Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations – License Pricing Explained

Dynamics 365 licensing can be complicated, especially for Finance & Operations. In this article, I’ll explain your options and prices in detail.

There are 4 different user license types and at least 2 different apps to consider. Let’s dig in.

How Much Do Finance & Operations Licenses Cost?

Most Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations full users’ licenses cost $210 USD/user/month ($268.80 CAD/user/month).*

However, some user licenses will cost less or more than that. Here’s how it works:

• The Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (D365FO) functionality is separated into 2 app licenses: Finance and Supply Chain Management.
• Technically, licensing for each user starts at $180 USD/user/month ($230.40 CAD/user/month) for single-app full users of just one of those apps.
• In our experience, most D365FO full users need both app licenses. You “attach” a license for the second app for $30 USD ($38.40 CAD). That’s why I say most full users’ licenses cost $210 USD ($230.40 CAD).
• Besides full user licenses, there are also device, activity, and team member licenses. More on that below.

For a quick overview of the basic Finance & Operations licensing system, here’s a useful graphic we adapted from a Microsoft slide at Inspire 2019 (when these prices were announced). It shows US prices.

What Are Dynamics 365 “Attach” Licenses?

Attach licenses are heavily discounted licenses for users who license more than one Dynamics 365 app.

Dynamics 365 is a broad family of apps, serving a wide range of business needs. Your “attach” choices are not limited to Finance and Supply Chain Management.

• Each user must have one app as their base: for D365FO, that would be Finance or Supply Chain Management. Base apps are full price.
• You can also attach other qualifying Dynamics 365 apps, including those providing CRM functionality.
  • For instance, a base license for Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise would normally be $95 USD/user/month ($121.60 CAD/user/month). But a user who already has a Finance license, for instance, could attach Sales Enterprise for only $20 USD/user/month ($25.60 CAD/user/month).
• Attach and base licenses give exactly the same functionality.

The question of which Dynamics 365 apps can be the “base” and which are “qualifying” for attach licenses can get complicated for some users. But things are simpler for Finance & Operations full users. See the next section.

Which Apps Qualify to Be Attached to Finance & Operations Base Licenses?

Finance & Operations full users have the widest list of qualifying apps available to them. That includes the Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Sales apps.

The following illustration, adapted from the Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide, shows that.

For users with the Finance or Supply Chain Management base app (listed on the left column), there is a dot meaning “yes you can attach” for almost every other D365 app license in the chart.

To get more details and licensing advice about which licenses are best for your different kinds of users, talk with a Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Partner.

What Are the Unified Operations Plan and Dynamics 365 Plan Licenses?

These are older licensing methods that are no longer available for purchase.

You may have heard that Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management must be purchased as part of the “Dynamics 365 Plan” or “Unified Operations Plan.” That information is now outdated. If you are on one of those older plans, you should reach out to a Dynamics Partner to decide your best path forward.

Is There a Minimum Number of Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Licenses?

Yes, there is a minimum for Finance & Operations: 20 full users of either the Finance or the Supply Chain Management app. Note that it can’t be 10 of each, or any other breakdown. It has to be 20 licenses of one app.

What Are the Different Finance & Operations User Types?

There are 4 user types: Full User, Activity, Device, and Team Member.

Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations License	Functionality	Cost per user, per month
Full User	Full functionality	$210 USD for combined Finance & Supply Chain license ($268.80 CAD)
Team Member	Limited functionality	$8 USD ($10.20 CAD)
Operations Activity	Transactional tasks	$50 USD ($64 CAD)
Operations Device	For shared devices	$75 USD ($96 CAD)

A full user license has, as you might expect, full access to all features of the apps.

A team member license is the most affordable and the most limited. It gives a user full read access to Finance & Operations data, plus data from D365 CRM apps like Sales. Team members can also use specific D365 functions like expense entry or contact updates.

An operations activity license has more capabilities than a team member but less than a full user.

A operations device license lets unlimited users access the app through the device. It’s often best for warehouse or retail workers.

---

Determine the Best Licensing for Your Users

As you can see, getting the best mix of Dynamics 365 licenses for your team will require careful examination of your business processes.

For help auditing your employees’ current security roles and usage, and in determining whether your business processes and costs could be improved by changing some of your license types, contact us with the form below.

* Please note that all pricing is subject to change without notice. Always contact Encore for the most current product pricing.