Managing subscriptions

Subscription management overview

After a customer submits a purchase of a SaaS product through the Microsoft Marketplace, the marketplace creates a subscription record for the customer. The subscription initially represents the customer’s intent to use the product, but it may still require publisher action before the customer can begin using the service.

The publisher must actively manage customer subscriptions because the marketplace subscription state and the publisher’s SaaS application state must remain aligned. For example, the publisher should ensure the customer’s account in the SaaS product is ready to use before activating the marketplace subscription, which begins billing the customer through the marketplace.

Active management is important because a subscription can exist in the marketplace before the customer has usable access to the SaaS application. Publishers should monitor subscription status, take timely action on pending subscriptions, keep internal customer records synchronized with marketplace records, and communicate clearly with customers when additional setup is required. This helps prevent stalled onboarding, billing confusion, and mismatches between what the customer purchased and what the publisher has provisioned.

Importing new subscriptions

When a customer purchases a new subscription, AMPup does not yet know about the new subscription. There are two ways AMPup may become aware of a new subscription.

1. Landing page – The customer visits the publisher’s AMPup landing page during the process of purchasing the subscription. When this occurs, the landing page registers the new subscription with AMPup, and it will appear in the Subscriptions page.
2. Get Latest Subscriptions – This button is available on the Subscriptions page. When selected, AMPup will synchronize all subscriptions and their states with Microsoft Marketplace. It may take up to a minute for the synchronization to complete. Once synchronization is complete, the user receives an onscreen Alert letting them know. After synchronization is complete, AMPup has a record for the new subscription, but it may not yet be showing up on the Subscriptions page. If a user sees the Subscriptions fetched successfully alert and the new subscription is not appearing on the page, select the Refresh button to load the latest AMPup data onto the screen.

Subscription states

Subscriptions may be in one of several different states, and what you as a publisher may do with them depends on the state a subscription is in. For example, for a subscription in the Pending Activation state, you may elect to Unsubscribe or Activate it. The most common states are listed below along with corresponding actions the publisher may take for each state.

Pending Activation

When a subscription is in the Pending Activation state, it means the subscription has been created by a customer, but it has not yet been activated by the publisher. The customer is not billed for the subscription until it is activated.

Subscribed

When a subscription is in the Subscribed state, it means the publisher has activated the subscription and the customer is entitled to use the SaaS product according to the plan they purchased. At this point, the subscription is active in the marketplace and billing may occur based on the offer terms, such as flat-rate billing, seat-based billing, or usage-based metering.

While a subscription is subscribed, the publisher should keep the customer’s access and entitlement synchronized with the marketplace subscription. This includes maintaining the customer’s account, honoring the subscribed plan, applying seat or plan changes when applicable, and reporting metered usage when the plan requires it. The publisher should also monitor the subscription for lifecycle events that may require action, such as plan changes, cancellations, suspension, or unsubscribe requests.

Unsubscribed

When a subscription is in the Unsubscribed state, it means the subscription has been canceled and is no longer active for the customer. A subscription may become unsubscribed when the customer cancels it through the marketplace, or when the publisher unsubscribes it as part of managing the customer relationship. Once unsubscribed, the customer should no longer be treated as entitled to use the SaaS product under that subscription.

The publisher should respond to the unsubscribe event by updating the customer’s account and entitlement records, removing or disabling access as appropriate, and ensuring any internal billing, support, or provisioning records are consistent with the marketplace subscription state. Publishers should also retain enough historical information to support audits, customer questions, and troubleshooting, while avoiding continued service delivery or metering for a subscription that is no longer active.

Suspended

When a subscription is in the Suspended state, it means the subscription is temporarily not active, but it has not been fully canceled. Suspension may occur when the marketplace can no longer keep the subscription in good standing, such as when there is a billing, payment, or account issue that prevents normal subscription operation. While suspended, the customer should not be treated the same as an active subscribed customer.

The publisher should respond to a suspended subscription by updating entitlement records, limiting or disabling access according to the product’s policy, and avoiding new usage-based charges while the subscription is not active. At the same time, the publisher should retain the customer’s configuration and account information when appropriate so service can be restored if the subscription returns to the Subscribed state. Publishers should continue monitoring the subscription for follow-up lifecycle events, including reactivation or unsubscribe.

Subscription actions

Publishers may take actions on subscriptions in AMPup. The actions available depend on the subscription’s state, and the features of the plan selected.

Activate

Available only when the subscription is in the Pending Activation state. The Activate action is used when the publisher is ready to begin billing the customer through the Microsoft Marketplace. Activation confirms that the publisher has accepted the subscription and is prepared to provide the customer with access to the SaaS product.

Before activating, the publisher should confirm that the customer’s account or tenant has been provisioned, the selected plan is correctly mapped in the SaaS application, and the customer can complete onboarding. After activation, the subscription moves to the Subscribed state, and the customer becomes entitled to use the product according to the offer terms.

Archive

An AMPup feature, archiving a subscription doesn’t remove it, but merely hides it from the subscription list in the AMPup Subscriptions page. Once a subscription is archived it will not appear in the subscription list unless the user is viewing archived items.

Subscriptions may be archived at any point regardless of their state.

Change Plan

Available only when the subscription is in the Subscribed state. For subscriptions to offers that have multiple plans, the publisher may change the customer from one plan to another when the customer’s selected offer allows it and the subscription state permits the action. A plan change should reflect an agreed change in the customer’s entitlement, pricing model, feature access, or service tier.

When changing a plan, the publisher should update the customer’s account in the SaaS application, so the application matches the marketplace subscription. This includes enabling or disabling features, adjusting limits, etc.

Change Seats

Available only when the subscription is in the Subscribed state. The Change Seats action applies to seat-based plans. It allows the publisher to adjust the quantity of seats associated with a customer’s subscription when the customer adds or removes users, licenses, or other seat-counted entitlements.

When seat counts change, the publisher should update the SaaS application, so the customer’s available seats match the marketplace subscription. This includes applying the new quantity, assigning or removing users as needed, and ensuring billing reflects the updated seat count.

Submit Meter

Available only when the subscription is in the Subscribed state. The Submit Meter action is used for plans that include usage-based billing. When a customer uses billable resources, the publisher submits the measured usage so the marketplace can include those charges according to the plan’s metering configuration.

Publishers should submit meter events only for active subscriptions and only for usage that matches the plan’s defined dimensions. Accurate metering is important because submitted usage affects customer charges.

Unsubscribe

The Unsubscribe action cancels the customer’s subscription and moves it out of active service. This action may be used when the customer requests cancellation or when the publisher needs to end service for the customer.

Before unsubscribing, the publisher should confirm the intended outcome because the customer will no longer be entitled to use the product under that subscription. After the action is complete, the publisher should disable or remove access as appropriate, stop metering future usage, and keep internal records synchronized with the marketplace state.

A subscription may be moved directly from Pending Activation state to Unsubscribed without being activated.

Once a subscription is Unsubscribed it cannot be reactivated.