A warehouse with three shifts and a single terminal. A shop counter with sales assistants who rotate through it. A production floor where several operators log movements from the same screen. In these cases, the question isn't «Essentials or Premium», it's something else: do I licence each person, or the device itself?
That second option exists, and it's called a Device licence. Here's when it pays off and when it doesn't.
What a Device licence actually is
It's the only Business Central licence that's tied to a device, not a person: a fixed warehouse terminal, a barcode scanner, a POS till or a shop-floor station. Anyone can log in from that device with the same capabilities as a full user, but only while they're working from it.
In other words: the licence covers the role, not whoever happens to be filling it on a given shift.
When it pays off against named licences
The maths is simple: if several people pass through the same physical role in different shifts and all of them need to post movements (not just view data), a single Device licence per terminal usually works out cheaper than a named licence for every person who rotates through it.
| Situation | With named licences | With a Device licence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 warehouse terminal, 3 shifts, 3 different operators | 3 full licences | 1 Device licence |
| 1 POS till, 4 sales assistants rotating weekly | 4 full licences | 1 Device licence |
| 1 person permanently on a role, no rotation | 1 full licence | Doesn't pay off: works out pricier than a named licence |
That last row is the key one: if the same person always works a given role, a Device licence adds nothing and is likely to cost more than a normal named licence. It only pays off when there's real rotation of people over the same device.
Typical cases where it fits
- Shift-based warehouses. Picking terminals or barcode scanners shared by the logistics team throughout the day.
- Point of sale. A physical till where several assistants rotate; we see this a lot when integrating Business Central with point of sale (POS) solutions.
- Production floors. Fixed screens by the line where different operators log times, consumption or production entries depending on the shift.
- Goods receiving. A single checkpoint used by morning-shift and afternoon-shift staff alike.
What a Device licence doesn't solve
It doesn't give one person remote access or access from several devices: it stays tied to a specific physical device, not to a person connecting from wherever they are. If what you need is for one person to log in from their office computer and also from their phone, that's a normal named licence, not a Device one.
It's not a «cheaper licence for no reason» either: if a role has a single, fixed occupant, just give them a licence per person directly.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Device licence work alongside Essentials and Premium?
Yes, with either plan, just as it does with Team Member. The rule about not mixing Essentials and Premium in the same environment only affects full users against each other: if your company manufactures and needs Premium for full users, your Device licences in the warehouse or the till keep working exactly the same, unaffected by the plan. This means you can have, say, two full users on Premium in the office, several Team Members for management and sales, and a Device licence on the warehouse terminal, all in the same environment with no conflict between them. It's the most common combination in companies with production and a shared warehouse.
Can I have several Device licences in the same company?
Yes, there's no limit on how many Device licences a company can have: you contract one per shared physical device that needs it, whether that's two or twenty. It's common in companies with several warehouses or several production lines to have one Device licence per fixed terminal, with no relationship between them beyond all belonging to the same Business Central subscription. The devices don't need to be the same type either: you can combine Device for warehouse terminals, Device for POS tills and Device for shop-floor screens within the same company, each one covering the physical role it corresponds to wherever there's real rotation of people.
What capabilities does a Device licence have: Team Member's or a full user's?
A full user's, not Team Member's: whoever works from a device with a Device licence can create and post real documents — warehouse movements, POS sales, production entries — not just view and approve as happens with Team Member. This is the underlying reason it makes sense for operational roles and not for roles that only need to check information: if the work from that device were limited to looking at data, a Team Member licence per person would pay off more than a Device licence per device. A Device licence only makes economic sense when the real work involves creating documents and there's also rotation of several people over the same physical role.
In summary
A Device licence makes sense in one very specific case: a shared physical device used by several people who need to post movements, not just check data. Outside that scenario, a normal named licence is the right call.
If you have a warehouse, POS or production floor with shared roles and aren't sure which combination pays off, tell us how your shifts are organised and we'll tell you exactly how many licences of each type you need.