Sign up for Microsoft 365 Business Standard

Use this article to purchase Microsoft 365 Business Standard and complete the initial setup for your organization. You can choose the plan that fits your needs and finish setup in just a few steps.

• Buy Microsoft 365 Business Standard: To purchase Microsoft 365 Business Standard, follow the steps in the Sign up for Microsoft 365 Business Standard step by step section of this article.

• For Microsoft partners: If you're a partner, see Get Microsoft 365 Business.

Watch how to sign up for Microsoft 365 Business Standard

Sign up for Microsoft 365 Business Standard step by step

To sign up and purchase Microsoft 365 Business Standard, complete the following steps.

1. On the Microsoft 365 for business page, select Compare plans & pricing.

2. On the Find the best Microsoft 365 plan for your business section of the page, select between Business plans and Plans with Copilot, and between With Teams and Without Teams depending on the type of plan you're interested in.

3. Choose the Microsoft 365 Business plan you're interested in, and then select Buy now.

   Tip

   Comparison charts and tables are available in the Choose the right Microsoft 365 business subscription section of this article to help you choose the right plan for your business.

4. At the Let's get you started page, enter an email address that Microsoft can use to communicate with you during setup. This address also receives billing and renewal notifications.

   After entering the email address, select Next, and then select Set up account.

   Important

   The person that signs up for Microsoft 365 for business automatically becomes the technical administrator of the organization. You can add other administrators later to help manage your Microsoft 365 services. For more information, see Assign admin roles.

5. At the Tell us about yourself page, enter your information, and then select Next.

   The information you enter is used to create your Microsoft 365 for business account. The company name you enter is the name that appears in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

   The Microsoft 365 admin center is where you manage Microsoft 365 users, licenses, and other features and services. This information is also included in the URL of your SharePoint site if you choose to set one up. You can change this company name later in the Microsoft 365 admin center if needed.

6. At the How you'll sign in page, enter your desired Username and .onmicrosoft.com domain or accept the defaults. After entering this information, enter your desired password and then select Next.

   The .onmicrosoft.com domain, also known as your fallback domain, is the default domain that Microsoft automatically assigns to every Microsoft 365 tenant. You use this domain for your initial sign-in and account setup.

7. At the Add payment method page, enter your payment information, and then select Save.

8. Continue stepping through the wizard. On the Confirmation details page, you see information about your subscription.

9. To setup and configure your Microsoft 365 environment, use the Microsoft 365 admin center. With the Microsoft 365 admin center, you can perform the following tasks:

   • Add users.
   • Install Microsoft 365 productivity apps.
   • Invite your team to use Microsoft 365.
   • If applicable, add your custom domain.

   Microsoft also sends you an email with set-up steps for Microsoft 365 Business Standard.

Choose the right Microsoft 365 business subscription

When you sign up for Microsoft 365 Business Standard, you can choose from two options. Evaluate the following factors to decide which option best meets your needs:

• Which apps and services do you want to use right away?
• How much technical skill do you have?
• Do you need Microsoft to act as a processor for your data?

Use the following table to compare the two sign-up options and decide which best fits your organization:

Use these factors to determine which of the two options is best for your business needs.

Option 1: Simplified Sign-up

With option 1, you sign in to Microsoft 365 with one of the following two types of email accounts:

• A non-branded email address that isn't part of a custom domain. The email address could be an email address from email providers such as Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, or other providers. For example, alliebellew@hotmail.com.

• A branded email address that is part of a custom domain, but that the custom domain isn't being used with Microsoft 365 email services.

With this option, you can't:

• Use branded email addresses with your own custom domain.
• Manage or control how other users access and use Microsoft 365 services.
• Use industry‑specific compliance features.
• Access or manage other users' documents or usage.

Additionally, if you later upgrade to an enterprise-level domain account (option 2), users might choose not to transfer data created in apps such as MicrosoftOneDrive or Microsoft Teams.

Terms of service update for Simplified Sign-up mode for existing subscribers

If you purchased a business subscription using Simplified sign-up before October 2021 and didn't add a custom domain, you might need to accept updated terms of service. If you don't accept the updated terms, you might experience interruptions in service and usage of the Microsoft 365 apps. You might be sent emails or see Microsoft 365 admin center in-app prompts to agree to the updated terms.

The Simplified Sign-up terms of use were updated to clarify licensing and data ownership for multi-user business subscriptions. For continued service of your business subscription, select one of the following options:

• Visit the Microsoft 365 admin center and agree to use the Microsoft Services Agreement Supplemental to continue using your subscription in Simplified Sign-up mode.

• Visit the Microsoft 365 admin center and add a custom domain, also known as a business domain. When you add a custom domain, you need to agree to the Microsoft Online Services Agreement.

To help you choose which of these two options best suits your needs, consult the table in the Choose the right Microsoft 365 business subscription section of this article.

If you don't accept the updated terms for Simplified Sign-up or add a custom business domain, your subscription doesn't automatically renew. At the end of your current subscription contract, you lose access to the Microsoft 365 apps. You can retain your OneDrive data for 90 days during which time you can copy data from it. The data is deleted after the 90-day period.

Option 2: Use a custom business domain

With option 2, you create a new custom business domain or attach an existing custom business domain:

• Use your domain with Microsoft 365 email services. This type of email is referred to as a branded business email and helps identify your organization in email communications.

• Users sign in to Microsoft 365 using domain-based email addresses.

• You get access to the full suite of features in your Microsoft 365 Business subscription. Some features might require technical steps to be completed before you can use them, such as attaching a custom domain.

To add a domain and create a business email account, see the following articles:

• Set up Microsoft 365 Business Standard.
• Add a domain to Microsoft 365.
• Finish setting up.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

For Microsoft 365 Business Standard frequently asked questions, see Microsoft 365 Business Standard FAQ.

Related articles

• Small business help & learning.
• Set up Microsoft 365 Business Standard with a new or existing domain.
• Invite users to Microsoft 365 Business Standard.