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Sina Gulsen edited this page Dec 31, 2025 · 11 revisions

Licensing

Effort Tracker offers a free tier for small teams and paid plans for larger organizations.

Free Tier

The free tier is available to all organizations:

Feature Free Tier
Users Up to 5
Projects Unlimited
Effort Entries Unlimited
Reports Full access
Data Export Full access
Activity Types Unlimited
Support Community

How Users are Counted

A "user" is anyone who has logged at least one effort entry in your organization. The count is based on unique Azure DevOps user IDs across all projects.

Example:

  • John logs effort in Project A → 1 user
  • John logs effort in Project B → Still 1 user (same person)
  • Jane logs effort in Project A → 2 users

Staying on Free Tier

To stay within the free tier:

  • Limit who logs effort to 5 team members
  • If someone leaves, their historical entries remain
  • New users cannot log effort if you're at 5 users

Paid Plans

Paid plans are seat-based subscriptions managed through Paddle at $1 per seat per month.

Features

All paid plans include:

  • Unlimited users (based on seat count)
  • Priority support
  • All free tier features

Seat-Based Licensing

  • Each seat allows one user
  • Users are counted by unique Azure DevOps user ID
  • Seats are shared across all projects in the organization

Example:

  • 10 seat subscription = up to 10 users
  • If you have 10 users and need an 11th, add more seats

Managing Your Subscription

Purchasing a Subscription

  1. Go to Organization Settings > Effort Tracker
  2. Navigate to the License Management tab
  3. In the subscription status panel, enter the number of seats needed
  4. Click Buy Seats
  5. Complete payment in the Paddle checkout overlay
  6. Subscription activates immediately

Updating Seat Count

For existing subscriptions:

  1. Go to the License Management tab
  2. In the subscription status panel, find Total Seats:
  3. Enter the new seat count
  4. Click Update Seats
  5. Prorated charges apply for increases
  6. Decreases apply at next billing cycle

Increasing Seats

  • Takes effect immediately
  • Prorated charge for remaining billing period
  • New users can log effort right away

Decreasing Seats

  • You CANNOT reduce seats below your current user count
  • If you need fewer seats, you must first reduce your user count by purging data

Example: You have 15 users with 20 seats:

  • You can reduce to 15 seats (matches user count)
  • You CANNOT reduce to 10 seats while you have 15 users
  • To reduce below 15, purge data from inactive users first or cancel subscription

Manage Subscription

Click Manage Subscription to access the Paddle billing portal where you can:

  • Update payment method
  • View billing history
  • Cancel subscription
  • Download invoices

Canceling

  1. Click Manage Subscription
  2. Select "Cancel subscription"
  3. Access continues until end of billing period
  4. Falls back to free tier (5 user limit)

Subscription Statuses

Active

Normal operation. All features available up to your seat limit.

Paused

Subscription temporarily paused:

  • Existing users can view data
  • New entries cannot be created
  • Resume subscription to restore access

Past Due

Payment failed:

  • Grace period provided
  • Update payment method to continue
  • After grace period, may be canceled

Canceled

Subscription ended:

  • Falls back to free tier limits
  • If over 5 users, new entries blocked
  • Historical data preserved
  • Can resubscribe anytime

License Enforcement

Key Principles

  1. Single Subscription per Organization: Each organization can only have one active subscription at a time. Use "Update Seats" to modify capacity, not checkout.

  2. Seat Reduction Blocked: You cannot reduce seats below your current user count. To reduce users, purge their data or cancel subscription.

When Limits are Exceeded

If you exceed your license limit:

  1. Warning displayed: Users see a license limit message
  2. New users blocked: Users not yet in the system cannot log effort
  3. Existing users continue: Users with existing entries can still add more
  4. Imports blocked: CSV imports that would add new users are rejected

Resolving License Issues

Option 1: Add Seats

  • Purchase additional seats via subscription management
  • Takes effect immediately after refresh

Option 2: Remove Users

  • Purge effort data from inactive users
  • Their entries will be deleted permanently
  • Frees up a seat for new users

Billing

Invoices

  • Invoices are sent to the subscription email
  • Access invoice history in Paddle portal
  • Download PDF invoices for accounting

Billing Cycle

  • Monthly or annual billing available
  • Prorated charges for mid-cycle changes
  • Cancel anytime, access until period end

FAQ

Do I need a subscription for testing?

No. The free tier allows full functionality for up to 5 users. Perfect for evaluation.

What happens to my data if I cancel?

Your data is preserved. You just can't add new entries if over the free tier limit.

Can I get a refund?

See our Refund Policy for details.

What's the difference between seats and users?

  • Seats: What you pay for (license capacity)
  • Users: Who has logged effort (actual usage)

Example: 10 seats with 7 users = 3 available seats for new users.

Contact

For licensing questions:

Effort Tracker Wiki

Getting Started

User Guides

Administration

Reference

Links

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