License Calculator: Faster, Clearer and Easier to Work with

This article provides a detailed overview of the latest improvements to the License Calculator, focusing on the user interface redesigns, performance enhancements, and new reporting features that save time and effort.

Vlad is a qualified Dynamics 365 Consultant and Project Manager who oversees a broad array of complex tasks, including Microsoft licensing and business process customization.

Licensing in Dynamics 365 is one of the topics that nobody gets excited about until the renewal invoice arrives. Companies often assume that licensing decisions are something to review once a year, usually under pressure and with very limited time. However, there are different license types, roles, pricing levels, and a licensing guide that can easily run to dozens of pages.

As a result, companies either overspend on licenses they do not fully use or risk compliance issues because it is difficult to know which features are consumed by which teams.

The License Calculator has already proven its value in helping companies understand Dynamics 365 license usage and optimize the costs. It analyses how users interact with Dynamics 365, checking which features and modules each person accesses, and compares that with available license capabilities. Moreover, it now works even more effectively, as we have improved how users interact with it.

When dealing with complex licensing models, clarity is everything. One of the main areas of improvement is the user interface.

We have redesigned the key screens to make the data easier to read and interpret. Instead of guessing which license a team needs, administrators will now see a clear recommendation displayed in a simple visual format.

Now, for each user, you can easily see what they use, whether their current license aligns with their usage, and the cost impact of changing their plan. The goal is simple: less time figuring out what you are looking at and more time making decisions based on the results. Finance teams will appreciate straightforward transparency, while IT teams can rely on automated visual data to avoid manually digging through logs.

Another significant addition to the License Calculator is the ability to calculate licenses based on selected filters. Previously, analyzing usage meant processing the entire environment. Now, users have more control, with the ability to filter data by username or domain.

This means that if a user only wants to review the license consumption of a specific department (by isolating their unique domain), audit external users, or check a single individual's activity, you can do so effortlessly. This targeted approach not only saves time but also provides highly specific insights exactly where you need them, without the clutter of irrelevant organizational data.

Alongside visual clarity, performance is another big focus. As environments grow and user activity increases, tracking license consumption requires analyzing massive amounts of data. The calculation process has now been optimized to run large datasets faster.

This provides quicker results, especially for environments with many users and long activity periods. Instead of waiting for calculations to complete, users will be able to get insights sooner and move on with their work. This rapid processing enables real-time analysis, allowing you to run various “what-if” scenarios instantly to see how different setups would affect your overall budget.

Continuity and collaboration are essential when planning software budgets. We have also added the ability to save calculation reports. This allows the users to review results later, compare different periods, or share findings internally without having to recalculate everything from scratch.

As always, these new features and improvements work in tandem with the most current Microsoft licensing rules. Microsoft frequently updates its licensing guides, including revised license types and feature mapping. The tool automatically reflects these updates, ensuring that your faster, clearer reports are always based on the latest available data and pricing structures. 

There are a few typical problems you can conveniently solve with the calculator: 

• Actual license usage auditing 

You can get insights on license usage per user, product, and department.

• License usage vs. assignment comparison

You can compare assigned licenses with actual usage to identify discrepancies.

• Accurate licensing costs calculation

You can ensure you have a clear view of your Microsoft licensing expenses.

• Dynamics 365 licensing calculation

You can efficiently calculate costs for various Dynamics 365 modules, including Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE).

• Forecasting budget

You can accurately plan your Microsoft licensing budget for the upcoming periods.

• Expense reduction

You can identify underused or overused licenses and switch to more cost-effective options to save money.

Are you planning to update your Microsoft licenses but unsure which ones you need to purchase for the next period? You have two options:

• Manually collect statistics on Dynamics 365 usage

• Navigate a complex Microsoft Licensing Guide (over 60 pages)

This Microsoft-certified add-on analyzes feature usage by each Dynamics 365 user during a specified date range, functioning as a Microsoft cost calculator tailored to various product types including Dynamics 365 Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Field Service, Power Apps, Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft AI, Azure, and Microsoft 365 (Office 365) licenses.

One of the vital advantages of our add-on is its user-friendly design. Here is how it operates in just a few clicks:

1. Log in: access the tool with the necessary permissions.
2. Select the time period: choose a range to view trends and costs.
3. Run the report: select a company domain or user and click “Run Report” for tailored insights.
4. Review the results: view estimated costs for Dynamics 365 licenses alongside your report.
5. Adjust the features: customize user features to reassess potential costs using the “View Report” button.
6. Save the reports: access and review saved reports anytime: they are automatically stored for easy recall.

The analyses will show you a comprehensive list of licenses and their estimated costs, enabling real-time insights into your license structure.

UDS blog articles: 

• Microsoft Licensing Guide 2026 

• The Guide through Microsoft Licensing