Summary and recommendation
RingCentral supports SCIM 2.0 across all plans (Core, Advanced, Ultra), but with a critical limitation that creates operational friction: you must pre-purchase user licenses before SCIM can provision new accounts. Unlike modern SaaS apps that automatically allocate licenses during provisioning, RingCentral requires manual license procurement first—meaning IT teams can't achieve true automated onboarding workflows.
This pre-purchase requirement breaks the seamless user lifecycle management that SCIM is designed to provide. When new employees join, IT must manually buy licenses, wait for procurement approval, then trigger SCIM provisioning—defeating the purpose of automation. For organizations with frequent hiring or seasonal workforce changes, this creates bottlenecks and increases the risk of delayed access or forgotten deprovisioning.
The strategic alternative
Stitchflow provides SCIM-level provisioning through resilient browser automation for RingCentral that handles the license coordination complexity automatically. Works with any RingCentral plan and any identity provider. Flat pricing under $5K/year, regardless of user count.
Quick SCIM facts
| SCIM available? | Yes |
| SCIM tier required | Enterprise |
| SSO required first? | Yes |
| SSO available? | Yes |
| SSO protocol | SAML 2.0 |
| Documentation | Official docs |
Supported identity providers
| IdP | SSO | SCIM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okta | ✓ | ✓ | OIN app with full provisioning |
| Microsoft Entra ID | ✓ | ✓ | Gallery app with SCIM |
| Google Workspace | ✓ | JIT only | SAML SSO with just-in-time provisioning |
| OneLogin | ✓ | ✓ | Supported |
The cost of not automating
Without SCIM (or an alternative like Stitchflow), your IT team manages RingCentral accounts manually. Here's what that costs:
The RingCentral pricing problem
RingCentral gates SCIM provisioning behind premium plans, forcing significant cost increases for basic user management.
Tier comparison
| Plan | Price | SSO | SCIM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | $20/user/mo | ||
| Advanced | $25/user/mo | ||
| Ultra | $35/user/mo |
Plan Structure
| Plan | Price (Annual) | SCIM | License Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | $20/user/mo | ✓ | Must pre-purchase |
| Advanced | $25/user/mo | ✓ | Must pre-purchase |
| Ultra | $35/user/mo | ✓ | Must pre-purchase |
All plans support full SCIM functionality (create, update, deactivate, group sync), but provisioning fails if unassigned licenses aren't available.
What this means in practice
The license pre-purchase requirement breaks automated workflows:
This creates a two-step process where IT teams must: 1. Manually purchase licenses through RingCentral's billing system 2. Then trigger SCIM provisioning through their IdP
Additional constraints
Summary of challenges
- RingCentral supports SCIM but only at Enterprise tier (custom pricing)
- Google Workspace users get JIT provisioning only, not full SCIM
- Our research shows teams manually provisioning this app spend significant hidden costs annually
What the upgrade actually includes
RingCentral includes SCIM provisioning across all tiers (Core, Advanced, Ultra), but requires manual license pre-purchase before any automated provisioning can work:
The catch: you must pre-purchase user licenses before SCIM can provision anyone. This defeats much of the automation benefit since license management remains manual. You're essentially paying for seats you may not need immediately, then hoping SCIM fills them appropriately.
For teams wanting true automated provisioning that scales with actual usage, this pre-purchase requirement makes RingCentral's SCIM feel more like "semi-automated provisioning with manual capacity planning."
What IT admins are saying
Community sentiment on RingCentral's SCIM implementation centers around license management friction. Common complaints:
- Having to manually purchase licenses before SCIM can provision users
- Cannot auto-scale provisioning beyond pre-purchased license count
- Complex directory integration setup process
- Requiring User Admin role or higher just for SCIM operations
The biggest pain point is that you can't provision beyond your license count - so you're constantly having to manually buy more licenses before your automation can work.
Why do I need to pre-purchase licenses? Every other app just provisions and bills automatically.
The recurring theme
RingCentral's license-first approach breaks the seamless automation that IT teams expect from modern SCIM implementations.
The decision
| Your Situation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Not on a plan with native SCIM | Use Stitchflow: avoid the plan upgrade costs entirely |
| Have native SCIM but hitting license pre-purchase requirements | Use Stitchflow: eliminate the license coordination overhead |
| Already paying for a plan with SCIM included | Use native SCIM: you're already paying for it |
| Need advanced telephony features beyond basic provisioning | Evaluate RingCentral's higher tiers: SCIM comes with the advanced features |
| Small team with minimal user changes | Manual provisioning may work: but watch for license waste and gaps |
The bottom line
RingCentral's native SCIM requires you to pre-purchase licenses before provisioning users, creating coordination overhead between IT and procurement teams. For organizations that want true automated provisioning without license management friction, Stitchflow delivers seamless user lifecycle management at a predictable flat rate.
Automate RingCentral without the tier upgrade
Stitchflow delivers SCIM-level provisioning through resilient browser automation, backed by 24/7 human in the loop for RingCentral at <$5K/year, flat, regardless of team size.
Technical specifications
SCIM Version
2.0
Supported Operations
Create, Update, Deactivate, Groups
Supported Attributes
Not specifiedPlan requirement
Enterprise
Prerequisites
SSO must be configured first
Key limitations
- Must have unassigned user licenses to provision new users via SCIM
- SCIM requires User Admin or higher role
- License purchase must be done manually before SCIM provisioning
- Cannot auto-provision beyond purchased license count
Configuration for Okta
Integration type
Okta Integration Network (OIN) app with SCIM provisioning
Prerequisite
SSO must be configured before enabling SCIM.
Where to enable
Required credentials
SCIM endpoint URL and bearer token (generated in app admin console).
Configuration steps
Enable Create Users, Update User Attributes, and Deactivate Users.
Provisioning trigger
Okta provisions based on app assignments (users or groups).
Full SCIM support with user creation, updates, deactivation. Requires pre-purchased licenses. Phone numbers assigned based on user address and area code.
Native SCIM is available on Enterprise. Use Stitchflow if you need provisioning without the tier upgrade.
Configuration for Entra ID
Integration type
Microsoft Entra Gallery app with SCIM provisioning
Prerequisite
SSO must be configured before enabling SCIM.
Where to enable
Required credentials
Tenant URL (SCIM endpoint) and Secret token (bearer token from app admin console).
Configuration steps
Set Provisioning Mode = Automatic, configure SCIM connection.
Provisioning trigger
Entra provisions based on user/group assignments to the enterprise app.
Sync behavior
Entra provisioning runs on a scheduled cycle (typically every 40 minutes).
Full SCIM support via Microsoft provisioning service. Requires pre-purchased licenses.
Native SCIM is available on Enterprise. Use Stitchflow if you need provisioning without the tier upgrade.
Unlock SCIM for
RingCentral
RingCentral gates automation behind Core: $20/user/mo, Advanced: $25/user/mo, Ultra: $35/user/mo plan. Stitchflow delivers the same SCIM outcomes for a flat fee.
See how it works
