1. Savvy Sandip has got his finger on the pulse."I heard recently that there is going to be a change in how Microsoft subscriptions are billed. Can you explain this to me in more detail please?", he requests.
   Tell Sandip that you are very happy to help him with his inquiry. You can inform him that the change is as follows:
   • Recently, Microsoft made monthly subscription billings and renewal dates the same across all Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass, and EA Access subscriptions. Now these monthly subscriptions will be billed on the same day they renew.
   • Previously, these customers were billed on the same day each month - even if their subscription renewed days or weeks earlier. These different dates led to a lot of confusion, especially around cancellation and when customers would get their final charge.
   • Before this change occurred, Microsoft systems waited to bill customers days or weeks after their subscription renewed each month.  Now, the billing and renewal date are the same. This is a one-time event. Once Microsoft makes these changes to our Office 365/Xbox subscriptions, existing Office 365 customers could see a one-time sooner-than-expected charge for their next renewal.  Going forward, these customers will also only be billed on the renewal date each month.

   After giving this explanation of the change, you can tell Sandip that the reason behind it is to make it easier for customers to understand monthly billing charges for Microsoft products and services.

2. Baffled Betty is a bit confused about the implications of the billing change."So, is Microsoft billing me twice for the same month of service? I often struggle to keep track of what is going in and out of my bank account…", she worries.
   Reassure Betty that Microsoft will not bill her twice for the same month of service. When Microsoft moved her billing date to align with her renewal date, they just moved the charge from within the current month to the beginning of the month going forward. So, tell Betty that from this point forward, she will get billed on the same day that her monthly subscription renews.
3. Forgetful Fatima also gets in touch about the billing change. "Is this a one-time charge or will this happen again next month? I’m between jobs at the moment so repeatedly being charged would not be ideal." You should confirm with Fatima that this is a one-time event. From this point onwards, Microsoft will only bill her on the day her subscription renews. Don’t forget to wish her good luck with the job hunt!

1. Motivated Michelle wants to change her Microsoft subscription billing plan: Michelle has a stroke of luck and has a winning ticket in the lottery! She wants to put some of her winnings towards her Microsoft subscription, and thinks it would be a good idea to change her subscription to be paid yearly not monthly since she has the extra cash now. "Is it possible to change how often I pay for my subscription? Or is it fixed?", she asks.
   After congratulating Michelle for her lottery win, you can tell her that it is indeed possible to change how often a subscription is paid for. Ask her to sign in to our account.microsoft.com website with her Microsoft account, and then go to Services & Subscriptions, and then select Payment & Billing under the subscription. She should click Change to choose a different plan and then click on Switch Plan. If her subscription has the monthly plan, she can choose the yearly plan. Microsoft will use the same payment method for the yearly plan, but she can change it here if she wants to use a different one. Tell her to click to confirm, and she should now see the confirmation page telling her when her plan will be renewed into the yearly plan.

2. Forgetful Fatima can’t remember where she has put her laptop but needs to change how she pays for her subscription. She contacts you to ask: ‘Is there another way I can access my payment plan to change it?’
   You can tell Fatima not to worry, because customers can use their Xbox One to change how they pay for their subscriptions. On her console, tell Fatima to press the Xbox button on her controller, and to select System > Settings > Account > Subscriptions. She may be asked to sign in again to protect her account. Fatima should choose her subscription, then select Change how you pay. If her subscription is past due, she should select Pay now. Or, she can choose an existing payment option, or select Add a new way to pay, then follow the instructions. Sign off by wishing Fatima good luck in finding her laptop!
   Top Tip: Fatima can only manage her Xbox-related subscriptions on her Xbox One. If she needs to manage her Office, OneDrive, or MSN subscription, she’ll need to go to account.microsoft.com.

3. Baffled Betty wants to change from her prepaid subscription plan.
   Unfortunately, for prepaid subscriptions, customers cannot change how they pay because it has been pre-paid. Make sure you apologise to Betty, and if appropriate, recommend other subscription payment plans for her to consider once her current prepaid subscription expires.

4. Panicky Pedro wants to change the credit card linked to his subscription account. Panicky Pedro has got a new credit card, so he is nervous that his Microsoft subscription won’t have been paid for this month, because his subscription is still linked to his old credit card. ‘What do I do?’, he cries. Luckily for Pedro, customers can pay for past-due subscriptions, by signing in to Services & Subscriptions using their Microsoft account. Tell Pedro to sign in, then to find his past-due subscription in the list and select Pay now. If his credit card, PayPal, or other online payment service has expired, he can update it with the new expiration date. Once Pedro’s payment option is set, he can select Next to make the payment. Alternatively, if he doesn’t want to use this new credit card, he can add a new way to pay, for example, on a different credit card. Remember though, you should warn Pedro that customers cannot pay for a past-due subscription with a gift card, subscription card, or with a Microsoft account balance.
5. Savvy Sandip has a subscription with recurring billing and wants to change how he pays for it. "‘At the moment I pay on a debit card but I want to change to paying through PayPal now. Is this possible, or am I wasting my time?", he wonders. You can inform Sandip that no, he is not wasting his time. Tell him that he can easily change how he pays for a Microsoft subscription, as long as he has a recurring billing set.
   Top tip! When advising customers about changing the way they pay for subscriptions, if applicable, remember to tell them:
   • That if they are updating their child's subscription, to make sure they are signing in with their child’s account, not their own.
   • That if they bought their Office 365 subscription through a third party, such as Apple or BestBuy, they should contact the retailer directly to manage their subscription and billing.

1. Motivated Michelle wants to share her Microsoft/XBOX subscription benefits with friends and family."Is this free? And can I share it with anyone I choose? I want to link my two brothers to my account.", she enquires.
   You can tell Michelle yes, this is free of charge! When customers purchase Office 365 Home (or Xbox), they can share their subscription benefits with up to four other people, at no extra cost. Each person gets the latest version of the Office apps, 1TB of free OneDrive storage, 60 Skype minutes per month, and an Outlook inbox with 50GB of storage! Advise Michelle that she can share with whomever she likes, but that both her brothers need their own Microsoft account for this to happen. If they don’t already have a Microsoft account, they can create one for free when they accept Michelle’s invitation to share.

2. Forgetful Fatima is still confused about how to share her Microsoft account benefits with her husband. "It’s all very well saying you can share your subscription with your family, but how on earth are you supposed to do it? ", she complains.
   You can tell Fatima that there are 2 easy options for inviting family or friends to share your subscription and that she should follow the steps to whichever option she prefers.
   • The first option is to invite someone using email. To do this, Fatima should enter her husband’s email. The email she uses to invite their husband should also be the email she uses for her shared Office 365 subscription. Tell Fatima to then click on the blue Got it button. You can also tell her that she may be asked to add her husband to her Microsoft Family. If she wishes to do so, Fatima can click on the blue Invite button and follow the instructions. If not, she can click on the Skip button.
   • The second option is to invite someone using a one-time link. If following this option, Fatima should click on the Invite via link button, and then click the Copy button. To send the link via email, text, or other kinds of a message to the person she wants to share with, she can simply paste the link and send the message. When her husband clicks the link and signs in with his Microsoft account, he’ll be added to Fatima’s subscription.
3. Baffled Betty is also planning on sharing her subscription benefits with her son, as a thank-you for setting up her Microsoft subscription for her. She is hesitant, however, because she doesn’t want her son to be able to see her personal documents. "I’m working with a very private client at work, so there are lots of sensitive documents on my computer right now! How can I make sure my son won’t see any of these?" Be sure to assure Betty that anyone sharing her subscription will not have access to any files that she creates using Office—and that Betty will not have access to theirs. All files and service usage information will remain private for both her and her son—as though they had each purchased their own subscription.
4. Savvy Sandip wants to remove his friend from his Office account: Savvy Sandip used to share his Office subscription with his best friend, but now his best friend has got married and wants to set up his own subscription for his family. Sandip is therefore keen to remove his friend from his Office account, so he can free up his installs to share with someone else.
   Tell Sandip to go onto the Sharing page, where he can see who he’s sharing Office with.  In the Installs section, he can view and control his shared Office installations, including removing his friend. When Sandip stops sharing his subscription with his friend, the friend will lose all Office 365 Home subscription benefits, including extra OneDrive storage and the ability to use Sandip’s Office installs. The friend can still view and print his own Office files, but he can't edit them or create new ones. If requested, you can then give Sandip the advice about how to set up someone else on the account.
5. Panicky Pedro wants to manage his invitation requests to share his Microsoft subscriptions. "Help! I accidentally sent my boss a request to share my Microsoft subscription – I definitely don’t want to be doing that! Is there any way to undo it, or will there be an embarrassing moment in the office tomorrow?".
   You can reassure Pedro that if he follows My Office Account > Share Office 365 > Manage Invitations, he can view and manage invitations he’s created, including deleting invitations. If his boss hasn’t yet accepted the invitation, then Pedro can simply delete the invitation. Additionally, you can remind Pedro that on this page, he can also check the status of, or resend, an invitation.

You've completed your Microsoft - Accounts, Billing and Subscription learning. You can now attempt the quiz - make sure you refer back to learning anytime you get stuck. Good luck!