Adjust Billable Users in Microsoft 365

In Microsoft 365 environments, INKY creates three groups during installation to control user protection and billing: Include, Exclude, and Journal. You can manage group membership directly from the INKY Dashboard.

Understanding the Groups

• Include

  • Purpose: Users in this group are protected by INKY

  • Billing Impact: Counted toward bill (except shared mailboxes)

• Exclude

  • Purpose: Users in this group are removed from protection

  • Billing Impact: Not counted

• Journal

  • Purpose: User receiving journal copies of emails for initial analysis

  • Billing Impact: Not currently billed but will be looked at in the future.

How billing is calculated: Include group members minus Exclude group members = Billed users. The user must be in both the Include and Exclude group for the delta to count.

Managing Groups in the INKY Dashboard

The easiest way to manage group membership is through the INKY Dashboard:

1. Go to Admin Center → Tenant Operations → Group Management

2. Use the table to view all users and their current group assignments

3. Filter by Status (Active/Inactive), Type (User/Shared), or Groups

4. Search for specific users by name or email

5. Add users to groups using the "Add to Group" dropdown

6. Remove users from groups by clicking the X on the group badge

Add a User to a Group

1. Find the user in the table (use search or filters)

2. In the "Add to Group" column, select the group from the dropdown

3. The user is immediately added to the group

Remove a User from a Group

1. Find the user in the table

2. Click the X on the group badge you want to remove

3. The user is immediately removed from the group

Common Scenarios

Protect a New User

Add them to the Include group. They'll be protected and billed starting the next day.

Stop Protecting a User

Either remove them from the Include group or add them to the Exclude group. They'll stop being protected and billed.

Exclude Service Accounts

Add service accounts to the Exclude group to prevent unnecessary billing while keeping them in your Include group for organizational purposes.

Shared Mailboxes: Protected but Not Billed

INKY automatically protects shared mailboxes but does not count them toward your bill. This means:

• Included Users count may include shared mailboxes

• Billed Users count excludes shared mailboxes

• Your group membership count may be higher than your billed user count

Example: Your Include group has 110 members (100 user mailboxes + 10 shared mailboxes). INKY protects all 110 mailboxes, but you're only billed for 100 users.

You do not need to add shared mailboxes to an Exclude group—they're automatically excluded from billing while still receiving protection.

Important Notes

• Timing: Changes to groups are recorded overnight. Make changes at least one day before billing snapshots.

• Nested groups: INKY evaluates direct group membership only. Nested groups inside the Include group are not supported—members of nested groups will not be counted or protected. You must add users directly to the Include group.

• Auto-sync: If auto-sync is enabled for the Include group, you cannot manually remove users from it.

Verify Your Configuration

After making changes, verify the user count in the INKY Dashboard:

1. Wait until the next day for changes to take effect

2. Go to Dashboard → Overview

3. Check the Protected Users count

4. Compare against your expected count (remember shared mailboxes are protected but not billed)

Related: Understanding INKY Billing