Microsoft 365 was originally unveiled several years ago at Inspire 2017.An all-encompassing package that includes Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security, the new offering debuted with two configurations positioned at different segments of the market: Microsoft 365 Business and Microsoft 365 Enterprise. The people on your team each need a user account before they can sign in and access Microsoft 365 for business. The easiest way to add user accounts is to add them one at a time in the Microsoft 365 admin center. After you do this step, your users have Microsoft 365 licenses, sign in credentials, and Microsoft 365 mailboxes. Before you begin.
Either monthly or annually (depending on the option you chose when you purchased your subscription), you'll receive an email that tells you that your new billing statement is available in the admin center. Learn how to find and view your bill or invoice.
Your invoice contains two pages. Page 1 is the invoice summary, and contains general information about the invoice, order, amount due, how to make a payment, and how to contact support.
Page 2 contains details about the billing activity for each subscription.
For descriptions of the fields and terms included in your invoice, see the Invoice Field Glossary later in this article.
Understand billing concepts
Before you view your invoice, it's helpful to understand a few key billing concepts.
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Invoice balance vs. order balance
Invoice balance is the amount shown on your invoice, and is only the amount due for that particular billing period. Your total order balance is the sum of all unpaid invoices. You can view your order balance in the Billing section of the admin center.
Billing frequency vs. invoice frequency
Billing frequency means how often you are billed. Subscriptions are billed either monthly or annually, depending on what option you chose during the subscription purchase. Invoice frequency means how often you receive an invoice. If you chose annual billing, you'll only receive one invoice per year, unless activity for your subscription requires a charge or a credit.
If you have more than one order, you'll receive an invoice for each order.
Invoice Field Glossary
The following table describes the fields you might see on your invoice. Some fields listed here might not appear in your invoice, depending on whether you pay by invoice or by credit card or bank account.
Note
Paying by bank account is not available in some countries or regions.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Annual Price | Subscriptions are billed monthly or annually. If you chose annual billing during the subscription purchase, the annual license price is reflected on the invoice. If you want to change the billing frequency, you'll have to cancel your subscription and repurchase it with the new billing frequency. |
| Billing Period | Billing Period is the time period since the last invoice date. Service Period is the time period during which you are charged to use the service. |
| Bill-To | This is the address of your billing department, and is usually the same as the Sold-To address. To update your billing address, see Change your billing addresses. |
| Charges | Page 1 of your invoice summarizes all charges for the invoice Billing Period. Page 2 shows the detailed charges for each subscription. |
| Check | If you pay by invoice and check payment is offered in your country, the bottom of page 1 includes information about where to send your payment. Please reference the invoice number on your check. |
| Credits | Page 1 of your invoice summarizes all credits for the invoice Billing Period. Page 2 shows the detailed credits for each subscription. |
| Customer PO Number | Your Purchase Order (PO) number. If you update the PO number, future invoices will include it. Change your purchase order number. NOTE You can't add a PO number to an existing invoice. |
| Days | Each billing transaction is associated with a Service Period. The Days column indicates the number of days in that service period. |
| Discounts | Page 1 of your invoice summarizes all discounts for the invoice Billing Period. Page 2 shows the detailed discounts for each subscription. |
| Due Date | The date when payment is due for the invoice. If your subscription is paid with a credit card or bank account, we will charge your credit card or banking account the day after the Invoice Date. NOTE Paying by bank account is not available in some countries or regions. |
| Electronic Funds Transfer | If you chose 'invoice' as the subscription payment method, page 1 contains the Microsoft bank account information for electronic (wire, ACH, SEPA, etc.) payments. Usually, your bank will have a reference field you complete when you send a payment. Please reference the invoice number shown in this field. |
| Grand Total | This row includes the totals for all Charges, Discounts, Credits, SubTotal, Tax, and Total columns for all subscriptions listed on the invoice. |
| Invoice Date | The date the invoice was created. The invoice date is the day after the end of your Billing Period. For example, if your Billing Period is Jan 15 - Feb 14, your Invoice Date is Feb 15. |
| Invoice Number | The unique number assigned to your invoice. Please reference the Invoice Number with your payment. |
| Monthly Price | Subscriptions are billed monthly or annually. If you chose monthly billing during the subscription purchase, the monthly license price is reflected on the invoice. If you want to change the billing frequency, you'll have to cancel your subscription and repurchase it with the new billing frequency. |
| Order Number | Every time you buy a new subscription, an order is created. Every month, you'll receive an invoice for each order. |
| Payment Instructions | If you pay by credit card, you'll see 'Do not pay - charged to credit card on file.' If you pay by invoice, you'll see instructions for paying by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and check (if applicable). |
| Payment Terms | The number of days from the Invoice Date when payment is due. The standard is 30 days. |
| Product | On page 1 of your invoice, 'Online Services' is the generic term used to describe your subscriptions. On page 2 , you'll see the individual subscription names. |
| QTY | The number of licenses purchased during the Service Period. |
| Service Period | Service Period is the time period during which you are charged to use the service. A Billing Period is the time period since the last invoice date. |
| Service Usage Address | The address where the service is being used, usually the same as your Sold-To address. To update your Service Usage Address, see Change your billing addresses. |
| Sold-To | Your company name and address. To update this information, see Change your organization's address, technical contact email, and other information. |
| SubTotal | Each subscription listed on your invoice has a separate SubTotal row for all Charges, Discounts, Credits, SubTotal, Tax, and Total columns for that subscription. |
| Tax | Page 1 of your invoice shows the total tax. Page 2 shows the tax rate applied, and the total tax amount for each line item. If your invoice contains taxes and your company is tax exempt, please contact support. |
| Total | The amount due for the invoice Billing Period. |
Change your purchase order number
If you pay by invoice, you can add or change the purchase order (PO) number for your subscription.
Note
You can't add a PO number to an existing invoice. The PO number will appear on all future invoices.
- In the admin center, go to the Billing > Your products page.
- In the admin center, go to the Billing > Your products page.
- In the admin center, go to the Billing > Your products page.
On the Products tab, select the subscription that you want to change.
On the subscription details page, in the Subscription and payment settings section, select Edit invoice.
At the bottom of the Edit details for paying by voice pane, enter your PO number, and then select Save.
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-->Watch this video for an overview of Microsoft 365 Business Premium setup.
Add your domain, users, and set up policies
When you purchase Microsoft 365 Business Premium, you have the option of using a domain you own, or buying one during the sign-up.
- If you purchased a new domain when you signed up, your domain is all set up and you can move to Add users and assign licenses.
Add your domain to personalize sign-in
Sign in to Microsoft 365 admin center by using your global admin credentials.
Choose Go to setup to start the wizard.
On the Install your Office apps page, you can optionally install the apps on your own computer.
In the Add domain step, enter the domain name you want to use (like contoso.com).
Important
If you purchased a domain during the sign-up, you will not see Add a domain step here. Go to Add users instead.
Follow the steps in the wizard to Create DNS records at any DNS hosting provider for Microsoft 365 that verifies you own the domain. If you know your domain host, see also the host specific instructions.
If your hosting provider is GoDaddy or another host enabled with domain connect, the process is easy and you'll be automatically asked to sign in and let Microsoft authenticate on your behalf.
Add users and assign licenses
You can add users in the wizard, but you can also add users later in the admin center. Additionally, if you have a local domain controller, you can add users with Azure AD Connect.
Add users in the wizard
Any users you add in the wizard get automatically assigned a Microsoft 365 Business Premium license.
If your Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscription has existing users (for example, if you used Azure AD Connect), you get an option to assign licenses to them now. Go ahead and add licenses to them as well.
After you've added the users, you'll also get an option to share credentials with the new users you added. You can choose to print them out, email them, or download them.
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Connect your domain
Note
If you chose to use the .onmicrosoft domain, or used Azure AD Connect to set up users, you will not see this step.
To set up services, you have to update some records at your DNS host or domain registrar.
The setup wizard typically detects your registrar and gives you a link to step-by-step instructions for updating your NS records at the registrar website. If it doesn't, Change nameservers to set up Microsoft 365 with any domain registrar.
If you have existing DNS records, for example an existing web site, but your DNS host is enabled for domain connect, choose Add records for me. On the Choose your online services page, accept all the defaults, and choose Next, and choose Authorize on your DNS host's page.
If you have existing DNS records with other DNS hosts (not enabled for domain connect), you'll want to manage your own DNS records to make sure the existing services stay connected. See domain basics for more info.
Follow the steps in the wizard and email and other services will be set up for you.
Protect your organization
The policies you set up in the wizard are applied automatically to a Security group called All Users. You can also create additional groups to assign policies to in the admin center.
On the Increase protection from advanced cyber threats, it is recommended that you accept the defaults to let Office 365 Advance Threat Protection scan files and links in Office apps.
On the Prevent leaks of sensitive data page, accept the defaults to turn on Office 365 Data Loss Prevention (DLP) to track sensitive data in Office apps and prevent the accidental sharing of these outside your organization.
On the Protect data in Office for mobile page, leave mobile app management on, expand the settings and review them, and then select Create mobile app management policy.
Secure Windows 10 PCs
On the left nav, select Setup and then, under Sign-in and security, choose Secure your Windows 10 computers. Choose View to get started. See secure your Windows 10 computers for complete instructions.
Deploy Office 365 client apps
If you chose to automatically install Office apps during setup, the apps will install on the Windows 10 devices once the users have signed in to Azure AD from their Windows devices, using their work credentials.
To install Office on mobile iOS or Android devices, see Set up mobile devices for Microsoft 365 Business Premium users.
You can also install Office individually. See install Office on a PC or Mac for instructions.
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See also