Create Microsoft 365 Business Tenant with existing individual 365 plans and one company email domain

Question

Small firm with less than 10 employees notified by domain and email host, Network Solutions, that vendor no longer routes business emails with Microsoft after 20 yrs. Company emails cannot be accessed. Each employee has individual 365 plans with outlook, word, excel, etc. Need guidance on creating tenant plan, moving domain, change mail routing and get back online so employees can you access their email and contacts.

Answer 1

Hi @Laura,

Thank you for reaching out and for your patience as you work through this disruption.

Based on your current situation, I recommend the following steps to move forward:

1/ Create a New Microsoft 365 Tenant

Please visit Microsoft 365 Pricing for Business: Plans & Features and set up a new Microsoft 365 business tenant. This tenant will serve as your centralized environment for managing users, mailboxes, and your company domain.

2/ Submit a support request to recover domain ownership

Since your domain is likely still associated with a previous Microsoft 365 tenant, you will need assistance from the Microsoft Data Protection Team to release it.

• Open a support request through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center in your new tenant by selecting Help & Support > Contact support, and follow the steps outlined in the official guide: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn . 
• Request help to verify ownership of your domain
• Provide the necessary proof (such as DNS verification records) to confirm your organization owns the domain
• Once verification is complete, the Data Protection Team will assist in removing the domain from the previous tenant
• After the domain has been successfully released, you will be able to add and configure it in your new tenant.

Once these steps are completed, you can proceed with creating user accounts, assigning mailboxes, and updating DNS records to restore email functionality.

I hope this helps clarify the path forward. If you need assistance with any step, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.  

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Answer 2

Use a structured approach: first buy the right Microsoft 365 business subscription, then create a new tenant, attach the existing company domain, and finally move mail flow and data.

1. Choose and buy a Microsoft 365 business plan

• For a small firm (under 10 users), Microsoft 365 Business Standard is typically recommended because it includes Exchange Online (email), Office apps, and collaboration tools.
• Steps:
  1. Go to the Microsoft 365 business plans page and select the For business tab.
  2. Choose the plan (for example, Business Standard) and select Buy now.
  3. Specify the number of users and payment term (monthly or yearly).
  4. Enter the email address currently used for the business and follow the prompts to create the new Microsoft 365 account.
  5. An initial *.onmicrosoft.com domain will be created for the new tenant.
  Reference flow: Buy Microsoft 365 for your small business

2. Decide how to handle existing individual 365 plans

• Each employee currently has an individual (consumer) Microsoft 365 subscription. These are separate from the new business tenant.
• For business control and shared ownership of data, move users to the new business tenant (Option 2 in the comparison below) rather than continuing with individual accounts.
• Use the guidance under “Choosing the right business subscription” to ensure the firm uses a business (Domain Account) subscription where Microsoft acts as data processor and the organization controls accounts and data. Key point: Option 2 (add a business domain and create new business email accounts) is recommended for organizations needing full control and compliance.

3. Add the company email domain to the new tenant

• After the tenant is created, sign in as the global admin and add the existing company domain (currently hosted at Network Solutions) so it can be used for business email.
• Steps (admin):
  1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
  2. Go to Settings > Domains.
  3. Select Add domain.
  4. Enter the existing company domain (for example, contoso.com).
  5. Follow the wizard to verify ownership (typically by adding a TXT record at Network Solutions). This does not yet change mail routing.
  Once verified, the domain becomes available for email addresses in the tenant.

4. Create business user accounts and mailboxes

• Before changing MX records (mail routing), create all user accounts and mailboxes in the new tenant so no one loses email.
• Steps:
  1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Users > Active users.
  2. Add each employee as a user and assign a Microsoft 365 Business license.
  3. Set their primary email addresses to use the custom domain (for example, ******@contoso.com).
  Important: Ensure every person who previously had an email address on the domain now has a mailbox in Microsoft 365 before changing MX.

5. Change mail routing (MX) from Network Solutions to Microsoft 365

• Once all users and mailboxes are ready, update DNS at Network Solutions so email flows into the new Microsoft 365 tenant.
• Steps:
  1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, under Settings > Domains, select the custom domain.
  2. Use Start setup or DNS records to view the required MX record for Microsoft 365.
  3. Sign in to Network Solutions’ DNS management.
  4. Replace the existing MX record(s) with the Microsoft 365 MX record provided.
  5. Save changes.
• Propagation:
  • Changes typically take effect within 1–2 hours but can take up to 72 hours across the internet.
  • Plan the cutover during off-hours (evening or weekend) to minimize downtime.
  After this, all email for the domain will be delivered to Microsoft 365 mailboxes.

6. Confirm email flow and keep the website running

• After MX changes:
  • Test sending and receiving email for each user.
  • Confirm that the business website (if hosted separately) still works; domain setup for email does not affect the website hosting.
  Note: When the MX record is updated to Microsoft 365, all email for the domain starts coming to Microsoft 365. The website continues to work where it is hosted.

7. Move existing email, contacts, and calendars into the new mailboxes

• To preserve users’ historical email, contacts, and calendars from the old service or from Outlook profiles, migrate data into the new Microsoft 365 mailboxes.
• Options:
  • For a few mailboxes (under 10), let each user migrate their own data using Outlook (export/import PST) or use the Microsoft 365 Setup page guidance.
  • The Setup page in the admin center provides guided migration for common scenarios.
  Guidance summary:
  • For just a few mailboxes: users can migrate their own email and contacts. See “Migrate email and contacts to Microsoft 365 for business.”
  • For several mailboxes or specific providers (for example, Gmail): use the appropriate migration method under “Ways to migrate multiple email accounts to Microsoft 365.”

8. Standardize sign-in and decommission old paths

• Once email is flowing and data is migrated:
  • Instruct employees to sign in with their new business accounts (for example, ******@contoso.com) to Outlook, Teams, and other apps.
  • Gradually stop using the individual (consumer) Microsoft 365 accounts for business work, or keep them only for personal use.

9. Optional: Configure organization-wide email settings

• After the domain is added and verified, consider:
  • Configuring “Send email notifications from your domain” so Microsoft 365 system notifications use the business domain.
  • Ensuring SPF/DKIM/DMARC records are configured at Network Solutions for better deliverability and security.
  To configure “Send email notifications from your domain”:
  1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings > Org settings.
  2. Select Organization profile.
  3. Select Send email notifications from your domain.
  4. Choose Use a custom send-from domain address and select the verified domain.
  5. Optionally set a custom username (for example, no-reply).
  6. Save changes (may take up to 24 hours).

This sequence—buy business plan, create tenant, add domain, create users, change MX, migrate data—will restore email access on a supported platform and bring all employees under a single managed Microsoft 365 business environment.

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References:

• Buy Microsoft 365 for your small business
• Plan your setup of Microsoft 365 for business
• Change your Microsoft 365 email address to use your custom domain
• Add a custom domain to Microsoft 365
• Select the domain to use for email from Microsoft 365 products