Microsoft for Startups milestone not unlocked since August — tickets closed by the automated evaluation, no human review

Request a manual milestone evaluation in the still-open November 4 case and ask Microsoft for Startups Program Support to determine the qualifying start date and workload count; do not open further duplicates.

What to add to the existing case

Reply through the case page or its email thread and use wording such as:

Subject: Manual review of Microsoft for Startups milestone evaluation

Please route this case to Microsoft for Startups Program Support for manual review of our milestone status.

Our account is currently at the $5,000 milestone. Cost Management shows at least seven Azure services with more than $1 of usage during the claimed continuous period, but the automated diagnostic starts “verifiable activity” on October 5.

Please:

1. Confirm the date on which the 60-day workload clock started.
2. Identify which services are currently recognized as distinct qualifying workloads.
3. Identify any day or workload that interrupted the continuous qualification period.
4. Confirm whether business/domain verification or another eligibility check is pending.
5. Manually review or retrigger the milestone evaluation if the qualifying usage was not recognized.
6. Investigate why Your Microsoft Team > Get program support is absent from the Program Overview page.

Attached are daily Cost Management exports covering August through November, screenshots of the missing support control and diagnostic result, and the subscription/program identifiers.

Microsoft for Startups Program Support owns startup-credit activation and usage questions, business/domain verification, and program portal problems. Azure product or billing support is a different team and is not the primary owner of milestone eligibility.^1^

Include evidence in daily, rather than monthly, granularity. Also include the November 4 case number and the closure messages from the duplicate cases, but do not create another request.

How the milestone is measured

For the Standard Program:

• $25,000 milestone: at least five Azure workloads for 60 continuous days.
• $50,000 milestone: at least seven workloads for 60 continuous days.
• Each workload must have at least $1 in spend, and the required workload count must remain qualified throughout the 60-day period.
• Evaluation uses sustained usage rather than a one-time spike, and upgrades are automatic once the requirements are recognized.^2^

Therefore, the published rule is based on qualifying Azure-service workloads and sustained spend—not Azure Activity Log resource-change events. However, the public documentation does not explain what the diagnostic label “verifiable activity” means, nor does it map Cost Management service labels such as Foundry Models and Foundry Tools to separate milestone workloads.

Your monthly totals strongly justify review, but they cannot by themselves establish the exact 60-day completion date. Program Support must confirm:

• whether those Foundry categories count as one or two unique services;
• whether each qualifying workload crossed $1 early enough in the period;
• whether adjustments, excluded usage, subscription placement, or service classification changed the recognized count.

Exporting daily usage by Service name and Subscription will make any interruption or classification discrepancy visible.

Reaching Program Support when the button is missing

The current documented route is:

1. Azure portal
2. Microsoft for Startups > Program Overview
3. Overview
4. Your Microsoft Team > Get program support^1^

Since that control is absent, the correct next action is to have its absence handled in the existing case as a program-portal issue.

There is also a portal-version distinction:

• If you joined before May 29, 2026: sign in to the Microsoft for Startups Portal, select the ? icon in the upper-right, and choose Submit a Support Ticket. That portal is documented as the primary experience for enrollments before that date.^3^
• If you joined on or after May 29, 2026: do not rely on that legacy route. Continue with the November 4 case and request routing to Program Support plus restoration of the missing Get program support control.

Possible eligibility blockers

Business verification is required to unlock the $5,000 milestone. Because you already have that level, it was completed at some point, but Program Support should still check whether a later business/domain verification or compliance status is pending. Progression considers service adoption, sustained usage, business verification and overall program eligibility.^2^

Also note the time limit: under Standard Program benefits, the $5,000 milestone is available for up to 180 days after business verification while the startup works toward the next milestone. If requirements are not recognized within that period, the sponsorship converts to pay-as-you-go; unused credits are not extended.^4^

Until Program Support confirms the milestone, plan for that documented pay-as-you-go transition and set Azure budgets or cost alerts accordingly.

References

1. Microsoft for Startups Program Support | Microsoft Learn
2. Unlock additional benefits with the Microsoft for Startups standard ...
3. Microsoft for Startups Portal
4. Microsoft for Startups – Frequently Asked Questions