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Understand your bill and reconciliation data in Partner Center

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Appropriate roles: Billing admin | Admin agent

Understand your bill clearly.

Find your reconciliation files for legacy (D-invoices) and new commerce (G-invoices)

You can find your invoices in the Billing workspace in Partner Center.

You can also find your billing history or overview, Azure spending trends, and reconciliation files in this workspace.

To find and download your reconciliation files:

  1. Sign in to Partner Center and select the Billing workspace.

  2. Go to the Billing history task menu.

  3. Naviage to the Billing history page.

  4. Select the Recurring tab.

  5. Choose the appropriate year.

  6. Select the drop-down arrow next to the billing period.

Note

You can asynchronously download all new commerce reconciliation files from the Partner Center portal.

Understand reconciliation files (or line items)

The reconciliation files give a detailed list of your charges and credits, helping you track financial transactions accurately. To create invoices for customers, use customer details in the reconciliation files. For more information on how to effectively reconciliation files, see how to use the reconciliation files.

Understand billed and unbilled reconciliation files (or line items)

Reconciliation files (or line items) provide a detailed record of every charge or credit for the billing period. These records play a vital role in maintaining precise billing accuracy and empowering proactive financial decisions.

Billed or closed billing period reconciliation file: This file includes all finalized charges and credits from a specific billing period. Its purpose is to ensure that every invoiced amount aligns with the services delivered and to match the total of all line items correctly with the corresponding invoice.

  • For instance, if you're billed for 100 units of a service in January, this file lists these 100 units to confirm consistency with the invoice.
  • Covers all charge types, including usage-based (for example, pay-as-you-go services) and non-usage-based (for example, flat fees or license-based subscriptions).

Unbilled or open billing period estimates file: This file provides almost real-time projections of charges and credits for an active billing period that isn't yet invoiced. The goal is to help you forecast costs and optimize budgets.

  • Updated regularly to reflect ongoing usage and contractual charges.
  • Split into two separate files: one for usage-based charges and another for non-usage-based charges.
  • Exclusively available for partners in the new commerce experience (NCE) of the Cloud Solution Provider program (CSP).

By consistently using reconciliation files, you can enhance billing accuracy and financial planning, leading to more efficient and reliable business operations.

Key benefits of reconciliation files

  • Ensure accurate billing and prevent billing discrepancies by cross-checking invoices with actual usage.
  • Manage costs proactively with up-to-date estimates to avoid financial surprises.
  • Bill customers with confidence and boost customer trust with precise billing line items.

What products are included in the new commerce invoice reconciliation line items?

To maintain full visibility into all billing line items or transactions of these products—including charges and credits—use monthly invoice reconciliation files or line items. Here's how to access and use them effectively:

By regularly reviewing these files or APIs, ensure a smooth and transparent billing process.

Products included in the monthly invoice reconciliation

  • Azure pay-as-you-go
  • Azure reservation
  • Azure savings plan
  • License-based product or online services, such as Office, Dynamics, and Power Apps
  • Perpetual software
  • Software subscription
  • Marketplace or non-Microsoft SaaS product

What products are included in the new commerce daily rated usage reconciliation line items?

The daily rated usage reconciliation files or line items focus on usage-based Azure services (for example, virtual machine, storage, reservations) and pay-as-you-go third-party SaaS products.

Products included in the daily rated usage reconciliation

  • Azure pay-as-you-go: both charges and usage appear based on the daily usage
  • Azure reservation: usage is shown, but charges only appear once usage exceeds the prepurchased capacity limit
  • Azure savings plan: usage is shown, but charges only appear once usage exceeds the committed amount limit

Why do some SaaS products not appear in the new commerce daily rated usage reconciliation line items?

When you buy third-party SaaS products through your Azure plan subscriptions, their visibility in your billing reconciliation files or line items varies based on their billing model. Here's what you need to know:

  • Many third-party SaaS products charge a flat monthly/annual fee (not tied to daily usage). These costs appear only in invoice reconciliation files or line items, not in daily usage files or line items.
  • SaaS products billed using pay-as-you-go rates (for example, per-user, per-API-call) appears in daily usage files or line items.

By understanding these distinctions, you gain full visibility into all Azure plan expenses.

Map taxes or VAT to your invoice reconciliation line items

Here's how to validate an invoice with taxes or VAT:

  1. Add the Tax values from your legacy license-based reconciliation files or line items.
  2. Add the TaxAmount values from your legacy usage-based reconciliation files or line items.
  3. Add the TaxTotal values from your new commerce invoice reconciliation files or line items.

Why are some products visible only in invoice reconciliation line items and not in daily rated usage line items?

To clarify why some products appear only in invoice reconciliation files or line items and not in daily rated usage files or line items, here's a breakdown of how billing works for different product types:

Usage-based vs. fixed-fee products

  • Usage-based products:

    • Charged based on daily consumption (For example, pay-as-you-go Azure virtual machine, storage).
    • Appear in both daily rated usage line items (tracking daily usage) and invoice reconciliation line items (finalized billing).

  • Fixed-fee products:

    • Charged a flat rate (For example, per-user licenses, third-party SaaS subscriptions).
    • Only appear in invoice reconciliation line items because there's no daily usage to track.

Azure subscriptions may include fixed-cost components (For example, reserved instances and savings plans) alongside usage-based services. Here's why they behave differently:

  • Fixed monthly/annual fees:

    • Appear in invoice reconciliation line items as line items (For example, "USD 100/month Azure reservation fee").
    • Daily charges show USD 0 in usage data since the cost isn't tied to daily usage.

  • Usage tracking still occurs:

    • Even for fixed-cost Azure services, daily rated usage line items might show zero charges to maintain visibility into resource activity (For example, reserved instance utilization).

Example scenarios

Product type Monthly invoice reconciliation Daily rated usage
Microsoft 365 Business Premium (per-user license) ✅ Fixed fee ❌ Not included
Azure virtual machine (pay-as-you-go) ✅ Usage-based ✅ Usage-based
Azure reserved instance ✅ Fixed fee ✅ Zero charge (usage tracking)

Key takeaways

  • Invoice reconciliation = All billed products (usage-based and fixed-fee).
  • Daily rated usage = Only usage-based products, including Azure reservations and savings plans (even if charges are zero for fixed-cost Azure services).

By understanding these distinctions, you can streamline billing reviews, reduce confusion, and ensure compliance.

Note

Each billing event generates a charge (cost incurred) or credit (amount deducted). These charges and credits are reflected as invoice reconciliation line items according to the billing plan.

Why does my invoice reconciliation data show a zero-tax amount when the invoice has taxes?

In some countries or regions invoice reconciliation files or line items show a zero-tax amount, despite taxes included on those invoices. This discrepancy occurs because of a specific tax calculation and representation strategy. Here's a concise explanation:

Tax calculation method

In some regions, taxes are calculated on the total amount of the invoice rather than on individual line items. This approach means that the tax is applied once to the total, which can differ from summing taxes calculated on each line item.

Rounding discrepancies

When taxes are calculated for individual line items and then rounded to two decimal places, it can lead to small yet noticeable differences. These differences are noticeable in scenarios where multiple line items are involved, and each line item's tax is rounded independently. The sum of these rounded amounts can differ from the tax calculated on the total amount, leading to noncompliance with tax regulations.

Example:

Consider two items that cost $9.75 and $10.25, with a tax rate of 10%. The total before tax is $20, and the tax is ($20 × 10 ÷ 100) $2. The line-item tax might appear as follows: Product 1 ($9.75 × 10 ÷ 100 = $0.975, rounded to $0.98) and Product 2 ($10.25 × 10 ÷ 100 = $1.025, rounded to $1.03).

Transaction Amount Tax
Product 1 $9.75 $0.98
Product 2 $10.25 $1.03

Although the difference between the sum of line-item taxes $2.01 ($0.98 + $1.03) and the total tax $2.00 is just one cent, this one-cent discrepancy might seem negligible, but it highlights a critical issue in tax compliance. Tax regulations often require precise calculations, and even small rounding discrepancies can lead to noncompliance.

Solution: Tax on invoices only

To mitigate these discrepancies, taxes are exclusively shown on the invoices rather than on individual reconciliation files or line items for the specific countries or regions. This approach ensures that:

  1. Compliance with tax regulations: By calculating tax on the total amount rather than individual line items, the system adheres to tax regulations more accurately, reducing the risk of noncompliance due to decimal rounding errors.

  2. Consistency: The pretax amount remains consistent across both the reconciliation files (or line items) and the corresponding invoices. This consistency enhances transparency and trust in the billing process.

  3. Efficiency: Calculating tax on the total amount instead of each line item simplifies the calculation process, avoids unnecessary calculations, saves time, and reduces potential errors.

Benefits

  • Compliance: Aligns with local tax laws, reducing the risk of noncompliance.
  • Accuracy: Minimizes errors from rounding discrepancies.
  • Efficiency: Streamlines the billing process by calculating tax once on the total amount.
  • Transparency: Provides clear and consistent financial information, fostering trust.

Why are the charges on my invoice reconciliation data different from the daily rated usage line items?

Your invoice reconciliation and daily rated usage line items might not match exactly due to several factors:

  • Exclusion of products: The daily rated usage reconciliation charges only for pay-as-you-go resources (services billed based on usage) under Azure subscription, whereas the invoice reconciliation charges for all products and subscriptions for all your customers. For a list of products in the daily rated usage reconciliation, see products included in the daily rated usage reconciliation.

Here are key reasons for discrepancies between charges for the same products or subscriptions:

  • Taxes and adjustments: Invoice reconciliation might include taxes and fees, which aren't present in your daily rated usage data. To check the charges for a product or subscription, compare BillingPreTaxTotal in the daily rated usage with Subtotal in the invoice reconciliation. Before taxes and adjustments, these values should match or be close.

  • Discounts and credits: Discounts and credits, such as those from contract terms, service level agreements (SLA), promotional offers, or tier pricing, might lower your invoice amount. As a result of these discounts and credits, the invoice Subtotal might be lower than the daily rated usage BillingPreTaxTotal.

  • Decimal round off: Minor differences might occur due to rounding. The daily rated usage displays 10 decimal places for BillingPreTaxTotal, while the invoice reconciliation rounds Subtotal to two decimal places.

If you notice slight differences between your invoice reconciliation and daily rated usage data, don't be concerned. Reach out to our support team for more information, and be confident that you're billed accurately for your usage.

When should you contact the support team?

If you're unsure whether a reconciliation line item is correct, compare the attributes of both reconciliations before contacting our support team. To resolve any discrepancies, follow these steps:

  • Check quantity or billable quantity: Ensure that the billable quantities match for the same product or subscription in both reconciliations.

  • Review Customer ID: Ensure customer IDs are consistent in both reconciliations' pay-as-you-go charges.

  • Verify Product ID, SKU ID, or Subscription ID: Ensure no pay-as-you-go charges are missing or different in the reconciliations.

  • Compare Subtotal and BillingPreTaxTotal: Look for any differences greater than 3% to 5% between these values.

For any discrepancies, reach out to our support team for assistance.

How prorated charges or credits are calculated?

Prorated charges or credits happen when a subscription is adjusted in the middle of a charge cycle due to changes like license adjustments or cancellations. This process ensures that you're only billed for the exact period during which they use the licenses. Here's a step-by-step explanation:

Proration principle

Prorating charges ensures billing is accurate by calculating the exact days in the month when a purchase, recurring cycle, or renewal begins. For more information about the charge cycle, see new commerce charge cycle.

Here's how proration works with different months:

  • For 30-day months: If the charge cycle starts in months with 30 days, like April or June, the monthly charge is divided by 30 to calculate the daily rate.
  • For 31-day months: In months with 31 days, like July or August, the monthly charge is divided by 31.
  • For February: Special consideration is given to February, which typically has 28 days but has 29 days during a leap year. Therefore, the monthly charge is divided by 28 or 29, depending on whether it’s a leap year or not.

Proration process

  • Refund (Wipe): The system calculates the unused portion of the subscription from the adjustment date to the end of the charge cycle. We calculate this amount by multiplying the daily rate per license by the number of licenses and the remaining days in the cycle after the adjustment.
  • Charge (Recreate): Simultaneously, the system charges for the new number of licenses, but only for the remaining days in the charge cycle.

Example

Let's say you bought 10 licenses of an annual "Microsoft Business Standard" subscription with a monthly billing plan on April 10, 2023, with USD 10 per month for each unit. On June 20, you added five more licenses.

  • Initial subscription: USD 10 per license × 10 licenses = USD 100 per month.
  • Daily rate: USD 10 ÷ 30 = USD 0.3333333. The monthly unit price is divided by 30 as the recurring cycle charges began in June 10. For more information, see proration principle.
  • Adjustment on June 20: Increase to 15 licenses.
    • Refund: 10 licenses * USD 0.3333333 per day × 20 days (Jun 20 to Jul 9) = USD 66.66 (rounded down to tow decimal places).
    • Charge: 15 licenses * USD 0.3333333 per day × 20 days (Jun 20 to Jul 9) = USD 99.99 (rounded down to tow decimal places).
    • Total charge for June: USD 100 + USD 99.99 - USD 66.66 = USD 133.33.

Total amounts might change due to taxes, exchange rates, and other adjustments.

Find reseller information in the reconciliation line items

To view the reseller for a purchased product or service, use these attributes of your reconciliation data. The reseller or tier 2 MPN ID is only visible in the reconciliation data for indirect providers.

Attribute/Column name Description Expected value
MpnId The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program identifier of the Cloud Solution Provider program (CSP) partner (direct or indirect). The associated partner ID you mentioned while enrolling in the CSP program.
ResellerMpnId / Tier2MpnId The reseller of record for the subscription can be identified using Partner Center under each subscription for indirect providers. See expected values for the Reseller or Tier 2 MPN ID attribute or column

Expected values for the Reseller or Tier 2 MPN ID attribute or column

Depending on the reseller's involvement, the values for the reseller's MPN ID can vary as follows:

  • 0 or blank: Indicates no reseller is involved.
  • –1: Indicates that the reseller was removed from the partner relationship.
  • A reseller's MPN ID: Indicates that the reseller is involved.

To determine whether you're a direct bill partner (tier 1) or an indirect provider (tier 2), follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings (gear icon in the upper-right corner).
  2. Select Account Settings.
  3. Click on Legal Info.
  4. Expand Program Info.
  5. Check the Cloud Solution Provider Tier section to find your tier.

Before checking the reseller’s MPN ID in your billing reconciliation data, ensure the reseller is involved in the purchase by verifying their participation in the transaction records.

To learn more about how to involve a reseller in the purchasing process, see create customer subscriptions in Partner Center.

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