Manage Annual Term Subscription Renewal & Scheduling - New Commerce Experience (NCE)

Manage Annual Term Subscription Renewal & Scheduling - New Commerce Experience (NCE)

Annual Term Subscription Renewals & Scheduling under NCE

The below article will define what to expect with renewals in PRISM for NCE, the article is set up with headings in a time order sequence. 

Coming up to a renewal date

For annual termed NCE subscriptions, you will receive an email notification 30 and 60 days prior to the expiration of the subscription. Annual termed subscriptions are set to auto-expire unless the renewal is confirmed by the reseller in PRISM. 

Please note that PRISM operates out of the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) zone. This means that renewal dates are all shown in PRISM in UTC time.

Confirming a renewal (i.e., I want to renew the subscription) 

To confirm the renewal of an annual subscription, navigate to the Manage Tenant page and select Manage next to the subscription to be renewed.


Under the Manage Subscription page, select the Manage Renewal button.


On clicking the Manage Renewal button a popup pane is displayed below with a variety of options.


Definition of the options available:
  1. Auto Renew Check Box - for annual orders this check box will not be ticked. To renew the subscription, please select this tick box.
  2. Renewal Quantity - this is the quantity that you would like the subscription to be set to when it renews (this quantity can be increased, decreased or remain the same). Please note that the current quantity of the subscription will remain as it currently is until the renewal is processed fully. 
  3. Renewal Commitment Terms - this option allows you to alter the commitment term of your current subscription from monthly-to-annual or vice-versa
  4. Renewal Billing Cycle - this option allows you to alter the billing cycle of your current subscription from monthly-to-annual or vice-versa
  5. End Date Alignment - this option allows you to align/co-terminate your subscription with another subscription under this tenant. Please see this article for more information on co-termination
Once you have made the necessary changes to the subscription select the Update Renewal Options button. This will the schedule a job with Microsoft to renew the subscription on the renewal date with the selected renewal options (only if required). 
Once you have selected from the Renewal options clicked update renewal options in PRISM you will see the below notification whilst this job is processing, and all change options will be greyed out for the subscription until processing is complete. An email notification is sent with the updated renewal status.

Note: Renewal will be set based on the updated renewal options and the subscription renewal will occur on the renewal date.




Denying a renewal (i.e., I don't want to renew the subscription) 

For an annual NCE subscription, if you don't wish to renew the subscription, then no action is required in PRISM, as the subscription is set to not auto-renew

Altering a confirmed renewal

Should you need to change any of the previously select variables for the renewing subscription, you can follow the same steps for renewing, but just altering information instead. 
Please note that when doing this, you will receive a notification that the renewal has been altered.

On the date of the renewal

On the date of your renewal, the subscription will appear as "locked", when action boxes on the right-hand side of the screen are greyed out. During this locked period, you will be unable to change quantities or stop the renewal. 
The subscription will remain locked whilst the renewal occurs, this can take between 24-48 hours. 

Please note that the subscription renewal job may take between 24-48 hours


Note: PRISM operates in the GMT Time Zone (UTC), meaning that the renewal locking, and completion may not marry up to your local time zone

Once Microsoft completes the renewal in Partner Centre, and this is synced back to PRISM, the subscription will update as per the renewal changes and the effective end date will revert to the new expiry date.

After renewal 

For an annual NCE subscription, within 24-48 hours of the renewal syncing back to PRISM you will receive an annual invoice for this renewal. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Why isn't my quantity change showing on the Manage Subscription main page? 
Answer: If you made a quantity change as part of the renewal, it will not update until the date of renewal. If you need a quantity change to occur prior to the renewal this should be completed as a normal quantity change. Please see this article to assist with this further.

Question: Why can't I reduce my quantity?
Answer: For annual termed subscriptions quantity reductions can only occur at the point of renewal. Please see this article to assist with this further.

Question: Why hasn't my subscription expired? 
Answer: If a subscription is sent to "Auto-renew" = "No" than the subscription will expire. Please note that the expiration can take 24-48 hours to occur in Microsoft's system before syncing back to PRISM. And time zone differences between PRISM (UTC) and local time zones can affect this timing. Please note that you won't be charged to time where the subscription is pending expiration to be finalised in Microsoft's Partner Centre.

Question: What should I do if my customer isn't paying? 
Answer: If you have a customer that is not paying, we recommend not renewing the subscription. If a renewal occurs, you will be liable for the full payment of the subscription term.

Question: Does the 'cancellation window' option appear on newly renewed subscriptions? 
Answer: Yes, however we strongly recommend not allowing the subscription to renew if it isn't required.

Question: Why can't I alter the renewal status all year round?
Answer: The renewal button is disabled until 90 days prior to the expiration date of your subscription. PRISM was built with the logic that all annual renewals require confirmation to renew and having the button active all year round, will mean that each quantity change would then need to alter the renewal quantity as well, and this would lead to additional subscription management for resellers.