Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Annual Subscription (12 Months)
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Annual Subscription (CFQ7TTC0LH3F:0002) - Local Support
A Concurrency Licence for Shared Hardware, Not a Named-User Licence
This is the licence for the shop-floor terminal, the warehouse scanner station and the point-of-sale machine that a dozen people use across three shifts. Microsoft: "The Dynamics 365 Business Central Device license allows multiple users to simultaneously use a device that is covered by the license. For example, it might be a point of sales, shop floor, or warehouse device." It is counted by concurrent sign-ins, not by headcount, which is what makes it economic for shared hardware.
How the Counting Actually Works
Microsoft explains the mechanism precisely: "When you've purchased many device licenses, up to that number of users assigned to the Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Users group can sign in at the same time." And crucially: "You do not need to assign a Business Central license to users that are members of the Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Users group." So you size against peak concurrency on shared devices rather than against the number of people who will ever touch them.
A Device Licence Cannot Stand a Tenant Up On Its Own
One published limitation to design around. Microsoft: "In terms of limitations, a device user can't be the first user to sign in. A user of type Administrator, Full User, or External Accountant must be the first to sign in so they can set up Business Central." In practice that means at least one Essentials, Premium or administrator licence has to exist alongside these. Factor that into the quotation.
What a Device Licence May Functionally Do Is Not Published
Microsoft's licensing guide says only that Device licences "provide limited access to a subset of Business Central capabilities", and it never enumerates the subset. This page will not invent one. The reliable way to establish whether a Device licence covers the specific workflow on your shop floor is to test it in a sandbox environment — every Business Central subscription includes three — before you buy in volume. Ask us and we will help you set that test up.
Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Annual Subscription Datasheet — Licensing and Specifications
How the Licence Works
| Counted by | Concurrent sign-ins, not named users |
| Microsoft's definition | "The Dynamics 365 Business Central Device license allows multiple users to simultaneously use a device that is covered by the license. For example, it might be a point of sales, shop floor, or warehouse device" |
| How many can sign in at once | "When you've purchased many device licenses, up to that number of users assigned to the Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Users group can sign in at the same time" |
| Do those users need their own licence? | "You do not need to assign a Business Central license to users that are members of the Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Users group" |
| Published limitation | "a device user can't be the first user to sign in. A user of type Administrator, Full User, or External Accountant must be the first to sign in so they can set up Business Central" |
| Functional subset granted | Not published. Microsoft states only "limited access to a subset of Business Central capabilities" |
Licensing
| Storage accrual | 1 GB of database capacity per Device licence |
| Minimum purchase | Not published by Microsoft |
| Other licences required | At least one Administrator, Full User or External Accountant, because a Device user cannot be the first to sign in |
| Term | Twelve months as sold by SourceIT |
Data Residency for a Singapore Tenant
| Singapore availability | Listed by Microsoft as Available, localised by Partner, base app W1, environment abbreviation SG |
| Azure geography | Asia Pacific |
| What Microsoft commits to | "Microsoft stores customer data at rest in the selected Azure geographic location within the customer-selected macro region geography", and for Asia-Pacific "Your data resides within the Asia-Pacific region" |
| What Microsoft does NOT commit to | In-country storage in Singapore for a standard subscription. Microsoft ties datacentre-level pinning to Advanced Data Residency criteria: "If you're a customer who meets ADR criteria, your Dynamics 365 and Power Platform data is stored at rest within your selected datacenter region" |
| Finding your region | "Administrators can use the Dynamics 365 Business Central admin center to find the Azure region that their environments are in" |
What Microsoft Does Not Publish for This Product
The following are commonly asked about but are not stated on any current official Microsoft source for this product, so SourceIT does not quote them: what functional subset a Device licence grants, a minimum purchase quantity, a per-version end of support date for Business Central online and a mapping between the commerce SKU identifier and this product. We would rather leave a field blank than print a figure we cannot substantiate.
Lifecycle, End of Support and Entitlement
SourceIT sells this as a twelve-month subscription with a GST invoice in Singapore. The subscription is a right to use the service for the term, not a perpetual licence: when the term ends the entitlement ends unless it is renewed.
Microsoft's lifecycle listing places Business Central under the Modern Lifecycle Policy, with a start date of 1 November 2016 and a retirement date shown as "In Support". The Modern Lifecycle Policy carries an obligation on the customer as well as on Microsoft: "Customers must stay current as per the servicing and system requirements published for the product or service", and Microsoft commits to "a minimum of 12 months' notification prior to ending support if no successor product or service is offered". In practice that means roughly six months on any given major version before the update is enforced. Note that Microsoft frames this as an update enforcement timeline rather than a support-ends date, and publishes no per-version end-of-support date for Business Central online. Separate Fixed-policy dates exist for Business Central on-premises and do not apply to this subscription.
Talk to our team before the renewal date rather than after it. Seat counts, mid-term changes and co-terming with the rest of your Microsoft estate are all easier to arrange in advance, and we can quote the alternatives if a bundle would work out better for you.
Published Lifecycle Dates
| Lifecycle policy | Modern Lifecycle Policy |
| Start date | 1 November 2016 |
| Retirement date | "In Support" — none published |
| Major updates | Two a year, released on the first workday of April and October (release waves 1 and 2) |
| Minor updates | Monthly, in every month except April and October |
| Update period | Five calendar months from general availability. April releases run to early September; October releases to early March |
| Grace period | One further month, after which the update cannot be rescheduled |
| Enforced update period | Begins after the grace period. Extensions that block the update may be automatically uninstalled |
| Restoring an older version | "It's not possible to restore an environment to a version that is in its Grace or Enforced update period after an update to a later version has succeeded" |
Support and Entitlement Position
This is a software subscription, not hardware. It carries no hardware warranty, and any warranty term you see on a hardware listing does not apply here. What you are buying is a twelve-month right to use the service, together with SourceIT's local support in Singapore. Microsoft's own condition is that technical and billing support for a subscription bought through a partner runs through that partner, so for this subscription that means us: raise the ticket with SourceIT and we escalate to Microsoft where it needs to go. Renewal, seat changes and co-terming are handled on your SourceIT account. Ask our team for the current entitlement position in writing with your quotation.
Compatibility, Deployment and System Requirements
Size this against peak concurrency, not headcount. If forty warehouse operatives share six terminals and no more than six are ever signed in at once, six device licences is the shape Microsoft's mechanism describes. Get the peak concurrency figure from the operations manager rather than from the payroll list, and we will quote against it.
Because Microsoft does not publish what a Device licence functionally allows, test the actual workflow before you buy in volume. Every Business Central subscription includes three sandbox environments; set up a device user in one, walk the shop-floor process end to end, and you will know rather than assume. We will help you set that up.
Remember the first-sign-in rule when you plan the licence mix: an Administrator, Full User or External Accountant must sign in before any device user can. A tenant cannot be stood up on Device licences alone, so the quotation needs at least one full licence alongside these.
How the Device Licence Is Counted and Used
| Counted by | Concurrent sign-ins on shared devices |
| User group | Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Users |
| Individual user licences | Not required for members of that group |
| First sign-in | Must be an Administrator, Full User or External Accountant |
| Storage accrual | 1 GB per Device licence |
| Functional subset | Not published by Microsoft |
Official Microsoft Sources & Downloads
- Dynamics 365 Business Central pricing
- Licensing in Business Central (Microsoft Learn)
- Create users according to licences in Business Central (Microsoft Learn)
- Managing capacity in Business Central (Microsoft Learn)
- Production and sandbox environments in Business Central (Microsoft Learn)
- Managing production and sandbox environments (Microsoft Learn)
- Operational limits for Business Central online (Microsoft Learn)
- Dynamics 365 Business Central lifecycle (Microsoft Learn)
- Business Central update rollout timeline (Microsoft Learn)
- Business Central country availability and Azure geography (Microsoft Learn)
- Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide, September 2026 (PDF)
- Microsoft Product Terms for Dynamics 365
- Business Central licensing documents (Microsoft Licensing)
- Modern Lifecycle Policy (Microsoft Learn)
Where a figure appears on this page it is quoted from one of these Microsoft pages; where Microsoft publishes nothing, this page says so rather than filling the gap. Supplied by SourceIT in Singapore with a GST invoice and local support. For a written quotation, current stock position or delivery lead time, contact our team.
Frequently Asked Questions — Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Annual Subscription
How many device licences do we need?
As many as your peak concurrent sign-ins on shared devices. Microsoft's mechanism is that "up to that number of users assigned to the Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Users group can sign in at the same time". Headcount does not enter into it — forty operatives sharing six terminals, with six signed in at peak, is a six-licence shape.
Do the people using the device need their own licence?
No. Microsoft states it directly: "You do not need to assign a Business Central license to users that are members of the Dynamics 365 Business Central Device Users group." That is the whole economic point of the licence.
Can we run a tenant on Device licences alone?
No. Microsoft publishes the limitation: "a device user can't be the first user to sign in. A user of type Administrator, Full User, or External Accountant must be the first to sign in so they can set up Business Central." Your quotation needs at least one full licence alongside these.
What can a device user actually do in the system?
Microsoft does not publish the answer. Its licensing guide says only that Device licences "provide limited access to a subset of Business Central capabilities" and never enumerates the subset. We will not invent one for you. Test the workflow in one of the three sandbox environments your subscription includes before you buy in volume, and we will help you set that up.
Does a device licence add storage?
Yes, 1 GB of database capacity per Device licence, on top of the tenant baseline of "up to 80 GB plus an allowance per licensed Essentials or Premium user".
