Managing an Office license primarily involves assigning, removing, or adjusting access to the included apps and services for users within an organization, typically done through an administrative portal like the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Effectively managing your Office licenses ensures that the right users have access to the necessary tools, optimizes costs by reassigning licenses from users who no longer need them, and helps maintain security and compliance.
Key Steps for Managing Office Licenses
The most common method for managing user licenses and controlling access to specific applications within a license is through the administrator portal. Based on the provided reference, here’s a core method:
- Access the Admin Center: Log in to your Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Navigate to Licenses: Go to the Billing > Licenses page. This page provides an overview of your subscriptions, the number of licenses purchased, assigned, and available.
- Select the User: On the Licenses page, select the row for a specific user whose license or access you want to manage.
- Adjust Apps and Services: In the details pane that appears, you can select or deselect the specific apps and services (like Word, Excel, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, etc.) that you want to give access to or remove access from for that user within their assigned license.
This process allows granular control over which components of a multi-app license a user can utilize.
Common License Management Tasks
Beyond adjusting individual app access, managing Office licenses often includes these tasks:
Assigning Licenses to Users
When a new employee joins or an existing user needs access to Office services, you assign them an available license.
- Go to the Users > Active users page in the admin center.
- Select the user(s).
- Choose "Manage product licenses".
- Select the desired license from your available pool.
Removing Licenses from Users
When an employee leaves or no longer needs Office access, it's crucial to remove their license to free it up for reassignment and stop incurring costs for that user.
- Go to the Users > Active users page.
- Select the user.
- Choose "Manage product licenses".
- Deselect the assigned license. The license then becomes available in your pool.
Understanding License Assignment Status
You can quickly see how many licenses you have and how many are assigned from the Billing > Licenses page.
| License Type | Purchased | Assigned | Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | 50 | 45 | 5 |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | 100 | 90 | 10 |
Keeping track of available licenses helps you determine if you need to purchase more or if you have excess licenses that could potentially be reduced upon renewal.
Managing Licenses for Groups
For larger organizations, assigning licenses to groups can streamline the process. When users are added to or removed from a group, their license assignment is automatically adjusted based on the group's configuration. This is typically managed under Groups > Active groups and requires Azure AD Premium licenses.
Effectively managing your Office licenses is a continuous process involving assigning, reclaiming, and reassigning based on your organization's needs and changes in personnel.
