rate before the 30-day non-renewal deadline.

    Salesforce master subscription agreement

  6. 06Avoidable

    GitHub counts a committer for 90 days after a push.

    Secret Protection costs $19 and Code Security $30 per active committer per month. A pushed commit keeps its author active for 90 days, even if the commit itself is old.

    GitHub billing docs GitHub security plans

Unused seats are refundable only if the contract allows it. Check missed reduction notices, increases above the agreed cap and charges after cancellation.

The renewal ignored the seat cut.

Bill review / 01Illustrative

Renewal, 1 October

Agreed
Seats can drop at renewal with 60 days' notice; $480 per seat a year
Delivered
Written notice for 900 seats, sent 75 days before renewal
Owed
$432,000
Billed
$576,000
Potential difference$144,000

Subject to review. Nothing recovered yet.

See the calculation

$576,000 billed − $432,000 owed = $144,000 difference.

  • The contract allows reductions with 60 days' written notice. The vendor acknowledged notice for 900 seats 75 days before renewal.
  • 900 × $480 = $432,000. The invoice charges 1,200 × $480 = $576,000.
  • USD. The seat price is unchanged. No minimum seat count or existing credit changes the amount.

Illustrative. USD. Excludes taxes and other charges.

Start with one bill.

These are the records we will need. First, tell us the vendor and period so we can arrange the review.

Check a bill
  • Order forms, renewal quotes and amendments
  • Seat or license reports from the admin console
  • Dated seat reduction and cancellation notices
  • Invoices and credit memos