# License History

### Purpose

The **License History** report helps you understand **how Microsoft licenses are used over time**, not just how many you have right now.

It is designed to answer simple but important questions:

* When are licenses actually assigned?
* Do license needs change during the year?
* Can we plan license purchases better?

By showing license usage month by month, the report supports **better planning, cost control, and transparency**.

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### What you can use it for

* **Plan license purchases**
  * See which licenses are always needed and which are temporary
  * Decide how many licenses should be yearly vs monthly
* **Identify seasonal patterns**
  * Lower usage during summer vacation or end-of-year
  * Temporary increases during projects or onboarding periods
* **Track project licenses**
  * Confirm that licenses bought for a project are assigned when expected
  * Detect licenses that were never used or assigned to someone else

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### How to use the report

#### 1. Select the license you want to analyze

Use the **License Selector** to choose one or more licenses (for example Microsoft 365, Copilot, or Entra ID).

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#### 2. Review the trend over time

The chart shows how many licenses are:

* Assigned
* Unassigned
* Suspended

Use this to quickly see:

* Growth or decline in usage
* Monthly fluctuations
* Stable vs changing demand

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#### 3. See who had a license and when

The table shows **license assignment per user, per month**.

This helps you understand:

* When a user received a license
* How long it stayed assigned
* How many users had the license in each month

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#### 4. Group by department or other properties (optional)

Use the **Breakdown filter** to group data by:

* Department
* Company
* Country
* Other organizational fields

This makes it easier to see where licenses are used and how usage evolves.

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### How this helps you plan better

A simple planning approach:

* **Licenses used all year** → good candidates for yearly subscriptions
* **Licenses used only in certain months** → better suited for monthly subscriptions

The report shows this clearly, using your own historical data.

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### Key takeaway

The **License History** report turns license management from a snapshot into a **clear timeline**.

It helps you:

* Understand real usage
* Avoid over-buying
* Plan licenses with confidence