What is Microsoft Co-Op?
The co -op marketing program provides reimbursement of earned incentive funds to partners that help them differentiate their value, build channel preference for Microsoft products, and grow sales library.
You must use these funds before you lose them.
The timeline for co-op funds is divided into two six-month periods, H1 and H2. (The “H” stands for fiscal half-year.)
- H1 is the first half of the fiscal year, July 1 – December 31.
- H2 is the second half of the fiscal year, January 1 – June 30.
The six-month period during which you accrue your earnings becomes your Earning period. You must use these earnings at some point during the following six-month Usage period. If you don’t use your earnings by the end of the usage period, you’ll forfeit them.
You can learn more on the Co-op Funds Resources page.
Or the Claims Overview page.
How to use Microsoft Co-Op funds with TBSC?
Our Smarter SaaS tool is Microsoft co-op approved and is offered on the Microsoft Best Practices partner library.
Prep for Microsoft Pricing Changes with Smarter SaaS
Microsoft’s Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) Program is ever changing and adapting to meet the current business needs of organizations of all sizes. Microsoft recently announced the latest evolution of the CSP program, the New Commerce Experience (NCE)
By 10th March 2022 all new customer subscriptions will be agreed through NCE and renewals of existing services by 30th June 2022.
Pricing models will change and customers have a choice of monthly, annual or 3 year commitments with different pricing options dependent on the length of commitment.
For customers this means it is essential to know their level of usage optimization before choosing their commitment levels. In many cases customers have unused or partly used subscriptions and need to ensure they are not committing to these unused service for a long term commitment.
As you know, TBSC provide Smarter SaaS for Microsoft 365 which is an excellent tool for tracking, monitoring, and providing actionable data.
To learn more about the NCE change, visit our blog and podcast: Here
Provide FREE Microsoft 365 Health-Checks with Microsoft Co-Op funded Smarter SaaS
Your customers can try this through our Microsoft 365 Health-check, free of charge. It reveals the current usage levels for Microsoft 365 and how subscription licensing can be improved. It takes minutes to set up and can be converted to a full production service whenever the customer wants to optimize their licensing position ready for the NCE changes.
Register for your free health-check here: https://tbsc.cloud/free-trial/
The following resources will help you get started working with co-op claims.
Microsoft Resources
| To do this | Read this |
| Submit a claim | Create and manage an incentives program co-op claim |
| Manage a submitted claim | Create and manage an incentives program co-op claim |
| Understand core requirements for the activity claim | Core requirements for the activities in your incentive program |
| Review your incentives program details | Partner Incentives Co-op Guidebook |
| Create a customer association and submit a claim | Create a customer association using the CPOR model |