Ability to disable user license request functions within the Enterprise Admin Console so unlicensed users cannot request licenses through the Smartsheet dashboard.
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Greetings.. I just wanted to get onto a 2-year old thread and ask yet again to disable the Upgrade button that forces us to close at least 4-5 tickets weekly and have a 30-minute conversation with people who don't know the difference. It's ridiculous. Maybe it's right after that permissions change that's not happening.
Can it be possible to have a configuration option to remove the "Request License" button?
It creates confusion with our users as they are requesting licenses that are not needed. This causes extra work for our admins to sort out what license requests are valid and which ones are just noise.
Hello!
To maybe put a different spin on the ask (I'm not sure, this thread is way too long), if the button cannot be disabled, can the link it goes to at least be customized? We have an internal ticketing software for license requests, and if the license request button could redirect there instead of creating a request in SS, that would be super helpful to us. I know this functionality is possible because the same functionality exists for adding domains to the whitelist for access management inside Smartsheet.
Obviously this button is just a money grab, but for many larger organizations we manage licenses through the SCIM automation, so this button is clearly only preying on smaller orgs. Adding this functionality only to the enterprise level would make sense (and allow the preying to continue).
As others have mentioned MANY times in this long thread, we are NOT asking Smartsheets to Remove the Sales pitches in their program, we are SIMPLY ASKING you to ➕ ADD a Toggle On 🟢 / Off ⚫️ Button for your PAYING 💸 customers who you have already locked us in with $$$$$$$ Contracts. These Marketing Banners / Notifications are NOT for EXISTING $$$$$ Paying Customers, therefore, please provide us with that option to turn those features on/off or the ability to manage for our OWN internal purposes as "YOU" Smartsheets are creating more enemies and forcing longtime clients/customers to take their business elsewhere. As others stated, its NOT that hard to create (any of your Software Engineers, can do this as its basic programing)
You 🏆️ WON that match with all of us 🤑 paying customers (we signed ✒️ up & pay you rediculously large amounts of 💸💰️$$), now please STOP 🛑 rubbing it in our faces asking our users / employees (Who are most likely on that paid plan already) to click on your sales pitches.
For the love of all things cute and fuzzy, please allow us to disable that banner. All the mistaken requests make sys admin life harder than it has to be.
The problem with the new user subscription model is that, although it allows users to have "provisional" access to test out Smartsheet to the fullest, once the sysadmin decides that specific users do not need this access going forward, the system still allows these same users to once again have "provisional" access during the next "usage period" cycle, if some other user decides to share a sheet to them with more than viewer permissions. This will create a vicious cycle of requiring the admin to go in every 3 months to "downgrade" the same users in order to prevent having to shell out even more money for users who don't really need anything more than view access. There needs to be a way for the sysadmin to be able to permanently "lock down" individual users to "viewer only" based on business needs and budgets. Under the new user subscription model, the "Licensed" toggle in User Management has been replaced by a "Member" toggle, but that toggle is now disabled so that it cannot be turned off. Re-enabling this toggle will allow sysadmins more control over which users can impact licensing costs for the company.
@Michael Chohrach Can you clarify how provisional access is enabled? Can the user do that or does the sys admin have control? I'm certainly watching for licensing changes to create increased SS revenue based on their recent acquisition.
@Solar Eric Based on the Smartsheet documentation, and what we've experienced thus far under the new User Subscription Model, provisional access is granted in the following ways:
The sysadmin has no control other than during the "true up" period at the end of each 3-month cycle (at least for Enterprise plans), they have the ability to downgrade users to Viewer level (or No Access). But even then, once the new 3-month cycle begins, if anyone then shares any Smartsheet item to this "downgraded" user with Commenter or above access, they are then automatically re-elevated to "provisional member" access and the sysadmin has to downgrade them again before the end of the next "true up" period, if they should still only have viewer level access. Thus begins a vicious cycle of managing all of your users to ensure they remain at the levels you desire.
For clarification, "provision member" access gives the user full access to Smartsheet, meaning they can create new sheets, reports and dashboards, something previously restricted to Licensed Users.
For us, this meant that we went from around 70 licensed users to over 200 "members / provisional members", meaning we now have 3 times the number of users who can create Smartsheet items, making it 3 times more difficult for us to properly manage workspaces against our internal governance policies.
Summary of this post:
Hi All,
I just saw that as of 6:51 AM MST voting on this feature was closed, but the email didn't mention the feature release.
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Here is a copy/paste for anyone subscribed to the thread on how they "resolved" our need:
On Smartsheet's new subscription model there are no license request buttons for any of your shared users. The new provisional member status enables shared users to evaluate features they need before a System Admin decides whether to pay for ongoing access. For more information on migrating to the new model, please search for the keywords “User Subscription Model” in our Help Center.
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This new model seems to require sys admins on annual plans to "reconcile provisional users" within a 30 day period quarterly or get auto-billed. Monthly plans you'll need to do it every 30 days and have 7 days to execute on it.
Quote: "The reconciliation period occurs:
Approximately 30-35 days before the quarterly auto-bill date for annual customers Seven days before the auto-bill date for monthly customers"
https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2483245-User-Subscription-Model-System-Admin-overview
So basically smartsheet has migrated from a sys admin "repeatedly tell users no when they click the license request button" model to a "provisional users can be created by any other user. And if you don't reconcile these quarterly then we'll bill you from provisioning date" model
This is, by far, the most ridiculous and confusing licensing model I've ever seen.
Here are some of the new feature requests around this chaos:
I suppose what we need to do is centralize our voice to a single product enhancement, reach out to our account reps, and threaten to vote with our feet. New product requests don't seem to be working. And per glassdoor reviews, there has been quite a shake-up at Smartsheet during the acquisition period.
Another vote for removing the banner. I just launched a new solution that took over a year to build with a Smartsheet team and it does not require a license for our users to work in the solution, but I purchased a certain amount of licenses to enable specific users to engage and possibly become super users. I am receiving a high volume of chats, emails, and questions during office hours about this, and many users are clicking the banner, leading to unnecessary license requests from people who will not receive one. This is consuming a significant amount of time that I need to focus on addressing other feedback and issues. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!!!
I found these idea requests, but shocked the first one has so few votes. I find it difficult to find ideas on the Community that I know have to be out there to be voted on.
Request to Deactivate Smartsheet License Request Features — Smartsheet Community
Automated Response on License Requests — Smartsheet Community
Problem: Unlicensed users in Smartsheet see a persistent banner asking them to request a license. This creates confusion for users who only need limited access and clutters the interface.
Solution: Add admin controls to manage or remove the license request banner for unlicensed users.
Recommended Key Features:
•Toggle to hide/show banner org-wide or by group
•Customizable banner message
•Role-based messaging (viewer, commenter, etc.)
•Option to auto-hide after first view
Benefits:
•Cleaner, more professional UI for collaborators
•Fewer unnecessary license requests
•Better control for admins
Dear Smartsheet, You really need to add an administrator-controlled option to manage the license banner display for free users. The banner not being able to be removed by the administrators presupposes that the administrator wants the free users to have licenses. One of the main reasons we love Smartsheet is the ability to restrict users from editing templates we create, so that we can standardised systems to manage information flow; if everyone had the ability to edit the templates then the barrier between this application and excel narrows to the point of near redundancy. While I understand from a business perspective it feels like it makes sense to advertise the licenses to users, the fact we cannot design a space that is controlled by our organisation, in many ways, hampers our desire to roll this out further into the organisation. At this stage the pain of notifying staff to ignore the banner is reduced to a small number, if we were to increase the number of staff utalising this tool that would increase the workload.
I urge you to reconsider the value of giving your users the ability to choose the environment they work in over trying to maximise a perceived value opportunity; there are 8 hours in a day that I don't work, but I can guarantee that if I was forced to work rather than sleep, I would not create more value.
Yours sincerely, Arthur
I hope this message finds you well! I wanted to share a friendly suggestion with you regarding SmartSheet. It would be fantastic if administrators could have the option to disable the license request feature. Many enterprise businesses, like ours, use a ticketing system, and it tends to streamline the process for users to submit a ticket when requesting a license.
Here are a few reasons I believe this would be beneficial:
Thanks for considering this suggestion!
Best wishes,
Erick
Completely agree with this, I work within a large organisation with 100 license users along with hundreds more using it with 'Editor' rights. I get so many emails, Teams messages and calls about this, I used to get it every so often when they had the trial period applied but since you have put this banner up permanently, the queries are relentless and frustrating a lot of our users as well as myself as the main administrator.
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