Connect Microsoft 365 to the dashboard and approve permissions

The dashboard needs your approval in Microsoft before it can manage your Microsoft 365 users, licences, mailboxes and devices. This article tells you how to give that approval, what it covers, and how to remove it.

Before you start

• You must be an owner or IT manager of your business in the dashboard. Other roles do not see the Microsoft 365 access card. See What each dashboard role can do.
• You need a Microsoft account that is a Global Administrator for your business. Do not use an administrator account from a different business.
• To connect Microsoft 365, you must sign in to the dashboard with your authenticator app. This applies on the Licences tab and the People tab. If the Licences tab shows Set up your authenticator, set it up first. Then sign in again. If you open the People tab without it, the dashboard takes you to authenticator setup or asks you to sign in again.
• IT Solver must link your Microsoft 365 account to the dashboard first. If the access card on the People tab shows a message instead of a sign-in button, contact us. An example is IT Solver must link this Microsoft 365 account before you can grant access. If you are moving to IT Solver, see Move your existing Microsoft 365 to IT Solver.

Connect Microsoft 365

1. Sign in at dashboard.itsolver.net.
2. In the sidebar, select Microsoft 365.
3. Find the Microsoft 365 access card. You can also find it on the People tab.
4. To see what you approve, select Learn more.
5. Select Sign in to Microsoft. A Microsoft window opens. If your browser blocks pop-up windows, Microsoft opens in the same tab.
6. Sign in with your Global Administrator account.
7. Read the permissions that Microsoft shows for the IT Solver MSP Dashboard app, then select Accept.
8. The Microsoft window closes and the card shows Checking access…. When the card shows Verified or Applying, the page reloads by itself.

If the card shows Applying, Microsoft is still applying the access. This can take a few minutes. Keep the page open. The card checks again every 15 seconds. After about 5 minutes, the card stops checking and asks you to sign in again.

If the card shows Microsoft did not confirm access., read the message on the card. Then select Check again, or select Sign in to Microsoft again.

If the card says Sign in again to approve access for new dashboard features., IT Solver added a new dashboard feature that needs more access. Select Sign in to Microsoft and approve again.

What the approval covers

Microsoft approves all access set up for the IT Solver MSP Dashboard, not only the task you are doing. It gives ongoing ability to:

• Create, update, disable, or remove user accounts and change licences.
• Change passwords, sign-in settings, and authentication methods.
• Read BitLocker recovery keys.
• Read and change which countries people can sign in from.
• Add and change Microsoft 365 domains.
• Read usage reports and change reporting settings.
• Manage groups, group membership, and directory synchronisation settings.
• Read SharePoint site details, manage who can open each team site, and set a site to public or private.
• Manage Exchange Online, including supported mailbox, recipient, and email-signing work.
• Assign or remove Microsoft Entra administrator roles.

IT Solver uses this access only for approved dashboard work.

Finish extra Microsoft setup

Some tasks need one more approval. For these tasks, the dashboard gives the IT Solver MSP Dashboard app a Microsoft administrator role. The dashboard shows a page that explains the approval before it opens Microsoft. Use a Global Administrator account each time.

Password reset and handover

1. On the People tab, find Finish Microsoft setup.
2. Select Finish setup.
3. Read the page, then select Continue to Microsoft.
4. Sign in with your Global Administrator account and approve the access.
5. Microsoft returns you to the dashboard. The dashboard then gives the app the User Administrator role.
6. Wait until you see Microsoft setup is complete. The dashboard checks every 30 seconds for up to 15 minutes. Then refresh the page. The task you started does not run by itself, so start it again.

If the checks stop before Microsoft confirms the role, select Check again.

Shared mailbox setup

1. Open the Shared mailbox tab.
2. If you see Connect Microsoft 365, select Connect and approve the access.
3. If you see Exchange setup needs attention, select Finish Exchange setup or Connect Exchange.
4. Read the page, then select Continue to Microsoft.
5. Sign in with your Global Administrator account and approve the access.

Finish Exchange setup gives the app the Exchange Recipient Administrator role. You also need this setup before you can remove a person who left. See Create a shared mailbox and give people access and When a staff member leaves: offboard them in Microsoft 365.

Email signing (DKIM)

When you turn on email authentication for a domain, the dashboard can show Connect Microsoft permissions. Select it and approve the access. See Turn on email authentication (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) in the dashboard.

Why some tabs are missing

The Microsoft 365 page has these tabs: Licences, People, SharePoint, Shared mailbox, Conditional Access and BitLocker.

• No tabs: your Microsoft 365 account is not linked to the dashboard yet. If you are moving your existing Microsoft 365 to IT Solver, finish the steps in Move your existing Microsoft 365 to IT Solver. Otherwise, contact us.
• No BitLocker tab: only owners and IT managers see it. See Find a BitLocker recovery key in the dashboard.
• Your business shares Microsoft 365 with another business: in Settings, under Connected apps, the Microsoft 365 row says Microsoft 365 access is managed from the other business. That row has no Disconnect button. Connect, disconnect and manage people from that business. You need access to that business in the dashboard. The BitLocker tab shows only on that business.

Disconnect Microsoft 365

1. Select your account menu, then select Settings.
2. Go to Connected apps.
3. In the Microsoft 365 row, select Disconnect.
4. Confirm the message.

Disconnect stops the dashboard using Microsoft 365. Microsoft still keeps the approval. To remove IT Solver's access in Microsoft too, a Global Administrator must delete the IT Solver MSP Dashboard app in Microsoft Entra under Enterprise applications. If you did extra setup, the administrator can also remove the roles that the app has.

When you disconnect, you cannot manage people, licences or mailboxes in the dashboard until you connect again.

Examples

You want to reset a staff password, but the option is not there

The People tab shows Finish Microsoft setup and Allow password reset and handover.

To fix it: do the steps in Password reset and handover. Wait for Microsoft setup is complete, refresh the page, then reset the password.

Your bookkeeper cannot find the Microsoft 365 access card

Your bookkeeper has the Billing only role. Only owners and IT managers see the Microsoft 365 access card and the People tab.

To fix it: an owner or IT manager signs in to the dashboard and does the steps in Connect Microsoft 365.

The card stays on Applying, then asks you to sign in again

Microsoft did not finish applying all the access within a few minutes.

The card says Sign in again to approve access for new dashboard features.

To fix it: select Sign in to Microsoft and approve again with a Global Administrator account.

You approved with the wrong Microsoft account

You signed in with an administrator from a different business, or with a user who is not a Global Administrator. The card shows Microsoft did not confirm access.

To fix it: sign out of Microsoft in your browser. Select Sign in to Microsoft again and use the Global Administrator account for your business.

Still have a problem?

Questions? Email support@itsolver.net or phone 07 3123 6000.