penalty for using home version for business

[Newmarket2]

Shopping for an upgrade to office365 (from office2003!)
The business version is around $150 per year and the home version $100.
The extra programs in the business version are of no interest to me.
But they've told me that MS does occasional audits and might fine you if they find a home version being used for business.
This strikes me as highly unlikely...much like getting a speeding ticket for doing 2 mph over the limit.

Does anyone have any knowledge of MS actually doing this?

I should add that our "business" is run from our home and only those of us in the family are involved. If we were to grow to the point where we would move into a separate office space, we'd definitely upgrade - so we're good citizens, but think we should be ok using the home version at this stage of our development

 

[UsernameIssues]

Maybe you should just look into https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/libreoffice/

 

[Newmarket2]

UsernameIssues,
There are a ton of free alternatives to MS office and I've used a few of them and I haven't found one that really meets my needs.
I can afford to pay for it but still wouldn't mind saving $50 a year unless the trade-off is a hefty fine.

 

[Ranger4]

It's probably a bit like driving under the influence of alcohol, you are in breach of the law & you may not get caught, but you are still doing the wrong thing.

When you agree to the licence terms as set out by MS you are legally obliged to comply with them. Whether you would get caught is a matter of conjecture, you probably wont, but the risk is still there. MS could sue for breach of contract, but that is probably unlikely.

I do agree with you on MS Office being superior to any of the others. I too have tried them & moved back to MS Office & I currently have Office 2013 Pro as I need MS Access.

 

[ThrashZone]

What's wrong with 2003 :/
Most office suite can view doc... even though created in 2003 version,
Heck I use 2003 comp doc's in 2007

Doc is a doc in my book.