> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # When a plan lapses > A trial ending, a failed payment or a cancellation moves a TimeTracker workspace to Free. Nothing is deleted. Here is what locks and what keeps working. A lapse moves the workspace to the **Free** plan. That is all it does. Your data is not touched, nobody is removed, and the app does not lock you out. ## The three ways a plan lapses | Cause | What happens first | When Free begins | | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | | **A trial ends** | The status bar warns you in the last 3 days | The day the trial clock runs out | | **A payment fails** | Status becomes `past_due` and you keep Pro through a grace window | When the grace window ends | | **You cancel** | The plan card shows **Access ends** with a date | On that date | ## What is never affected * **No data is deleted.** Not one time entry, invoice, budget, task or report. * **Nobody is removed.** A 5-person workspace that drops to Free keeps all 5 people working. * **Nothing is locked behind a login wall.** Every page still opens. Every past record is still readable on screen. * **The audit trail is intact.** ## What locks Free is capture only. Recording work stays open; resolving it does not. | Keeps working | Locks | | ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Tracking time | Approving anything | | Projects and tasks | Creating an invoice or recording a payment | | Filling in and submitting a timesheet | Creating or editing a budget | | Clocking in and out | Planner | | Requesting time off | Location rules | | Submitting an expense | Client portal | | Reading reports, and building them | Custom reports, scheduling, downloads | | Setting a **billable** rate | Setting a **cost** rate | | Reading past invoices, budgets and margin | Integrations and exports | ## The backlog is safe, and it clears the day you pay This is the important part. A Free workspace **accumulates** submissions it cannot clear. Timesheets keep arriving in the pending queue. Timecards, expenses and leave requests do the same. They sit there, complete and correct, waiting. The day the workspace pays, the whole backlog becomes approvable at once. Nothing has to be re-submitted and nothing was lost. ## Profitability is only half-locked Setting a **cost** rate is blocked on Free. That is the entire restriction. * Cost, revenue and margin already recorded stay readable. * **Billable** rates stay free to set. * Whether you can *see* cost figures at all is a permission question (`time.viewCost`, `rate.viewCost`), not a plan question. So a Free workspace keeps its margin history. What it cannot do is keep those numbers current as costs change. ## When a payment fails A failed payment does not drop you to Free immediately. A red banner appears: "Payment didn't go through. Update your payment method to keep your Pro features – nothing changes before then." Every paid feature keeps working while the grace period runs. The default grace window is 7 days after the end of the billing period. Click **Manage billing** to open the billing portal and replace the payment method. Once the retry succeeds, the status returns to `active` and the banner clears itself. When the grace window ends, the workspace moves to Free. Still nothing is deleted. ## What you see in the app | State | Where | Message | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Trial, 2–3 days left | Bar at the top of the app | "2 days left in your trial." | | Trial, last day | Bar at the top of the app | "Last day of your trial. Upgrade to keep your Pro features." | | Payment overdue | Bar at the top, and a banner on the billing page | "Your last payment didn't go through." | | On Free | Bar at the top of the app | "You're on the Free plan. Upgrade to unlock invoicing, budgets and reports." | | Trial ended | Banner on the billing page | "Your free trial has ended. This workspace moved to the Free plan. Your data is safe." | | Subscription ended | Banner on the billing page | "Your subscription has ended. Nothing was deleted and everything stays readable on screen." | The bar is quiet on purpose. A healthy trial with more than 3 days left shows nothing at all. ## Example Northwind Studio's card expires on 12 June, the day its monthly period ends. | Date | State | What the team notices | | -------------- | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 12 June | `past_due` | A red banner for Maya and Tom. Priya approves timesheets as normal. | | 13–18 June | `past_due`, in grace | Everything still works. The banner stays. | | 19 June | Free | Sarah tracks her hours. Priya opens Friday's timesheet, reads every entry, and finds **Approve** now opens an upgrade dialog. | | 19 June–2 July | Free | Six weekly timesheets pile up in the pending queue, untouched. | | 3 July | Maya pays | All six become approvable in the same minute. Daniel's June invoicing resumes. | ## Permissions Only someone with `billing.manage` – owners and admins by default – can resolve a lapse. Everyone else sees an accurate message telling them to ask an owner or admin, rather than a link to a page they cannot use. ## What happens next * Upgrading turns every locked feature back on at once. * The queues clear as soon as somebody works through them. * Seats resume being billed from the people who have access at that moment. ## Common questions No. Past invoices stay in the workspace and stay readable. You cannot create new ones until you upgrade. No. They stay `submitted` until a human acts on them. No. Exports is a Pro feature. Export while you are still on Pro, or upgrade for a month to take a copy out. No. Client portal is Pro. The contacts stay in your workspace, but the portal locks until you upgrade. 7 days after the end of the billing period, by default. No, never. The limit blocks adding a new person. It never removes one. No. The trial is a one-time thing per person. Upgrading goes straight to a paid plan. ## Troubleshooting | Problem | Cause | Fix | | ---------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Features locked while I thought I was paying | The status is `past_due` past the grace window, or the period ended | Open **Settings → Plan & billing** and read the status pill | | The banner will not go away after fixing the card | The retry has not run yet | Wait for the retry, then reload | | The billing page says "Free" but I never had a trial | A never-trialled workspace shows Free, which is correct | Nothing is wrong. Upgrade when you are ready. | | Approvals still locked right after paying | The confirmation has not landed | Wait a few seconds, then reload. See [Billing troubleshooting](/billing/billing-troubleshooting). | ## Related guides What each plan includes. Fix a failed payment. End a plan on purpose. Why being over the cap is fine. When a plan does not behave. Take a copy while you are on Pro.