Cut your Microsoft EA true up bill in 2026

How does a Microsoft EA true up actually work?

A Microsoft EA true up reconciles your enrolled count to your deployed count once a year. You report added users and added products, and you pay for the increase. You do not get money back for reductions.

The annual order, not the renewal, is where most overcounting happens. The count you submit sets the new floor for the rest of the term.

What gets counted in the annual order?

The order counts net new users and net new product adoption since the last reconciliation. Step ups from a lower suite to a higher one are counted as priced changes, not free upgrades.

Why can you not true down mid term?

• One direction: the EA only adds; it never subtracts before renewal.
• New floor: each true up resets the minimum you carry forward.
• Renewal only: the sole moment to reduce is at the three year renewal.

What inflates a true up bill above the forecast?

Over reported headcount, full price step ups, and uncredited decommissions inflate the bill. The published unit price is rarely the driver on its own.

How do you build a clean count before submission?

Pull the active directory, remove leavers, and reconcile assigned licenses against real sign in data. The count you can defend, not the count the reseller proposes, is the one to submit.

Which primary sources set the rules?

The reconciliation rules sit in the Microsoft licensing terms, not in the reseller quote. Confirm them on the Microsoft Product Terms and the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement program page before you sign the annual order.

Where is the common advice on EA true ups wrong?

The standard reseller line is to true up everything in one clean annual order so the paperwork stays simple. We disagree.

In the true ups Fredrik ran, bundling every add into one order counted 15 to 30 percent of seats that were assigned but never used. Those seats locked into the floor for the rest of the term.

The buyer side move is to reconcile assignments to real sign in data first, net out leavers, and stage suite step ups for the renewal rather than the mid term order.

The buyer side move is to make active use, not assignment, the basis of the count submitted.

A true up counted on assigned licenses costs more for three years than one reconciled to who actually signs in.

What should you do before your next true up?

Reconcile before you report. The clean count, not the proposed count, protects the budget.

1. Pull the live directory and remove all leavers.
2. Match assigned licenses to real sign in activity.
3. Net out reservations and decommissioned accounts.
4. Stage suite step ups for the renewal, not the mid term order.
5. Challenge any count that exceeds active use.
6. Document the defensible count before submission.
7. Confirm the reconciliation terms against the Product Terms.

When should you bring in a buyer side advisor?

Bring help in before the annual order is submitted, while the count can still be reconciled. The number you report sets the floor for the rest of the term.