Microsoft ends Microsoft 365 E5, E7 and Copilot CSP promotions on 30 September

Microsoft ends Microsoft 365 E5, E7 and Copilot CSP promotions on 30 September

23 September 2026: Organisations that buy Microsoft 365 through a reseller have a short window to act. In a Partner Center notice dated 23 September 2026, Microsoft says promotions on Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 E7 and Copilot sold through its Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) programme end on 30 September. On 1 October, a new partner reward scheme called "growth margins" takes their place.

What changes

CSP is the route most small and mid-sized UK organisations use to buy Microsoft cloud licences, through a reseller or managed service provider rather than directly. Microsoft's notice gives three dates. From 23 September, resellers can check which customers qualify for growth margins and download the data. On 30 September, "Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 E7, and Copilot promotions end with the transition to growth margins". On 1 October, growth margins become generally available.

Distributors’ earlier notices gave a later date for E7. Sherweb (24 July), Infinigate Cloud (3 August) and Pax8 (15 September) all confirmed that the Microsoft 365 E5 and one-year Copilot promotions end on 30 September, but said the Microsoft 365 E7 promotions ran to 31 December 2026. Microsoft’s own notice of 23 September lists E7 among the promotions ending on 30 September. If a quote for E7 depends on a promotion, ask your reseller in writing which date applies to it.

Microsoft first described growth margins in July. They give partners "more margin in the areas with the greatest growth potential", with rewards for new-to-offer sales, seat expansion and adoption of selected AI workloads. In short, a discount that customers could see is being replaced by margin paid to the partner, and partners decide how much of that reaches customers.

A related notice, dated 16 September, affects Copilot buyers from 2 November 2026. New Microsoft 365 Copilot Business licences bought through CSP will have pay-as-you-go, usage-based billing switched on by default, with a preset monthly limit. It covers usage-based features such as Copilot Cowork and Work IQ APIs.

Who is affected

The change affects organisations with pending or planned purchases of Microsoft 365 E5, E7 or Copilot through a CSP reseller, including upgrades from E3 and Copilot pilots moving into wider rollout. From November, it also affects any organisation buying new Copilot Business licences through CSP.

What to do

• Check pending quotes now. Ask your reseller whether any current quote relies on a Microsoft promotion, and whether the order must be placed by 30 September to keep it.
• Ask about pricing after 1 October. Growth margins go to the partner. Ask your reseller how they will affect the price you pay for new seats and expansions, and get renewal pricing in writing.
• Don't rush into buying. A promotion ending is not a reason to buy seats you will not use. Commit to what your adoption plan supports, and check whether a term commitment locks you in.
• Set limits for usage-based billing. For Copilot Business licences bought from November, find out who owns the Azure subscription used for billing. Confirm or lower the monthly spending limit, and assign someone to watch usage.
• Compare channels. If your volume is large, compare the CSP price with direct or enterprise agreement options once growth margins are in place.

Microsoft has not published discount levels for the ending promotions in this notice. Ask your reseller for the exact figures that apply to you.

Not yet independently verified. The 30 September end of the E5 and one-year Copilot promotions is confirmed by three Microsoft distributors. For E7 those distributors gave 31 December 2026, which conflicts with Microsoft’s own notice; we will update this when the conflict is resolved. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Update, 28 October 2026: Microsoft's own Partner Center pages still disagree. The July 2026 announcements say Microsoft 365 E7 promotions run through 31 December 2026, while the September page says E5, E7 and Copilot promotions ended on 30 September with the move to growth margins on 1 October. The October page adds a separate limited-time offer, Microsoft 365 E7 with annual Copilot Studio capacity packs, running through 31 December 2026. Partners should confirm with their distributor which E7 offer a quote is under.

Sources

• Microsoft Learn: Partner Center announcements, September 2026 (items of 16 and 23 September) - 23 September 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Partner Center announcements, July 2026 (growth margins) - 7 July 2026
• Sherweb: Microsoft updates for MSPs, July 2026 - 24 July 2026
• Infinigate Cloud: Microsoft partner programme updates, August 2026 - 3 August 2026
• Pax8: Microsoft September 2026 update - 15 September 2026
• Microsoft Partner Center: announcements, October 2026, 21 October 2026