Edit

Purchase third-party Teams apps and manage subscriptions and licenses

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Microsoft Teams

Some Teams apps require purchasing a service subscription to use app functionality. These service subscriptions are called Software as a Service (SaaS) offers. A license is available for purchase through AppSource and through the Microsoft Teams admin center.

Paid apps require users to authenticate to prevent unwarranted access. Also, user sign-in is required to check for entitlement and to make the corresponding app functionality available for the logged-in user. For authentication, app developers can use single sign-on (SSO) using Microsoft Entra ID or use third-party OAuth Identity Provider. The authentication mechanism is similar for Teams or web apps. For more information, see How apps authenticate users.

You can purchase licenses for services offered by third-party apps from the Manage apps page in the Teams admin center. The Licenses column in the table indicates if an app offers a SaaS subscription for purchase. You can purchase apps using a credit card, debit card, or with invoice billing.

Screenshot showing the purchase licenses option on the manage apps page in Teams admin center.

Purchase apps in the Teams admin center

To purchase apps in Teams admin center, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to the Teams admin center and access Teams apps > Manage apps. You must be a Global admin or Teams service admin to access the page.

  2. Search for the app that you want by its name. To check if the app offers a paid SaaS subscription, see the Licenses column. Each app has one of the following values:

    • Purchase: The app offers a SaaS subscription and is available to purchase.
    • Purchased: The app offers a paid SaaS subscription and you have the licenses for the app.
    • - -: The app doesn't offer a SaaS subscription.

  3. Select Purchase to go to the Plans and pricing tab of the app details page. You can review the plans and pricing information available in admin center. You can select Learn more link to go to the app's page on AppSource.

  4. To subscribe to an app, choose the plan you want, and select Purchase. The checkout flow opens directly in the Teams admin center.

    Note

    Private plans may also be listed for purchase, which include special pricing that your organization can separately negotiate with an app developer. Such plans have the label Private plan under the plan name.

  5. Select the number of user licenses you want to buy.

  6. Verify that the billing account and the sold-to address are correct. If you don't already have one, select Add. For more information on billing accounts, see Understand billing accounts. Only a Global Admin can add a new billing account.

  7. Verify that the correct billing profile is selected. If you don't already have one, select Add new. You can pay with a credit card, debit card, or with invoice billing. The billing profile also lets you add a purchase order number to identify your order later. For more information on billing profiles, see Understand billing profiles.

  8. Select Place order.

  9. Select Set up to activate your subscription on the app developer's website. If you don't set up your subscription after your purchase, you can do it later by selecting Manage subscriptions.

After you purchase the SaaS offer associated with a Teams app, you can view the following purchase details on the Plans and subscriptions tab of the app details page.

  • License activation date: Date on which your license was activated.
  • Licenses: Number of licenses you have.

Select Manage subscriptions to view and manage the licenses you already have.

Global Administrators can view the subscriptions purchased by anyone in the organization, but they can only add more licenses, remove licenses, and cancel subscriptions for purchases made by anyone in their billing account. Teams Administrators can perform the same actions for purchases made by them.

Note

If a Global Admin wants to manage a subscription purchased by another Global Admin, they need to be in the same billing account. You can give another Global Admin access to a subscription you purchased by selecting the app in the Microsoft 365 admin center. In admin center, access View billing profile > Select billing account > Assign roles > Add other Global admins.

Important

When you enable app purchasing, it also turns on in-app purchasing. Users may see in-app purchase offers which are controlled by the app developer for their app. To prevent users from purchasing an app, you have to block the app.

Invoice billing

  • Invoice billing is available as a payment option for some transactions.
  • A credit review is required the first time you use invoice billing, which can take up to 24 to 48 hours for approval. Invoice billing isn't available until the credit check is complete. You can place your order with a credit card or try again later after your credit review is approved.
  • Invoice billing is only available for Global admins or an admin with both Teams service admin and Billing admin permissions.
  • Invoice billing isn't available when purchasing a plan with a 30-day free trial.

Manage subscriptions in Teams admin center

In Teams admins center, you can manage the app subscriptions and licenses you purchased. You can view the list of app subscriptions and their details and perform the following actions:

  • Change a plan
  • Buy or remove license
  • Update a payment method
  • Cancel a subscription
  • View your invoice

Screenshot of subscription details of an app.

To manage subscriptions, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to Teams admin center and access Teams apps > Manage apps .

  2. Select the Subscriptions tab to view the subscriptions you purchased.

    Screenshot of subscription option for an app in the manage apps page.

Note

In Teams admin center, you can manage the app subscriptions purchased by you or other admins who are part of the same billing account. To view all the app subscriptions purchased for the same tenant by other admins or purchased using different billing accounts, visit the Microsoft 365 admin center.

List and sell a SaaS offer for a Teams app

Developers can create SaaS offers associated with their Teams apps. These offers are published through Partner Center and are available for organizations to purchase through AppSource and the Microsoft Teams admin center.

For more information for third-party app developers, see Create a SaaS offer.

Manage app licenses in Teams admin center

Microsoft Teams lets admins manage licenses for SaaS app offers. It enables admins to easily buy, assign, track, and remove SaaS app licenses purchased in Teams. It helps utilizing the available resources effectively.

As an administrator, it's important to understand how licenses work and how to manage them effectively. For apps that are purchased with a set number of subscription licenses, you have to ensure that these licenses are being utilized properly.

You can perform the following tasks to manage the licenses:

Assign a license to a user

You can assign a license to one or more users in your tenant. To view and assign the licenses for an app:

  1. Sign in to the Teams admin center and go to Teams apps > Manage apps.

  2. To view the licenses, select an app. The app details page shows the number of licenses available for the app on the Licenses tab.

    Screenshot that shows the purchased licenses of an app.

  3. To view the license utilization and assign licenses, select Assign licenses. The assign licenses window appears.

    Screenshot that shows the Assign licenses dialog to select the user name.

  4. Search and select the users and select Assign.

Assign a license to a team

To manage licenses across multiple users who are part of the same team, you can select a team from the list of available options. The number of members in the team must be smaller than the number of licenses available for the app. To assign a license to a team, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to the Teams admin center and go to Teams apps > Manage apps.

  2. Under All apps, select the app to assign its licenses to a team.

  3. In the Licenses tab, select Assign licenses.

    Screenshot that shows the Assign licenses dialog with the list of teams to assign license.

  4. Search and select the team, and select Assign.

After you assign licenses to the users or team, you can view the list of assigned users. This list allows you to view a mapping of licenses and assigned users.

Screenshot that shows list of assigned users to remove the licenses.

Disable app purchases in Teams admin center

To prevent users from purchasing third-party apps, you can disable purchases using the MSCommerce PowerShell module. You can view a list of applicable apps and whether self-service purchase is enabled or disabled, using AllowSelfServicePurchase parameter. For more information, see Use AllowSelfServicePurchase to disable Teams app purchases. The change applies to all users in your organization.