In 2020, a mid-sized company operating internationally bought used Office 2016 licences from several suppliers, including 2,300 from MRM Distribution. When the Microsoft audit began in late 2022, all supporting documents for these 2,300 licences were immediately available —
unlike those from other suppliers.
Customer
Internationally active mid-sized company known worldwide for technical precision, quality and clear standards (anonymised at its own request)
Reason
The company’s medium-term goal is to migrate from Office to Google Workspace. Licence costs needed to remain low during the transition
Procurement
In 2020, the company bought used Office 2016 licences from several suppliers, investing a high six-figure sum in total
MRM Distribution`s share
MRM Distribution supplied 2,300 of the used Office 2016 licences purchased in 2020, worth approximately €200,000
Audit
In late 2022, the company received notification of a Microsoft audit
Audit scope
During the Microsoft audit, the auditors checked the used licences’ original purchase records, the validity of the supply chain and the previous owners’ declarations of destruction, among other documents
Result for MRM licences
All 2,300 software packages supplied by MRM Distribution were accepted in the Microsoft audit without any objections
Other licences in the audit
The company did not have all the required supporting documents from suppliers other than MRM Distribution; this became a problem during the audit
Audit status
The Microsoft audit was still ongoing in July 2025
Status as of July 2025
The company is discussing used Office 2024 licences with MRM Distribution for workstations that will not move to the cloud
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Background:
Why an international mid-sized company bought used rather than new Office licences in 2020
The company’s medium-term plan is to migrate from Office to Google Workspace. The manager responsible for IT licensing explains that investing in affordable software makes financial sense, particularly during the transition.
The company purchased the software from various suppliers in 2020, investing a high six-figure sum in used Office 2016 licences. MRM Distribution supplied 2,300 of these, worth approximately €200,000. The licences purchased in 2020 were still in use in July 2025.
The test:
In late 2022, the company receives notification
of a Microsoft audit
In late 2022, the company received notification of a Microsoft audit. One area the auditors focused on during this licence audit was the used Office 2016 packages.
The company’s licence manager had not yet joined the business when the purchase was made in 2020. ‘We had bought the software in good faith — now we had to painstakingly track down documents or request them again,’ he explains. Discrepancies emerged as the documents were gathered.
‘We had everything we needed from MRM for the audit, and it was immediately available. Other suppliers of used licences had to provide additional documents. Unfortunately, this did not always work. Yet this legal certainty is essential, especially when a purchase was made several years ago.’
IT Licence Manager at MRM Distribution`s medium-sized client
What Microsoft checks when auditing used licences
An invoice and a delivery note from the licence seller are far from sufficient for a Microsoft audit. What matters is a fully traceable chain of licence ownership. According to MRM Distribution, this requires three types of supporting documents.
Original purchase records
Purchase and contractual records must be available for every stage of the transfer. MRM Distribution had already supplied the company with the invoices when the purchase was completed,
specifying the licence type, quantity, version and language.
Proof of legally compliant transfer
There must be evidence that the software was transferred in compliance with the law. MRM Distribution had provided the company with the transfer agreements for this purpose.
Declaration of destruction from the original purchaser
The original purchaser must declare that they have destroyed their copy of the software. Without this declaration, the chain of licence ownership cannot be verified. For the licences from MRM Distribution, the original owners’ declarations of destruction were available from the outset.
The 2,300 packages purchased from MRM Distribution passed
without any objections
All documents for the licences from MRM Distribution were immediately available during the Microsoft audit. Nothing was missing. The 2,300 software packages were accepted without any objections. This result was achieved without support from MRM Distribution during the audit. Personal contact with Tim Bloemke, the contact person at MRM Distribution, was only established in spring 2025 — long after the 2,300 MRM packages had passed the audit checks.
Licences purchased by the company from MRM Distribution
2,300 used Office 2016 packages
Purchase value of these 2,300 licences
approximately €200,000
Microsoft audit findings for the MRM licences
accepted without any objections
Additional documents requested for the MRM licences
none — the company had held all supporting documents since the purchase was
completed in 2020
The company did not have all the required supporting documents from suppliers other than MRM Distribution — this became a problem during the audit. Documents had to be requested again, which, according to the licence manager, was not successful in every case.
The Microsoft audit was still ongoing in July 2025.
Would you like to learn more about buying used software?
MRM Distribution will be happy to advise you.
Next steps:
Licensing updates after the end of support
for Office 2016
Support for Office 2016 ended in October 2025. For workstations that still need Office and will not move to the cloud, the company is discussing targeted licence updates with MRM Distribution — again using used licences, this time for Office 2024.
The IT licence manager describes discussions with Tim Bloemke from MRM Distribution as ‘always transparent and focused on solutions’: ‘This allows us to assess potential savings early on — and then make a quick decision.’
What Tim Bloemke, Purchasing Manager at MRM Distribution , says
‘Used software is financially attractive – provided the licence transfer is fully documented. Anything else poses a risk – both legally and financially.’
Tim Bloemke, Purchasing Manager, MRM Distribution
Which companies can learn from this licence purchase and Microsoft audit
The question of a complete documentation trail arises in several situations.
Companies using used software whose supporting documentation has not been fully verified
Companies that want to clarify which documents a supplier must provide before buying used licences
Companies in a migration phase seeking affordable Microsoft licences for the transition
Companies where responsibility for licence management has changed since the purchase
IT resellers and service providers that supply used licences and take responsibility for their provenance
Buy used Microsoft licences with a complete documentation trail
MRM Distribution supplies reusable software to more than 6,000 customers. Transactions that comply with the software manufacturer’s requirements are a top priority: each completed purchase includes invoices specifying the licence type, quantity, version and language, the transfer agreements and the original owners’ declarations of destruction. Purchases are made through the MRM partner network.
Explore more about MRM Distribution`s partner programme