When someone leaves, their laptop comes back and their email is disabled. Their software licenses often stay exactly where they were. Seats remain assigned to departed employees for months, sometimes until the next renewal locks them in for another year. It is one of the easiest forms of waste to prevent, and one of the most common.
It is also a security problem: an account that still has a license is often an account that still has access.
Where leaver licenses come from
The gap is between disabling access and releasing the license. Many SaaS products bill for assigned seats whether or not the account can sign in, and many SAM teams only discover the leftover seats when preparing the next renewal.
Why it happens
IT learns about leavers late, or only for the main systems.
Applications outside single sign-on are not touched by the identity process.
Teams keep the license "just in case" because they are unsure what happens to the leaver's files.
Each application has an admin, but nobody checks across all of them.
Build a joiner-mover-leaver process for licenses
Assign licenses by persona, through groups in your identity provider, so new starters receive exactly what their role needs, and start from the reclaimed pool.
When someone changes role, review their licenses. Remove what the old role needed and add what the new one needs. Movers often accumulate licenses over years.
On the last day, remove the user from license groups, release seats in each application, and transfer data ownership. Record the release in your SAM system.
An offboarding checklist for licenses
Leaver checklist
Check for leftovers every month
Even with a good process, some licenses slip through. Once a month, compare the list of licensed users in your largest products with your HR leavers list or disabled identity accounts. Anything that matches is a license to release.
How MI One helps
Frequently asked questions
Does disabling an account remove the license?
Usually not. Many products keep the seat assigned and billed until it is explicitly released.
How quickly should leaver licenses be released?
On the last working day for access, and within the same week for licenses.
What about contractors?
Treat them like employees: assign licenses with an end date, and review them when the contract ends.
Who should own the monthly sweep?
The SAM function, with application owners responsible for releasing seats in their products.