Microsoft Office Home and Student has a secret that may bite you. Why? Because you may be using it illegally without knowing it

You see, Microsoft Office Home and Student cannot be used for work activities. And if you are, you shouldn't.

Microsoft stipulate that Microsoft Office Home and Student "may not be used for commercial, non-profit, or revenue-generating activities."

To quote Eric Ligman from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group, "It is the edition for HOME and STUDENT use, NOT business use."

Yet many people are using Microsoft Office Home and Student for their business use, whether that is commercial work or charity activities.

They may have been told it is okay to do so. But it isn't okay to do so. In fact it is illegal. It is illegal because it violates the License Terms of Microsoft Office Home and Student.

So how did this situation come about?

I'll give you two very good reasons:

1. People don't usually read software licenses. (We are somewhat unique in that respect. We make it our job to know what the license says.)

2. The license is hidden away.

To find the License Terms in Office Home and Student 2010 you have to open Office Home and Student 2010 and go to: Microsoft Word >> File >> Help >> Microsoft Software License Terms.

To find the License Terms in Office Home and Student 2013 you have to open Office Home and Student 2013 and go to: Microsoft Word >> File >> Account >> About Word >> View the Microsoft Software License Terms.

To find the License Terms in Office Home and Student 2016 you have to open Office Home and Student 2016 and go to: Microsoft Word >> File >> Account >> About Word >> View the Microsoft Software License Terms.

And then, once you have opened the License Terms, you have to scroll down the page, until you find something like this:

In Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010:

MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS
MICROSOFT OFFICE 2010 DESKTOP APPLICATION SOFTWARE
HOME AND STUDENT SOFTWARE. The software may not be used for commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities.

In Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013:

MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
MICROSOFT OFFICE 2013 DESKTOP APPLICATION SOFTWARE
H. HOME AND STUDENT SOFTWARE
"Home and Student" edition software may not be used for commercial, non-profit, or revenue-generating activities.

In Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016:

Microsoft License Terms
OFFICE 2016 DESKTOP
12. Limited rights versions.
You may not use the following versions of the software for commercial, non-profit, or revenue-generating activities.
Home and Student.

How we can help

We offer two editions of Microsoft that can be used for commercial, non-profit, and revenue-generating activities.

What is more, they are discounted for charities and churches, their staff and volunteers, as well as for schools and preschools.

At number one is Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus, the most powerful edition of Microsoft Office. It contains everything you need: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, and OneNote.

Slightly cheaper is Microsoft Office 2016 Standard. It contains Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and OneNote.

Both come with perpetual licenses. What is a perpetual license? Well, there are no monthly or annual payments with a perpetual license. You only pay the once, and you are then able to use the software for as long as you like. This means, for example, if you get a new computer you can transfer the software to it and continue to use it on the new computer.

Plus you can install the software on two computers (so long as you are the main user of both computers and as long as at least one of the computers is a laptop).

We also supply earlier editions such as Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus and Microsoft Office 2013 Professional Plus. As well as favourites such as Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Publisher. All discounted. You will find these and more on our website.