The "Ghost User" Tax: Why You Are Paying for Employees Who Left Years Ago
In the "Per User" pricing model, your MSP has zero incentive to clean up your Active Directory. Here is how to stop the leakage.
There is a silent inflation factor in almost every IT budget that goes unnoticed by finance teams. It is not a rate hike, and it is not a new software purchase. It is the accumulation of "Ghost Users"—accounts belonging to former employees, contractors, or interns that were never properly deprovisioned.
Industry data suggests that over 30% of SaaS licenses go unused [1]. In a Managed Services context, this waste is compounded. You aren't just paying for the $20/month Microsoft 365 license; you are paying the $150/month MSP support fee for a user who no longer exists.
The Misalignment of Incentives
This issue stems from a fundamental flaw in the "Per User" pricing model we discuss in our Managed IT Pricing Models pillar. When an MSP charges you based on the number of accounts in Active Directory, they are financially penalized for doing their job efficiently.
If they spend time cleaning up your stale accounts, their monthly revenue drops. If they ignore them, their revenue stays high or grows. This is not necessarily malicious; it is simply a lack of incentive to prioritize hygiene over other urgent tickets.
The Security Implication
Beyond the financial waste, Ghost Users are a massive security liability. Microsoft reports that over 10% of user accounts in Active Directory are inactive [2].
These dormant accounts are perfect targets for attackers. They often have weak passwords (because no one is updating them), no one notices when they log in at odd hours, and they may still retain privileged access to sensitive files.
The 90-Day Audit Rule
To stop this tax, implement a mandatory quarterly review. Ask your MSP for a list of "Users who have not logged in for 90 days." Compare this list against your current payroll. You will almost certainly find names that shouldn't be there.