Payment state and product access are related but distinct. Define how subscription information becomes application permissions and how intermediate states affect the customer experience.
Write the access policy
In a fictional reporting product, a pending invoice can represent several situations. Avoid deleting customer data because of one isolated event. Model application states and transitions using verified provider information.
| Business state | Decision needed |
|---|---|
| Trial | Available capabilities and end condition |
| Active subscription | Granted features and limits |
| Payment needs attention | Temporary access behaviour |
| Scheduled cancellation | When existing rights end |
| Ended agreement | Read access, export and retention policy |
Test transitions
Exercise plan changes, duplicate events and delayed notifications. Map the external subscription to the internal organisation. A user belonging to several companies must not implicitly carry one company's paid entitlement into another workspace.
Does the billing provider define the whole policy?
The provider supplies states and mechanisms; the product still owns its experience and applicable commercial rules. Review those conditions with the appropriate owner and retain reconciliation procedures. A successful checkout page is not by itself durable confirmation that every entitlement has been updated correctly.
A global user with separately billed workspaces
Exercise a user who belongs to a paid company workspace and a trial workspace. Switching between them must switch the relevant entitlements. Personal identity, billing customer and active organisation are distinct concepts even when the interface uses one login.
Sources and further reading
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A SaaS is a system: data, users, permissions, billing and operations. Its architecture should support the business model.
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