Discounts, trials & tiers

On this page

These are the direct levers on a customer’s account: knock the price down with a discount, hand them a month of paid capacity with a reverse trial, change the tier outright, change the admin when the named one is unreachable, and reset usage to unblock someone. They’re the remedies behind most at-risk outreach and renewal conversations.

All of it is staff work; changing a tier additionally needs extra staff permission. Each action hangs off the kebab on an account or workspace row.

Discounts

A discount reduces what an account pays, as a percentage off - the canonical remedy for “this account should pay less”. Three kinds:

Kind When you’d use it
scholarship A non-profit, community group, or cause you want to support at a reduced or zero price.
staff_discount A dembrane-staff-adjacent account that gets a price break.
trial A discount tied to a trial arrangement.

100% is effectively free (this makes an account comped in the rollup); 50% is half-price.

Note

Set discounts at the billing account level - that’s where billing attaches. There’s also a per-workspace action for when a single workspace needs its own treatment. When in doubt, discount the account.

Tip

Prefer a discount over a permanent trial. A reverse trial expires. If an account genuinely shouldn’t pay full price long term, a discount is the durable answer.

Granting a reverse trial

A reverse trial drops a Free (or lower) account into Changemaker for one month - the full paid experience (built-in analysis, unlimited hours) without paying.

The key word is reverse: it auto-reverts. A cron downgrades the account at the end of the month, with a 3-day prewarning. You don’t have to remember to take it away.

Use it when an at-cap Free account needs unblocking and you want to show paid value, or in a sales conversation to let a prospect feel Changemaker before deciding.

Important

Because it reverts automatically, never use a reverse trial as a stand-in for a discount. It's a time-boxed taste. For anything lasting, use a discount.

Changing a tier

To move a workspace up or down directly. Needs extra staff permission. You’d change a tier when:

The tiers themselves - Free, Innovator, Changemaker, Guardian, and what each unlocks - are on tiers & billing.

Warning

A tier change is immediate and visible. Downgrading removes capabilities the customer may rely on (analysis, extra workspaces, white labelling). Make sure billing and the customer are aligned, especially downward.

Changing the admin

When a workspace’s named admin is unreachable - left the organisation, email bounces, nobody else has access - reassign administration to a different person.

This is an unreachable-admin recovery tool, not a routine one. It exists so an account isn’t stranded because its only admin vanished.

Note

Confirm the customer's request before reassigning - you're handing control of their workspace to a different person. Pair it with the admin contact so you know who the legitimate new owner should be.

Resetting usage

Reset usage clears an account’s consumed usage - most usefully the Free hour cap - so an at-cap customer can carry on. It requires a reason.

The reason is the audit trail for why this account got extra capacity - “founder demo”, “billing error”, “goodwill while resolving an upgrade”.

Warning

Don't reset usage to make a dashboard look healthier. It unblocks the customer immediately and erases the signal that put them on the at-risk list. Fill in a truthful reason and pair the reset with a real upgrade conversation, or the same account is back at-cap next month.

Choosing the right lever

Situation Reach for
Should pay less, long term Discount (scholarship / staff)
Show paid value, time-boxed Reverse trial
Agreed upgrade / correction Change tier
Named admin vanished Change admin
Unblock an at-cap account now Reset usage (with reason)

Related

Comments