There's marketing budget sitting in your Microsoft account right now that you've already earned. And if you don't spend it on the right things, in the right window, with the right paperwork, a good chunk of it just disappears.
That's not a scare tactic. One widely-cited figure puts unclaimed co-op and MDF across the US channel at up to $35 billion a year, and separate research suggests roughly 60% of MDF goes unused every quarter. Money that partners earned, then quietly handed back.
The frustrating part? Most of it doesn't go unclaimed because the campaigns were bad. It goes unclaimed because nobody checked whether the campaign qualified before they spent - and by the time they came to claim, the evidence trail had holes in it.
So this guide answers the question you actually need answering when you're scoping a campaign: will Microsoft pay for this? We'll cover what qualifies, what doesn't, exactly what evidence Microsoft asks for, and how to write a campaign brief that stays eligible from day one.
One caveat before we dig in. Microsoft sets the rules, and they change every fiscal year and vary by programme. Treat this as the practical lay of the land, not gospel - always check your current programme guide for the numbers that apply to you.
Co-op vs MDF vs MCI, in one paragraph
Here's the whole thing without the jargon. MCI (Microsoft Commerce Incentives) is the umbrella - the overall incentive framework your funds live inside. Co-op funds are money you've already earned, calculated as a share of your Microsoft revenue (commonly a 60% rebate / 40% co-op split), which you claim back by running approved marketing and then proving you did it. MDF (Marketing Development Funds) are discretionary - money Microsoft agrees to put towards a campaign before you've earned it, usually on a 50:50 cost-share, because they want to back a specific push. Co-op rewards what you've done. MDF backs what you're about to do.
| Co-op funds | MDF (Marketing Development Funds) | MCI (Microsoft Commerce Incentives) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Reimbursement for marketing you run, earned off your Microsoft revenue | Discretionary funding for a specific, forward-looking campaign | The overarching incentive framework co-op sits within |
| When you get it | Accrues automatically as you transact; spend it after it's earned | Applied for and approved before you spend | It's the programme, not a fund |
| Typical funding model | ~60% rebate / 40% co-op split | ~50:50 cost-share (up to 100% for some managed partners) | Sets the rates and levers |
| Who decides | You direct it, within eligible categories | Microsoft approves the proposal | Microsoft |
| Biggest risk | Forfeited if you don't use it in the usage window | Not guaranteed; has to match Microsoft's priorities | Enrolment gaps stop you earning at all |
The difference that trips people up: co-op is yours to direct, it accrues automatically, and it expires if you don't use it. MDF has to be applied for and approved up front, and it's never a given. Different money, different rules, different deadlines - treat them as one thing and you'll miss something.
If MDF is where your head's at, we've broken down MDF-eligible campaigns separately. The rest of this piece leans on co-op, because that's the pot most partners leave on the table.
Campaign types that typically qualify
Co-op is pinned to three broad activity categories: demand generation, market development, and partner skilling (sometimes called partner readiness). If your campaign clearly sits in one of those and has a genuine Microsoft product focus, you're most of the way there.
Here's the version that actually helps when you're scoping - the campaign types we get asked about most, and where they tend to land.
| Campaign type | Usually eligible? | Category it fits | The condition that decides it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars (Microsoft 365, Azure, Security, Copilot) | Yes | Demand generation | Microsoft product is the topic, not a footnote |
| Paid digital ads / paid social | Yes | Demand generation | Creative features Microsoft; keep dated screenshots + invoice |
| Customer events (Modern Work, cloud migration, AI) | Yes | Market development | Registration/attendee list + Microsoft branding on the day |
| Content (whitepapers, landing pages, guides) | Yes | Demand generation | Content is about Microsoft services, published and datable |
| Sales-enablement assets | Often | Market development / skilling | Built to drive Microsoft pipeline, not generic sales collateral |
| Certifications & training | Yes | Partner skilling | Microsoft certs/readiness; keep the completion certificates |
The thread running through every row is the Microsoft component. These qualify only when Microsoft is the clear subject - the product, the solution area, the reason the customer turned up. A webinar "sponsored by" your brand that mentions Azure once isn't a Microsoft campaign. A webinar about moving to Azure is. Same event, completely different claim outcome.
Webinars are the workhorse here, and they're the thing we get asked to run more than anything else - which is why we've got a whole approach to webinar promotion built around keeping the activity claimable, not just filling seats.
Campaign types that typically don't
The rejections are usually predictable, and they cluster around a handful of patterns.
Anything without a clear Microsoft focus
A generic brand-awareness campaign, a "who we are" advert, a piece of content that never names a Microsoft product - none of it flies, however good the marketing is.
Internal-only activity with no customer objective
Kitting out your own team, staff socials, internal comms - if there's no line of sight to a customer or to pipeline, it's not marketing in Microsoft's eyes.
Activity outside the usage window
Run the campaign in the wrong six months and it doesn't matter how eligible it looks - the funds for that period have already lapsed.
Costs that aren't really marketing
Entertainment, hospitality that isn't tied to an eligible event, hardware, general overheads. If you'd struggle to explain how it built Microsoft demand, so will your claim.
Content you can't prove is yours or is even live
A landing page that's already been taken down, an ad with no screenshot, an event with no attendee list. The activity might have been perfectly eligible - but with no evidence, it's unclaimable, which brings us neatly to the bit most guides skip.
The evidence trail: what to keep from day one
This is the section that actually gets you paid, and it's the one competitors tend to dodge.
Proof of execution - "POE" in the paperwork - is Microsoft's way of saying show us you did what you claimed. It's required on every co-op claim, and what counts as proof depends entirely on the activity. Here's what Microsoft looks for:
Paid media
the third-party invoice, plus a dated screenshot of the live ad or campaign.
Events
a registration or attendee list, plus a photo that clearly shows Microsoft branding.
Digital content
the live URL and a dated screenshot.
Training and certifications
the certificate of completion.
On top of that: a pre-approval ID (Microsoft reviews your marketing materials up front and issues an ID), and either a third-party invoice or a Certification Service Report. Claims also carry an estimated-reach figure, so keep your impression numbers to hand.
The "from day one" bit is the whole point, because you can't manufacture most of this after the fact. You can't screenshot an ad that's stopped running. You can't produce an attendee list for an event where nobody registered. You can't date a landing page that's already been pulled down. The evidence has to be captured as the campaign runs - which means it belongs in the plan, not in a panic the week the claiming window closes.
And keep your originals for 24 months after the activity date. Microsoft reserves the right to ask for the source documents at any point, and "we've lost it" isn't a defence.
How to scope a campaign brief so it stays eligible
Eligibility isn't something you check at the end. It's something you build into the brief from day one. Six things to lock in before anyone spends a penny:
Name the Microsoft product or solution area, explicitly
Not "cloud" - Azure. Not "security" in the abstract - Microsoft Security, or Copilot, or Modern Work. If a reviewer can't see the Microsoft component in ten seconds, tighten it.
Tie it to a customer or demand-gen objective
Every eligible activity points at pipeline. Write the objective into the brief so it's obvious the campaign exists to reach customers, not to serve an internal need.
Match it to a category up front
Demand generation, market development, or partner skilling. If you can't confidently say which one it is, that's a flag to sort before you build it.
Get pre-approval before you spend
Submit your marketing materials, get the pre-approval ID, then commission. Doing it the other way round is how good campaigns become unclaimable ones.
Build evidence capture into the plan
Decide now who screenshots the live ads, who exports the registration list, who photographs the branding at the event. Put names against those jobs. Evidence you plan for is evidence you'll actually have.
Keep it inside the usage window
Line the campaign dates up against your current usage period so execution and spend both land where they need to. A brilliant campaign in the wrong month claims nothing.
Do those six and the claim more or less writes itself. Skip them and you're reverse-engineering eligibility from a campaign that was never scoped for it - which rarely ends well.
Who submits the claim - and what a marketing agency can and can't do
Straight answer: the partner submits the claim. Always. Only someone inside your business with the Incentives admin or Incentives user role in Partner Center can see the balance, create the claim, and upload the proof. An agency can't log in and file it for you, and an agency can't be the claiming entity. If anyone tells you they'll "handle the whole claim" on your behalf, be careful - that's not how the mechanics work.
So what's an agency actually for? Plenty, as it happens. We scope the campaign so it qualifies in the first place, run it properly, and hand you a clean evidence pack that maps to exactly what Microsoft asks for - invoices, dated screenshots, URLs, attendee lists, the lot. You submit; we make sure there's nothing to reject.
There's a genuinely useful wrinkle here, too. Because POE usually needs a third-party invoice, your agency's invoice for the work often is the invoice you claim against. Use a specialist who knows the Microsoft ecosystem and you get the marketing, the paperwork, and the qualifying invoice in one - which is a large part of what getting your marketing into Microsoft properly is about. The division of labour is simple: the agency makes the activity eligible and evidenced; the partner clicks submit.
Common reasons claims get rejected
Most rejections come down to the same short list. Learn it once and you'll dodge nearly all of them:
An invoice with no proof the activity happened
The cost is documented, the execution isn't. Microsoft needs both.
No clear Microsoft focus
Screenshots or content that don't obviously centre on a Microsoft product get bounced.
Missing attendee or registration lists for events
A photo alone rarely does it.
No pre-approval ID
Materials that were never approved up front are a common, avoidable knock-back.
Evidence dated outside the campaign window
Your proof has to fall between the campaign start and end dates - a screenshot from the wrong week fails the check.
Late submission
This is the brutal one. Miss the claiming deadline and the claim is automatically rejected, with no appeal path. The FY26 claiming deadlines, for reference, are 15 August 2026 for H1 and 15 February 2027 for H2 - though yours can vary by programme, so confirm them in Partner Center.
Worth clearing up one thing that looks like a rejection but isn't: if your co-op earnings come in under the $10,000 threshold for the period, the funds aren't lost - they're converted to rebate and paid out automatically. You earned them; they just came back as a rebate rather than a marketing pot. Different outcome, and a lot of partners panic when they don't need to.
FAQ: co-op and MDF eligible campaigns
What is the difference between Co-op and MDF funds?
Co-op funds are earned - money that accrues as a share of your Microsoft revenue (commonly a 60/40 rebate-to-co-op split), which you claim back by running approved marketing and proving it. MDF is discretionary - funding Microsoft agrees to put towards a specific campaign before you've earned it, usually on a 50:50 cost-share. Co-op rewards past performance; MDF invests ahead of it.
What kinds of marketing activities qualify for Microsoft Co-op funds?
Activities that fall under demand generation, market development, or partner skilling, with a clear Microsoft product focus. In practice that means webinars, paid digital and social ads, customer events, content like whitepapers and landing pages, sales-enablement assets, and Microsoft certifications or training - as long as Microsoft is genuinely the subject.
Can a marketing agency submit a Co-op or MDF claim for us?
No. Only the partner can submit - specifically someone with the Incentives admin or user role in Partner Center. An agency's job is to scope the activity so it's eligible, run it, and hand you the evidence pack Microsoft needs. You file the claim; we make sure it's watertight.
What evidence do I need to keep for a Co-op claim?
Proof of execution, and it varies by activity: a third-party invoice plus a dated screenshot for paid media; a registration or attendee list and branded photo for events; a live URL and dated screenshot for digital content; a completion certificate for training. You'll also need a pre-approval ID. Keep all originals for 24 months after the activity date.
How long do I have to submit a Co-op claim?
Funds are earned in one six-month period and must be used in the following one, then claimed within that programme's claiming window. Miss the window and the claim is auto-rejected with no appeal - so don't leave it to the last day. Check your exact deadline in Partner Center, as it varies by programme.
Do webinars and paid social qualify for MDF?
Yes, both are common, eligible activity types - provided the campaign centres on a Microsoft product and you keep the right evidence (invoices, dated screenshots, registration lists). The same eligibility logic applies whether the money is co-op or MDF; the difference is that MDF has to be approved up front.
Why do Microsoft partner marketing claims get rejected?
Almost always one of these: an invoice with no proof of execution, no clear Microsoft focus, missing attendee lists, no pre-approval ID, evidence dated outside the campaign window, or a late submission. Scope the campaign for eligibility and capture the evidence as you go, and you sidestep nearly all of it.
There's real money in this, and it's money you've already earned. The partners who claim it consistently aren't the ones with the biggest budgets - they're the ones who decide a campaign is eligible before they build it, and capture the proof as they go.
If you'd rather not reverse-engineer eligibility every time - or you just want to sanity-check a campaign before you commit the spend - that's exactly the kind of thing we sort. Grab our Co-op funds guide to keep on file, or have a quick, no-obligation chat with us and we'll tell you straight whether your next campaign will claim.