How to cancel Microsoft 365 for business

• To stop the next renewal: turn off recurring billing. You keep the subscription until the end of its term.
• To cancel and get money back: on a Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) billing account, cancel within seven days after the subscription starts or renews.
• Who: on an MCA account, a Billing account or Billing profile owner or contributor. On a Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement (MOSA) account, at least a Billing Administrator. Whoever signed up is a Billing account owner.

Microsoft's documentation says:

There is no fixed number of days' notice. The deadline is the end of the current term: you can only change the setting while the subscription is active. The admin center shows the end date on the Your products page.

The second date to know is the refund window. On an MCA billing account, Microsoft gives a prorated credit or refund only if you cancel within seven days after the start or renewal. After that, turning off recurring billing is the only option, and you keep access for the rest of the term. If you pay monthly for an annual subscription, you are charged each month for the rest of the term.

On a MOSA billing account, Microsoft says you receive a prorated credit or refund if you cancel after the subscription starts or renews. Not sure which you have? Microsoft's cancellation article links to the steps for finding your billing account type.

• Save your data. When a cancellation takes effect, your users lose access to their data. Have them save their OneDrive and SharePoint files elsewhere, and export email, contacts and calendars.
• Remove your own domain from the subscription before you cancel it, if you added one.
• Check your licenses. On a MOSA account, you can cancel online only when the subscription has 25 or fewer licenses. Reduce the number first if it has more.

This stops the subscription from renewing. It is not a cancellation: the subscription stays active until it expires.

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center. In the Simplified view, select Billing. In the Dashboard view, go to Billing > Your products.
2. Select the subscription that you want to manage.
3. On the subscription details page, select Edit recurring billing.
4. In the Edit recurring billing pane, select Off, then select Save.

Microsoft notes that turning off recurring billing also cancels any changes you had scheduled for the subscription.

On an MCA billing account

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center. In the Simplified view, select Subscriptions. In the Dashboard view, go to Billing > Your products.
2. Select the subscription that you want to cancel.
3. On the subscription details page, in the Billing settings section, under Subscription status, select Cancel subscription.
4. If you're within the period in which you can cancel, select a reason, add optional feedback, then select Cancel subscription.
5. If you're outside it, you can only turn off recurring billing: select edit the recurring billing settings, then Off, then Save.

On a MOSA billing account

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center. In the Simplified view, select Subscriptions. In the Dashboard view, go to Billing > Your products.
2. Select the subscription that you want to cancel.
3. On the subscription details page, in the Subscription and payment settings section, select Cancel subscription.
4. In the Options for canceling your subscription pane, select Cancel now or Cancel before the next renewal date, then select Next.
5. Select a reason, add optional feedback, then select Cancel now.

Repeat the steps for each subscription you want to cancel.

After a cancellation, the subscription has reduced functionality until it is deleted. Microsoft says data you leave behind “might be deleted after 30 days, and is deleted no later than 180 days after cancellation.” Its article on what happens when a subscription ends describes each stage. If you delete a subscription outright, SharePoint and OneDrive content is deleted immediately.

• Other products. Microsoft's steps cover Microsoft 365 for business, Dynamics 365, Intune, Power Platform, Windows 365 and Microsoft Defender for Business. Azure, the Power BI service, and Microsoft 365 Family or Personal have their own instructions.
• Bought through a partner or reseller. Contact your seller or partner. On an MCA account you have seven days to cancel for a prorated refund (ten days in Chile).
• Bought through a Microsoft seller's proposal. Microsoft says these orders are not eligible for the policy above. Contact your seller to change or cancel them.

Renew Reminder is not affiliated with Microsoft. Microsoft 365 is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies.