Accessing Sharepoint

Question

A acounting business sends me documents on Sharepoint. What programs or apps do I need to have installed on my PC to access these documents? I currently have a subscription to Microsoft 365 Family plan. I can currently access the documents via a link sent from the business that sent me the documents. I do not have a Microsoft 365 business subscription. I do not have a business. I am thinking of stopping my subscription to Microsoft 365 family. I am wondering if I will still be able to access the documents sent to me by the accounting business after I stop my Microsoft 365 Family subscription

Answer 1

Hi Phil,

Regarding your concern, yes, you should normally still be able to access the accounting business’s SharePoint documents after canceling Microsoft 365 Family. Your access is controlled by the accounting business’s sharing permissions, not by your personal Microsoft 365 subscription.

After Microsoft 365 Family ends, your paid desktop applications may enter a reduced-functionality or unlicensed state. However, you can still use free browser versions with a free Microsoft account. Therefore, you can still access the link through the browser, and you only need the email address that the accounting business sent the invitation to.

Your access can only stop if:

• The accounting business removes your permission
• The link expires
• The business changes its external-sharing policy
• You sign in with a different email address
• The document is moved or deleted
• The organization requires additional security verification
• The business allows browser viewing but blocks downloading
• The document requests desktop app features like advanced Excel features, macros, add-ins, or desktop-only functionality

In summary, you can cancel Microsoft 365 Family and continue using the accounting business’s SharePoint link through your web browser.

Hope this information is helpful. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to share them in the comments below. I'm very happy to help.

Answer 2

No business subscription is required just to open a file that was shared from SharePoint or OneDrive.

With the current setup, access depends mainly on:

• signing in with the same account the document was shared to, and
• the sharing permissions chosen by the accounting business.

Since the documents already open from the shared link, that indicates the current sharing method is working.

If the Microsoft 365 Family subscription is cancelled:

• access to the fully functional desktop Microsoft 365 apps ends,
• files in desktop Office apps become view/print-only until a subscription is restored,
• free web apps remain available with a Microsoft account.

For accessing the shared documents, installed desktop apps are not required if the documents can be opened in the browser from the shared link. The free web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are available by signing in with a Microsoft account.

If access stops after cancelling the subscription, the likely causes are:

1. the file was shared to a different account than the one being used,
2. the accounting business shared it with permissions that do not allow the current account, or
3. the organization’s SharePoint or OneDrive sharing settings restrict personal accounts.

Practical path:

1. Keep using the original shared link in a browser.
2. Sign in with the exact email/account that received the sharing invitation.
3. If the file does not open, ask the accounting business to reshare it to that exact account.
4. If their files are stored in company SharePoint or OneDrive, they may need to allow guest access or use a sharing option that permits external/personal accounts.

So, stopping Microsoft 365 Family should not by itself prevent access to documents shared by the accounting business, as long as the sharing link and account permissions still allow access.

---

References:

• Accessing a shared file - Microsoft Q&A
• What happens when your Microsoft 365 subscription expires
• What's the difference between a Microsoft 365 subscription and free web apps