PowerApps Licensing Options for an external user

[alexesprtu29]

So I have created an app within an organization that requires external users (more or less around 20 ) to fill up forms which are connected to a SharePoint list. Currently, what we do is:

1. Add user as guest in AAD
2. Give PowerApps for Developers license to guest (this is the only one we can see when assigning licenses?)
3.  Share SP list and PowerApp to user

One of my main questions actually is if it's even worth it to pay for a license given it's use case.  

1. There is a list of suppliers with evaluation due dates.
2. 6 weeks before the deadline, they are notified that they need to update the evaluation form. It goes to the powerapp and several users for approval.
3. Contract is either renewed ranging from 3 months - 2 years. 
4. They will only fill this up again 6 weeks before the next deadline.

So as you can see, the current use case for this is really small and limited so I'd like to know if it's worth it (or if it even requires a license?). There might be additional features so I guess we can assume for now that cost is not an issue!

My experience is only with building PowerApps so I'm really not sure how to properly set this up. The docs for pricing is a bit confusing. What license do you think should I get for these users (if you have a link for the costs as well that would be great!), and how do we get them?

[BCLS776]

My opinion only, but this might go beyond a developer licence's intended purpose. As well, this seems like a lot of admin for external users for something they might use once or twice a year. As well, do you want all these external users to have open access to the same SP List?

How about keeping the app list internal-only and using a service such as Microsoft Forms to gather info back from them? You can send them an email reminder notification with a link to an anonymous form that asks for the details you need back. The Form's response can trigger a notification back to your team or entry into a Sharepoint List or several other activities via Power Automate.

What do you think?

Bryan

[Pstork1]

A couple of points.

1) External users won't need a license at all if you are using Power Apps to create a custom form for the SharePoint list.  Its only when they access a standalone Power App that they need a license.

2) If it is a standalone Power App, the license can be either a license from your tenant or from their own tenant.  So if they have an Office 365 license of their own you won't need to provide them a specific license.  Or you can provide them with an Office 365 license from your tenant (which includes Power Apps).

3) You can also use per app licenses for external users.  You assign those licenses to the environment and the app, not to the users individually.  The user will get the license if they need it when they access the app after it is shared with them.

[alexesprtu29]

Does this still apply if we have to pull initial  data in Sharepoint? 

[alexesprtu29]

Hello, it's actually a standalone PowerApp. It's looking like we're the one who's going to provide them the license. 

Secondly, what specific license assigns it to the environment and app? The per app plan? 

[Pstork1]

If its a standalone Power App and the data source is SharePoint then you can assign them any Office 365 license that includes Power Apps.  That's just about any Office 365 license.  I suspect an F1 license for Front line workers would be the cheapest.

Here's an article about the per app plan.  Per app licenses aren't assigned specifically to people.  They are added to a pool in the environment and allocated to an app.  Anyone the app is shared with who doesn't have a license will get a per app license assigned to them when they access the app the first time.

[powercorner]

Hello everybody,

somehow I would like to clear the situation with the following links that gives the full information of what prerequisites need to be met in order to enable external sharing:

Plan Customized Microsoft Lists or SharePoint library form (using non-premium connectors) Customized Microsoft Lists or SharePoint library (using premium connectors) Canvas app (using non-premium connectors) Canvas app (using premium connectors) Model-driven app

PLAN	Customized Microsoft Lists or SharePoint library form (using non-premium connectors)	Customized Microsoft Lists or SharePoint library (using premium connectors)	Canvas app (using non-premium connectors)	Canvas app (using premium connectors)	Model-driven app
No license	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
SharePoint user (without Power Apps license)	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
Power Apps included with Office	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗
Power Apps per app plan	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Power Apps per user plan	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/canvas-apps/share-app-guests#what-license-must-be...

and

In Azure AD, enable B2B external collaboration for the tenant. 
More information: Enable B2B external collaboration and manage who can invite guests

Note
B2B external collaboration is enabled by default; however, you need to verify that the settings weren't changed by a tenant admin. For more information about Azure AD B2B, go to What is guest user access in Azure AD B2B?.

Access to an account that can add guest users to an Azure AD tenant. Admins and users with the Guest Inviter role can add guests to a tenant.

To access an app that doesn't connect to Dataverse, the guest user must have a license with Power Apps use rights that matches the capability of the app assigned through one of the following tenants:

The tenant hosting the app being shared
The home tenant of the guest user
To access an app that connects to Dataverse, the guest user must have a license with Power Apps use rights that matches the capability of the app. And it must be assigned in the tenant hosting the app. The exception to this prerequisite is when an app is hosted in a Microsoft Dataverse for Teams environment.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/canvas-apps/share-app-guests#prerequisites

I hope this helps all others that have this license struggle, too.

With regards

Kevin