Edition, unit, and contract restrictions

📝 Note
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In addition to the contract configuration options explained in Contracts, Developers can restrict the subscription changes that users are allowed to make. For example, restrictions can prevent plan upgrades, and prevent unit quantity decreases in the middle of a contract term.

Restriction settings appear for Developers to configure at Manage > Billing and Distribution > Products > product name | Edit > Editions | edition name. However, which ones appear depends on the following factors:

• marketplace settings, which Marketplace Managers configure and are referenced in the tables in this topic
• the revenue model and contract terms configured for a product

Some restrictions prevent specific actions. For example, increasing or decreasing unit quantities.

Other restrictions prevent changes that have specific outcomes. For example, unit quantity changes might be allowed if they do not result in an upgrade or downgrade.

Upgrades and downgrades

Several restriction settings are related to subscription upgrades and downgrades. The definition of upgrade and downgrade depends on marketplace configuration. For the definitions and different ways to determine if a plan or subscription change results in an upgrade or downgrade, see Subscription upgrades and downgrades.

How restriction settings are related

Although not all restriction settings are visible to Developers on all marketplaces, restriction settings can appear for:

• the marketplace
• the edition
• each unit type (both unit type restrictions and unit type contract restrictions appear in the user interface)
• contract terms

A list of restriction settings is in the next section.

All restrictions are applied when users attempt to change subscriptions. When setting configurations conflict, the most restrictive setting takes priority. For example:

• When unit quantity increases are allowed, but an edition-level restriction prevents upgrades, users can increase unit quantities if the changes do not result in an upgrade (an increase in the value of the recurring order).
• When mid-contract downgrades are allowed, but an edition-level restriction prevents downgrades, users cannot downgrade subscriptions.
• When unit quantity increases are allowed, but a unit type contract restriction prevents mid-contract unit increases, users cannot increase unit quantities mid-contract.
• When downgrades are allowed at the edition level, but a contract term restriction prevents mid-contract downgrades, users cannot downgrade subscriptions during a contract term.
• When downgrades are restricted at the edition level, but a contract term restriction prevents mid-contract downgrades, users cannot downgrade subscriptions during or after a contract term.

Restriction settings

There are many product settings, however, restriction settings collectively determine which changes users can make to subscriptions.

Marketplace Managers use the marketplace setting that appears in the right column to display or hide the setting for Developers.

Edition-level settings

Setting name	Applies to and appears for	Default	Configuration options and impact	Marketplace setting that determines setting visibility for Developer (configured by Marketplace Managers)
This edition can be upgraded	Any edition, with or without contract	Checked	Checked: Subscription upgrades are allowed Unchecked: Restriction enabled—Subscription upgrades are not allowed	Manage > Marketplace > Settings > BILLING SETTINGS | Billing Functionality > Edition Restrictions	Enable edition level subscription restrictions Checked: Settings appear for Developers Unchecked: Settings hidden for Developers (See Configure subscriptions)
This edition can be downgraded	Any edition, with or without contract	Checked	Checked: Subscription downgrades are allowed Unchecked: Restriction enabled—Subscription downgrades are not allowed
This edition can be canceled	Any edition, with or without contract	Checked	Checked: Subscription cancellations are allowed Unchecked: Restriction enabled—Subscription cancellations are not allowed

Unit Type settings

Setting name	Applies to and appears for	Default	Configuration options and impact	Marketplace setting that determines setting visibility for Developer (configured by Marketplace Managers)
Allow customers to decrease units	Any unit type, with or without configured contract terms	Checked	Checked: Unit quantity decreases are allowed Unchecked: Restriction enabled—Unit quantity decreases are not allowed	Manage > Marketplace > Settings > BILLING SETTINGS | Billing Functionality > Subscriptions	Edition Restrictions	Enable edition level subscription restrictions Checked: Settings appear for Developers Unchecked: Settings hidden for Developers.
Allow customers to increase units	Any unit type, with or without configured contract terms	Checked	Checked: Unit quantity increases are allowed Unchecked: Restriction enabled—Unit quantity increases are not allowed

Unit Type Contract Restriction settings

Setting name	Applies to and appears for	Default	Configuration options and impact	Marketplace setting that determines setting visibility for Developer (configured by Marketplace Managers)
Contract Restrictions | Block user from increasing units	Editions with recurring and tiered pricing, and configured contract terms	Unchecked	Checked: Restriction enabled—Unit quantity increases are not allowed mid-contract. During the update subscription workflow, a message notifies users that the contract does not allow them to change the subscription mid-contract, and that the changes will take effect after the current contract ends. Unchecked: Unit quantity increases are allowed and applied mid-contract.	Manage > Marketplace > Settings > BILLING SETTINGS | Billing Functionality > Contract Restrictions	Allow developers to configure contract restrictions per price Checked: Settings appear for Developers Unchecked: Settings hidden for Developers (See Configure contracts)
Contract Restrictions | Block user from decreasing units purchased with original contract	Editions with recurring and tiered pricing, and configured contract terms	Unchecked	Checked: Restriction enabled—Unit quantity decreases are not allowed mid-contract if they decrease the quantity to fewer than the original quantity purchased. However, if the unit quantity was previously increased, decreases are allowed with the same condition: the total quantity cannot be fewer than the original quantity purchased. During the update subscription workflow, a message notifies users that the contract does not allow them to change the subscription mid-contract, and that the changes will take effect after the current contract ends. Unchecked: Unit quantity decreases are allowed and applied mid-contract.
Contract Restrictions | Block user from decreasing units	Editions with recurring and tiered pricing, and configured contract terms	Unchecked	Checked: Restriction enabled—Unit quantity decreases are not allowed mid-contract. During the update subscription workflow, a message notifies users that the contract does not allow them to change the subscription mid-contract, and that the changes will take effect after the current contract ends. Unchecked: Unit quantity decreases are allowed and applied mid-contract.

Contract Term Restriction settings

Setting name	Applies to and appears for	Default	Options and impact	Marketplace setting that determines setting visibility for Developer (configured by Marketplace Managers)
Block edition upgrades for subscriptions with active contracts	Editions with recurring and tiered pricing, and configured contract terms	Unchecked	Checked: Restriction enabled—Subscription upgrades are not allowed mid-contract. Mid-contract changes that result in upgrades are saved and applied after the contract term ends. During the update subscription workflow, a message notifies users that the contract does not allow them to change the subscription mid-contract, and that the changes will take effect after the current contract ends. Unchecked: Unit quantity increases are allowed and applied mid-contract.	Manage > Marketplace > Settings > BILLING SETTINGS | Billing Functionality > Contract Restrictions	Block edition upgrades for subscriptions with active contracts Checked: Setting hidden for Developers Unchecked: Setting appears for Developers (See Configure contracts)
Block edition downgrades for subscriptions with active contracts	Editions with recurring and tiered pricing, and configured contract terms	Unchecked	Checked: Restriction enabled—Subscription downgrades are not allowed mid-contract. Mid-contract changes that result in downgrades are saved and applied after the contract term ends. During the update subscription workflow, a message notifies users that the contract does not allow them to change the subscription mid-contract, and that the changes will take effect after the current contract ends. Unchecked: Unit quantity decreases are allowed and applied mid-contract. If AppDirect has enabled delayed downgrades for your marketplace, when customers downgrade, the downgrade takes effect immediately, but the associated billing change is effective with the next billing cycle (no prorated credit is issued). For more information, see Delayed downgrades.	Manage > Marketplace > Settings > BILLING SETTINGS | Billing Functionality > Contract Restrictions	Block edition downgrades for subscriptions with active contracts Checked: Setting hidden for Developers Unchecked: Setting appears for Developers (See Configure contracts)
Block switch to shorter contract	Editions with recurring and tiered pricing, and configured contract terms	Unchecked	Checked: Restriction enabled—Subscriptions cannot be changed to plans with shorter or no contracts. Unchecked: Subscriptions can be changed to plans with shorter or no contracts.	Not applicable. Setting is always visible for Developers.