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Frequently asked questions about procurement

This article provides answers to frequently asked questions on procurement and custom solutions through the commercial marketplace. For troubleshooting scenarios and solutions on private offers, see Private offer troubleshooting.

Can I separate invoices for individual marketplace purchases when purchasing through an Enterprise Agreement (EA)?

Currently, you can't generate separate invoices for individual marketplace purchases for EA customers. The only supported format is the consolidated invoice.

How can I receive a private offer from my Independent Software Vendor (ISV) or Microsoft partner?

To receive a private offer from your ISV or partner (reseller), contact them directly and provide them with your billing account. The private offer applies to all the Azure subscriptions under the billing account you provide.

What happens if I change the plan or subscription during the resource creation step?

If you're purchasing a private offer from the private offers management blade, you can only change to plans, terms or subscriptions that are eligible for the specific private offer. Your purchase will still be under the custom price and terms.

Can I buy the product under a subscription that isn't eligible for a private offer?

Yes, you can purchase the product in Azure Marketplace, but you're billed at the full public price.

When purchasing a private offer, when do charges start?

Charges start with full product deployment and activation. Simply accepting the private offer won't start charges. To finalize a private offer deal, the offer must be accepted and then purchased or subscribed to. For SaaS (Software as a Service) offers, the account must be configured on the publisher’s website.

Do I need to accept and purchase a private offer?

Yes, a private offer involves two steps: acceptance and purchase. While the purchase can occur immediately after acceptance, it isn't mandatory, provided it happens between the private offer's start and end dates.

Are the terms of a private offer the same as the terms of a SaaS subscription?

The terms of a private offer (start/end dates) aren't identical to the term of the SaaS subscription.

A private offer might be active for a brief period to facilitate the SaaS purchase.

Once purchased, a seat-based SaaS subscription continues under the negotiated terms of the private offer until expiration.

A metered SaaS service is billed at a discounted price only during the private offer period. Hence, if you're negotiating for a metered SaaS, ensure the private offer term aligns with the SaaS subscription term.

As the SaaS subscription nears expiration, the ISV can issue a new private offer with different terms (again, it can be only for a brief window) to allow renewal under updated conditions. If the customer accepts the private offer and renews the SaaS subscription, the new price and terms are locked in for the entire duration of the SaaS subscription.

Are flexible (uneven) payments supported?

Currently, flexible (uneven) payment plans aren't supported under a single private offer. To construct an uneven payment plan, you can play a workaround by creating several private offers, as shown in the following example. (Note: this workaround isn't ideal. It comes with an overhead of managing overlapping private offers. Consider this overhead before using this workaround):

Example:

  • A three-year SaaS subscription
  • Total cost: $1M
  • Commencing on March 1, 2023, and concluding on March 1, 2026.
  • The desired payment plan is 40% in the first year, 50% in the second year, and 10% in the third year.
  • Solution: Create three private offers:
    • PO1: Start date - February 20, 2023, End date - March 10, 2023. SaaS subscription term: One year. Price: $400,000.
    • PO2: Start date - February 20, 2024, End date - March 10, 2024. SaaS subscription term: One year. Price: $500,000.
    • PO3: Start date - February 20, 2025, End date - March 10, 2025. SaaS subscription term: One year. Price: $100,000.

All three private offers can be created and accepted simultaneously in 2023. Each private offer comes into effect when its time arrives, and the SaaS renewal occurs under the new private offer's terms.

If no private offer is active at the time of SaaS renewal, the SaaS service continues to operate at the list price (no discounts will be applied).

Can I transfer a resource I purchased to a different subscription?

Customers can make a purchase under one Azure subscription and later transfer the resource to a different subscription. In this scenario, all future payments are attributed to the new subscription, while past payments are recorded under the original subscription. This means that you can't allocate 100% of the cost under the new subscription, as the purchase immediately impacts billing for the first installment.