Each of your main vendors bills on its own schedule, and none of them waits for your client to pay you. Microsoft holds you to an annual commitment once a seven-day window closes, Datto bills monthly in advance with invoices due on receipt, and Bitdefender expects payment whether or not you've collected from your clients. You can't rewrite their terms, but you can line your own billing up with each of them.
In this article
The short version
- Once Microsoft's seven-day window closes, you owe annual NCE seats for the whole term, and billing frequency can only change at renewal.
- Datto Unified Backup, Datto RMM and Autotask bill monthly in advance and fall due on receipt, and Kaseya adds 2% a month once an invoice is 30 days overdue.
- Bitdefender invoices on last month's active users, adds 1% a month on late payments and can stop access once you're more than 14 days overdue.
- In the example, a 25-user client at £2,000 a month costs £7,987.50 in vendor bills before its first payment lands on 30 November.
- Invoicing the month ahead and collecting by direct debit on the 1st would bring that first £2,000 in on 1 October, in the same week as Datto's bill.
When each vendor bills you
Microsoft NCE. Annual New Commerce terms can be billed upfront, as one charge for the year, or monthly. Either way you're committed: once the seven-day window after purchase closes, you owe the seats for the whole term and can't reduce them. You can only switch billing frequency at renewal, so that's your one chance a year to change when the cash leaves. If you buy through a distributor, you pay on its terms, which can mean a card or direct debit on file that's charged on the due date.
Datto and Kaseya. Datto Unified Backup, Datto RMM and Autotask are all billed monthly in advance and due on receipt, with RMM and Autotask charged on the higher of your committed licence count or last month's actual use. Kaseya adds 2% a month once an invoice is 30 days overdue, and committed terms auto-renew unless you opt out 30 days before the end. Ending a committed term early makes the remaining fees due at once, so a client who leaves mid-term doesn't end your commitment.
Bitdefender. Monthly subscriptions are invoiced in the first week of each month, in arrears, on the active users its console counted the month before, and yearly subscriptions when you order them. Bitdefender expects payment whether or not you've collected from your own clients, adds 1% a month on late payments and can stop access once you're more than 14 days overdue. Its active user count may not match the seat count you invoice, and any difference comes out of your margin.
What one new client costs before it pays you
Say you sign a 25-user client at £2,000 a month, going live on 1 October, invoiced at the end of each month on 30-day terms. You buy its Microsoft seats in late September on an annual commitment at £625 a month, billed upfront. Datto backup is £200 a month and Bitdefender £87.50.
- Late September: Microsoft charges £7,500 for the year.
- 1 October and 1 November: Datto bills £200 each time, due on receipt.
- Early November: Bitdefender invoices £87.50 for October.
- 30 November: the client pays its first £2,000.
By the time the first payment lands, you've paid out £7,987.50 for this one client, before any staff time. If the client leaves after six months, the remaining Microsoft seats and any committed Datto months are still yours to pay.
What to change in your own billing
Mirror the Microsoft commitment. Put a minimum term in your client contract that matches the 12-month seats, or an exit clause that covers committed licence costs if the client leaves early. For clients who'll agree, invoice the licence element annually in advance, a few weeks before the seats are bought, so the client's money arrives first. For clients who won't, choose monthly billing for the annual term at your next renewal, which keeps the commitment but spreads the cash.
Bill in advance to match Datto. Datto charges for the coming month on the 1st. If you invoice the client for the month ahead, with the collection date on the invoice as the advance notice, and collect by direct debit on the 1st, the client's money and Datto's bill arrive in the same week. In the example above, the first £2,000 would land on 1 October instead of 30 November.
Bill usage on the vendor's count. Bitdefender charges on last month's active users and Datto RMM on the higher of committed or actual use, so a seat count you fixed at signup leaves any growth with you. Invoice variable usage monthly in arrears on the same numbers. Adfin collects by direct debit with the amount free to change each month under one mandate, so a client who adds five users doesn't have to sign anything new.
Take the mandate during onboarding. If it's in place before go-live, the first collection runs on day one, ideally before Microsoft's seven-day window closes.
Chase anyone who still pays late, because Bitdefender can cut access at 14 days overdue whether or not your client has paid you. Adfin's AI Customer Agents chase over email, SMS and WhatsApp on the schedule you set, from your own email domain, and can add statutory late fees where your terms allow, with you approving the rules they follow.
Common questions
Can I cancel Microsoft NCE seats if a client leaves? Only within seven days of purchase or renewal, with a full refund inside 24 hours and a prorated one after that. Outside the window, the seats are owed for the rest of the term.
Does monthly billing change my Microsoft commitment? No. It only changes when you pay; the annual commitment is identical whether billed upfront or monthly.
Do I have 60 days to pay Microsoft? Only if Microsoft bills you directly. If you buy through a distributor, you pay on the distributor's terms.
What happens if I pay a Datto or Kaseya invoice late? Invoices are due on receipt, with 2% a month added once an invoice is more than 30 days overdue, and the service can be suspended after notice.
Will Bitdefender wait if my client hasn't paid me? No. Bitdefender expects payment whether or not you collect from your clients, and can stop access after 14 days overdue.
Can direct debit handle seat counts that change every month? Yes. One mandate can collect a different amount each time, as long as you give the client advance notice of each amount.
Sources
- Microsoft Learn - Manage term duration and billing frequency (accurate as of September 2026) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/customers/billing-frequency-changes
- Microsoft Learn - New Commerce Experience cancellation policy (accurate as of September 2026) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/customers/new-commerce-cancellation-policy
- Datto - Datto Unified Backup Terms of Use (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.datto.com/legal/datto-unified-backup/
- Kaseya - Kaseya Master Agreement (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.kaseya.com/legal/kaseya-master-agreement/
- Bitdefender - xSP Terms and Conditions for MSPs (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.bitdefender.com/en-us/site/view/xsp-terms-and-conditions-for-msps
- Adfin - Next-generation direct debit (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.adfin.com/direct-debit-payments
