Licenses and True-up confusion

KatieDi

Hello

I'm a little confused about the new subscription model.

I have some new team members and I want to assign them a licence. Does that now mean 'Member'? I can't see anywhere to assign licences anymore.

I find the true-up explanation very confusing. I have some people that I share sheets with which I need them to contribute to so they were Guests. Now I see them as a Member (Provisional) that are going to True-up. I don't want them to have Member access but I can only change them to Viewer which won't allow them to update a sheet (an Action Log that they contribute to).

Can someone help me navigate this new model as I'm just totally confused by it!

Thanks

Katie

Naeem Ejaz

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I understand how the new subscription model can be confusing. Let me help clarify things for you:

1. Assigning Licenses:
   • In the new subscription model, you assign licenses to users by making them "Members." To do this, go to the Admin Center, navigate to "Users and Groups," and then "User Roles and Reports." Here, you can add new users and assign them the "Licensed User" role.
2. True-Up Process:
   • The true-up process involves reviewing provisional Members (users who have been given temporary access) and deciding whether to convert them to full Members. This happens during a reconciliation period, typically every quarter for annual plans. If you don't take action, Smartsheet will automatically convert provisional Members to full Members and bill you accordingly.
3. Managing Access Levels:
   • If you don't want certain users to have full Member access but still need them to contribute to sheets, you can adjust their roles. Unfortunately, the new model doesn't allow for a middle ground between Viewer and Member. Viewers can only view sheets, while Members have full access. You might need to manually manage these roles during the reconciliation period to ensure you're not over-licensed.
4. Provisional Members:
   • Provisional Members have full access for at least 30 days. After this period, you can decide whether to upgrade them to full Members or downgrade them to Viewers. This flexibility allows you to test their need for full access before committing to a license.

KatieDi

Hello.

So, point 3 - This is contradictory. You say I can adjust the role if I have someone who still needs to contribute to sheets without having full Member access, but then you say it's either Member or Viewer.

I have someone who contributes to one sheet only. Are you saying I now have to give them full Member access? That isn't financially viable and completely misses the point of having sheets that are collaborative!

Katie

Genevieve P.

Hi @KatieDi

It looks like @Naeem Ejaz may have used a form of AI to write the explanation, which is perhaps why it's not very clear.

I would recommend reviewing this Help Article as it has a diagram that may be a better visual aid:User Subscription Model System Admin overview | Smartsheet Learning Center

• Internal users are either a Member or Viewer.
• External users can be both of those, or they can be a Guest with editor access.

In your scenario it sounds like the one person who contributes on 1 sheet is perhaps an Internal user, so then yes, they would need to be a Member in order to make changes and edit content.

If they're making minimal changes, you could provide them with Viewer access to the sheet and then send them Update Requests to have their input without needing to make them a Member.

For your original question, yes, making someone a Member is similar to giving them a license on the previous model. 🙂

Cheers,
Genevieve

Naeem Ejaz

User Subscription Model FY25 [Customer Resource].pdf

Uploaded Feb 26, 20251.32 MB

Smartsheet-user-subscription-brief.pdf

Uploaded Feb 26, 2025127.9 KB

@KatieDi @Genevieve P. I think these files will be useful.

Vivien Chong

@KatieDi this may be helpful to you: Get started with the User Subscription Model | Smartsheet Learning Center

In short, in the New Subscription Model, whenever you share an item with your internal team (same domain) with commenter permission and above, they will be counted as Provisional Member if they are not currently a member. During true up, you have to decide whether to upgrade them to a member or downgrade to a viewer.

Any external email domain will be categorise as Guest if they are share to an item with commenter or Editor permission. If you want to grant them Admin access, a membership is required too.

Loann McGee

Am I understanding that we no longer have what used to be "Users" and they have to have what is the equivalent to a license??!!!

In one sheet, alone, we have 129 who have been shared to the sheet with only five of us being licensed users.

Automatically charging is quite concerning, as well. Will there be a notice sent to the SysAdmin well ahead of time to make any needed updates?

Regarding this process, this isn't a feasible work-around…this would take more man power to send out the update requests: "If they're making minimal changes, you could provide them with Viewer access to the sheet and then send them Update Requests to have their input without needing to make them a Member."

This will utterly destroy our use of Smartsheet as we have so many current users that contribute daily to the various sheets/reports.

Ask anyone I work with and they will tell you I have been a huge proponent of Smartsheet - even rejecting the possible use of AirTable. If all the above is true, I will have no choice but to being looking elsewhere…

I would appreciate a phone call from our Smartsheet Representative to talk about this.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Loann McGee

System Admins receive email notifications as part of the "true up" process when deciding if a use should change from a provisional member to be a paid member. This article goes through the true up process in detail: Manage users in the User Subscription Model | Smartsheet Learning Center

It sounds like you have questions about the User Subscription Model that are specific to your plan and sharing processes; your representative will reach out directly so that you can discuss this in a private channel.

Thanks,
Genevieve

rscott

There also needs to be a way to lock a user to an access level - otherwise, we'll have to spend time each quarter carrying out this stupid true-up process.

There's no API for this, so we can't even automate the process.