I'm helping a small business customer set up Microsoft Office, but everything has changed with the Microsoft 365 subscriptions. I thought it would be straightforward—just buy the subscription for them like I used to. However, I contacted a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), and they told me I need a Microsoft Partner account. I tried signing in with my Microsoft account but ran into vague errors and was informed that I need to have my own 365 subscription to proceed. After finally signing up for a subscription, I hit another error at the end of the Partner application that suggested I might be committing fraud, which is baffling. I contacted support, but they seem to have issues with phone verifications. What are the steps I should take as a small business to purchase and manage a 365 subscription for my client? Is Microsoft making it intentionally difficult for small businesses like mine?
3 Answers
You might want to work with someone from their accounts payable to create a new tenant. As far as I know, you don't need to be licensed yourself, just that someone in the organization must be. It might be best to get the accounts payable person licensed first so you can help manage it.
If they already have Office 365, just sign into their tenant with an admin account and add the subscription there. If they have an existing subscription with Office apps, you could just increase the quantity there. But if you're looking to set it all up for them without being a partner, that's a bit tricky since Microsoft requires you to be a partner for such transactions.
Yeah, I get wanting to keep things professional. It's definitely a fine line in terms of handling their details. Getting them signed up properly makes sense!
Just a heads up, being a Microsoft partner now requires you to transact $1000 a year, which is a bit steep for many small businesses to handle.
That seems like the best way forward! I understand the struggle of trying to be professional while navigating this process. Just ensure you have their permission to manage their account.