You’re probably overpaying for Microsoft 365.

You’re Probably Overpaying for Microsoft 365 – Imagetext

Microsoft 365 Licence Audit · Auckland

You’re probably
overpaying for
Microsoft 365.

Wrong tier, unused licences, forgotten add-ons. Most Auckland businesses are wasting 20–40% of what they spend every month.

Get a free audit See how it happens
20–40% typical overspend we find
$8,400 max annual saving, 50-person team
3 root causes behind every case

The Problem

Three ways Auckland businesses overpay

This isn’t speculation. Every licence audit Imagetext runs finds at least one of these – usually all three.

01

Ghost licences from departed staff

Staff leave. New people start. Microsoft 365 licences rarely get removed when someone exits – they sit there, active and billing, attached to an email address no one uses.

We’ve seen teams of 30 paying for 8–15 ghost licences.
02

Everyone on the same plan

A reception desk that uses email and a shared calendar doesn’t need the same licence as a finance director running Teams, SharePoint, and Intune. But most resellers default everyone to Business Premium because it’s the safe choice.

Right-sizing to role is the fastest way to cut spend without removing anything anyone needs.
03

Add-ons nobody uses

Power BI Pro, audio conferencing, extra storage, Dynamics modules – added for a project, never reviewed. A proper audit looks at every add-on against actual usage data, not assumptions.

If nobody’s opened Power BI Pro in six months, it should be off.

What’s Involved

What a Microsoft 365 licence audit actually involves

We use Microsoft’s own usage reporting tools, not guesswork. The data shows exactly which features each user has accessed in the last 30, 60, and 90 days.

  • Active licences vs. active staff
    Every assigned licence matched to a current employee with a legitimate business need – no guessing, no manual lists.
  • Licence tier vs. actual usage
    What each plan includes compared to what each user actually does day-to-day, pulled from Microsoft’s own usage reports.
  • Add-on usage audit
    Every additional service checked against real activity in the Microsoft Admin Centre. Idle services get flagged for removal.
  • Renewal timing
    Licences on annual commitments identified before they auto-renew, so you renegotiate at the right moment at the right tier.

Typical Savings

What a 20–50 person Auckland business commonly finds

Every business is different. These are the ranges we see most often.

Finding Monthly saving
3–8 unused licences from departed staff removed $60–$480/mo $720–$5,760/yr
5–15 users downgraded from Business Premium to Business Standard where usage doesn’t justify Premium $40–$225/mo $480–$2,700/yr
2–4 forgotten add-ons removed $10–$40/mo $120–$480/yr
Total – commonly for a business this size $150–$700/mo $1,800–$8,400/yr back in your operating budget

Ongoing Management

The part most business owners miss

A one-time audit is useful. What’s more valuable is never letting the problem build up again. Imagetext manages M365 licensing as part of an iCare managed services agreement.

Licences removed within days
Not months after a staff departure – within days, so ghost licences never accumulate again.
New licences at the correct tier
Assigned based on the role’s actual needs, not the easiest reseller default.
Quarterly add-on reviews
Nothing sits idle and billing. Every add-on reviewed against real usage every quarter.
Renewal negotiations handled
Before auto-renewal locks you into the wrong plan at the wrong price, we handle renegotiation.

For most businesses, the monthly saving from proper licence management more than covers the cost of the managed service. It’s not a cost – it’s a correction.

Imagetext and Microsoft: the credentials

Imagetext is a Microsoft licensing partner and an All-of-Government Marketplace supplier in New Zealand. We manage Microsoft 365 tenants for Auckland businesses across professional services, creative industries, education, and healthcare.

We’re also NZ’s leading Apple IT partner – which matters because a significant number of our clients run Microsoft 365 on Macs. Getting M365 to work properly in an Apple-first environment is a different technical challenge from a standard Windows deployment, and it’s one we handle routinely.

Microsoft Licensing Partner
Apple Business Partner
Premium Technical Partner

Start with a free licence audit.

No obligation. No sales pitch on the call. Just the numbers – exactly what you’re paying for, what you don’t need, and what a right-sized licensing structure looks like for your team.

Call 09 623 3102

Or email mike.scragg@imagetext.co.nz · 3 Owens Rd, Epsom, Auckland