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Partners can create private offers with plans that include flexible schedules to align with their customers’ budget cycles and purchasing preferences, enabling personalized billing without affecting their invoice cycles.
Creating new private offers
Flexible billing schedules are supported by both customer private offers and multiparty private offers. This billing frequency is supported by SaaS, VM software reservations, and Professional Services plans and available globally to all marketplace-supported currencies.
Customize SaaS plans and professional services: Create flexible schedules for SaaS flat-rate products and Professional Services by choosing the second option to create a new private offer.
Note
SaaS per-user (seat-based) pricing plans don't support flexible billing schedules. Learn more about SaaS pricing models.
The flexible schedule only applies to flat-rate pricing. Billing for overages reported against any metered billing dimensions will be charged monthly. Learn more about metered billing dimensions.
Note
The first option to customize any public plans to create private offers doesn't support flexible billing schedules.
Creating a flexible billing schedule
The flexible billing capability allows setting up a schedule with up to 70 installments for the selected contract duration. For each installment, a unique charge date and amount must be specified. Notes might also be added about each installment to provide more context for both the customer and the partner. Flexible schedules are supported for contract durations longer than one month that is publicly listed for the selected base plan.
Important
Each plan added to a private offer has its own billing frequency. To align multiple plans with the same billing schedule, be sure to add the same charge dates when configuring the price for each new plan.
The following table is an example of a flexible schedule with five installments over a contract duration of two years.
| Charge Date* | Amount* (in USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate charge when billing starts* | $0.00 | No immediate fees |
| Jan 10, 2026 | $5,000.00 | First charge |
| Jul 05, 2026 | $2,500.00 | Mid-year charge |
| Mar 15, 2027 | $8,000.00 | Q1 charge – year 2 |
| Sep 20, 2027 | $4,000.00 | Final charge |
| Total amount (in USD) | $19,500.00 |
Immediate charge when billing starts
A flexible schedule is created by defining the amount for an immediate charge when billing starts. This charge is transacted as soon as the billing starts, with the charge date being the same as the contract start date. The amount can be set to zero USD if no immediate charge is desired upon subscription.
Note
Billing starts for SaaS products when the ISV activates the subscription after the customer makes the purchase and provides the information for activation. Learn more about SaaS purchase
Charge Dates (UTC)
For every subsequent installment, a unique charge date (in UTC time zone) must be defined for each transaction. The charge date is the date on which Microsoft executes the transaction and records the purchase. Each charge date must fall within the length of the chosen contract duration.
If the private offer starts on a specific month, the charge dates must fall within the length of the contract starting from the first date of that month. For example, if the private offer starts in January 2024 and a contract duration of two years is selected, all charge dates must be within January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025.
If the private offer starts upon acceptance by the customer, the charge dates must fall within the length of the contract starting from the date (in UTC time zone) on which the private offer is created. For example, if the private offer is created on July 01, 2025, and a duration of two years is selected, all charge dates must be within July 01, 2025, and June 30, 2027.
If there's any delay from the customer's side to subscribe to the plan, any overdue charges are billed immediately once the contract and billing start. This ensures that the collection of all configured installment amounts isn't missed.
Note
Your customers' invoicing cadence remains unaffected by the billing schedule. Each charge appears as a separate line item in the next invoice which follows that charge date. Multiple charges within the same invoicing cycle appears as separate line items on the invoice. Learn more about billing and invoicing.
Amount
The amount for each installment can be set to zero USD or higher, but not greater than 100,000,000 USD. The calculator in the web UI can be used to tally the total amount (in USD) at any time while creating a flexible schedule.
Market Pricing
The amount can also be defined in the customer’s billing currency (if non-USD) using the export/import functionality under the Market Pricing section on the pricing page. By default, Microsoft converts the entered USD price to the local currency for each market where the plan is available. The converted pricing can be reviewed by clicking "Export pricing data" after saving the flexible schedule. Optionally, the converted pricing can be overridden within defined limits and imported back. Learn more about currency conversion.
Note
VM software reservations pricing can't be configured in every currency, as prices converted by Microsoft. However, currency-specific pricing can be exported.
Brief notes might optionally be added for each installment to provide more context for both the customer and the partner. These notes are shown to the customer when they accept, purchase, and manage private offers. The notes are also accessible to partners on viewing the private offer or the purchase status in the private offers dashboard.
Creating a flexible schedule for a multiparty private offer
For multiparty private offers, the ISV is responsible for creating a flexible schedule including charge dates, partner price, and optional notes. The channel partner applies a customer adjustment percentage to the overall flexible schedule, which is applied uniformly to each installment amount.
For plans with flexible billing schedules, the customer adjustment percentage entered are applied uniformly to all installment amounts defined by the ISV.
Select View partner price to review the schedule set up by the ISV. Select "view customer price" to review the price after the adjustment. The following table is an example of how a 10% adjustment to the partner price would apply to the flexible schedule:
| Charge Date | Partner Price in USD | Notes | Adjusted customer price defined by channel partner - Customer Price in USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Jan 2025 | $1,000 | Setup fee | $1,100 |
| 10 Feb 2025 | $2,000 | Year 1 charge | $2,200 |
| 05 May 2026 | $2,000 | Year 2 charge | $2,200 |
| 10 Jan 2027 | $5,000 | Year 3 charge | $5,500 |
| Total Amount | $10,000 | $11,000 |
Viewing status of each installment
For plans with flexible billing schedules, the transaction dates, amounts, and notes can be viewed by clicking on "flexible schedule" in the purchase status in private offers dashboard. The amounts are displayed in the customer’s billing currency. The status "charged" indicates that the transaction is executed by Microsoft and will be invoiced to the customers in their next invoice cycle.
To view the unbilled charges or the full charge schedule, click on the private offer name in the private offer dashboard. Additionally, Marketplace Insights Reporting in Partner Center should be used to gain deeper insights into orders and revenue reporting. Learn more about orders and revenue reporting.
Requesting cancellations and refunds
Cancellation and refund policies remain unchanged for plans with flexible billing schedules. Learn more about refund policies for commercial marketplace.
Managing automatic renewals
SaaS plans with flexible billing schedules renew at the public price and billing frequency if auto-renew (recurring billing) is enabled by the customer, with the contract duration remaining unchanged. Professional services plans and VM software reservations won't automatically renew. Customers should be advised to turn off auto-renewal for flexible billing subscriptions if rolling over to public pricing isn't desired. The customer's status can be monitored using the private offer dashboard by viewing the purchase status.
Mid-term plan changes
Plans with a flexible schedule can't be changed either by the partner or the customer. Learn more about Customer initiated change plan and ISV initiated change plan.
FAQs for flexible billing schedules
Are there any changes to my customer’s private offer acceptance, purchase, and configuration steps?
There are no changes to the customer purchase process beyond viewing flexible schedules in the pricing section for each plan within a private offer. See Private offers overview for customer guidance.
Can we transact a 4-year or 5-year deal using a flexible schedule? Can we use flexible billing to transact deals with the duration of custom months (e.g. 9 months, 19 months)?
No. Flexible schedules support contract durations of 1-year, 2-years, and 3-years currently. All charge dates must fall within the contract duration up to a maximum of three years.
Can I delay the start of my customers’ subscription or billing?
Billing starts at the time of purchase and subscription activation. You can't delay or schedule the subscription activation date. If you have a specific contract start date negotiated, you might ask your customer to wait to complete the purchase on that date. Alternatively, you can set the "immediate charge" amount to zero USD and schedule the first non-zero charge amount to be billed on any future date within the contract duration.
What happens if the contract duration goes beyond the chosen end date of my private offer?
A private offer determines the timeframe for which included plans are eligible for purchase at a custom price. Once the plans are purchased, the private offer can expire and the subscription with all scheduled future charges are locked in for the full duration.
Can a channel partner assign a different customer adjustment percentage for each charge in a flexible schedule?
The customer adjustment percentage entered by the channel partner applies equally to every charge in the flexible schedule. Partners can review the final customer price schedule after adjustment is applied before submitting the private offer.
Can I modify a flexible schedule after my customer has purchased?
Once a private offer is accepted by your customer, the flexible schedules for all included plans are locked and can no longer be modified. You may need to file a support request with Microsoft to cancel the customer’s active subscription(s) and should re-issue a new private offer. Customers can self-serve cancellation and are eligible for a full refund if they cancel within 72 hours of purchase. See Refund policies
Video tutorials
Watch a few short videos to learn more about the partner and customer experience for private offers with flexible billing schedules.