Upgrade prompt

What it is

The upgrade prompt is what you see when you try an action on the free tier that would take a syndicate over one of its limits: adding a second asset, or inviting a fourth admin or member. The prompt explains the limit and, depending on the platform you are on, offers a path to upgrade.

It does not fire for a viewer. Viewers are read-only and take up no seat, so a free syndicate already at three members can invite as many as it likes without ever being asked to upgrade.

Because Apple’s and Google’s store rules forbid in-app calls-to-action that route payment outside their stores, the prompt behaves differently on web and on mobile. On web an explicit early-start request precedes checkout. On iOS and Android you get a plain notice, and a factual account-limit notice is requested for the active admin who attempted the action. It links to browser subscription settings without starting checkout. The destination uses a browser-only address outside the paths claimed by the installed mobile apps. Signing in after an expired link returns to the same browser settings page.

Who can use it

Admin: sees the prompt when performing an action that breaks a limit. Any admin can complete the checkout on the web version.

Where to find it

The prompt is triggered by actions, not a settings page. It appears:

When adding an asset on a free-tier syndicate that already has one asset. Screen: Create asset (/syndicates/:syndicateId/assets/new).
When inviting an admin or member on a free-tier syndicate that already holds three seats. Screen: Create invite (/syndicates/:syndicateId/invite). Here the prompt is a message on the form itself, shown as soon as the form opens, rather than a dialog or a snackbar: see On the invite form below. Picking Viewer instead hides it.

Fields / options

On web

A dialog appears with:

Element	What it does
Title	“Upgrade Your Plan”
Message	The limit-specific message (“Your syndicate has reached the free plan limit of 1 aircraft”).
Cancel	Dismisses the dialog. No side effects.
Upgrade Now	Obtains an explicit early-start request and any offer code, then opens our checkout page in the same browser tab, where the Terms are agreed.

On the invite form

While a free syndicate holds all three seats and the role picked takes one, a message sits at the top of the invite form. It stays there until the syndicate has room again or you pick Viewer.

Element	What it does
Count	Members and waiting invitations against the plan, for example “2 members and 1 waiting invitation: your plan allows 3 members.” Invitations not yet accepted hold a seat, so they are counted.
Waiting invitations	Each one, by the address it was sent to or, for an invitation shared as a link, by its role and the day it was sent (until the app has fetched the invitations, each shows as Pending invitee), with Cancel invitation. Cancelling asks first, then frees the seat. An invitation accepted in the meantime is not cancelled: the app says it has already been accepted or withdrawn, and goes on counting it.
Upgrade	On web, Upgrade Now obtains an early-start request before opening checkout in the same tab. On iOS and Android, a line saying the subscription cannot be changed in the app.

Tapping Generate Invitation for an admin or member while the message shows sends nothing and brings the message into view. On iOS and Android it also sends the account-limit email described below, in the background; nothing on screen says whether it went.

On iOS and Android

When adding an asset, a snackbar appears with the limit message. There is no call-to-action button, in line with App Store and Google Play rules. In the background, the app fires off a one-line request to send the account holder an email explaining the blocked action and linking to subscription settings in a browser. No user interaction is needed to send the email; it is automatic.

Behaviour rules

On web, Upgrade Now obtains an early-start request before checkout. It does not send an email. After the request is confirmed, a server endpoint returns the checkout URL and it opens in the same tab; completing checkout there upgrades the syndicate and brings you back to Syndik8. If the checkout cannot be opened, the app says so.
With no payment provider configured, neither path offers an upgrade. On web the dialog drops Upgrade Now altogether and says upgrading is not available yet, leaving only an acknowledgement button. On mobile the snackbar, or the invite form’s message, says the same and no email is sent. The limit still blocks the action either way. No client-app change is needed once a provider is brought online; both paths light up on their own.
On mobile, the service email is requested automatically. There is no button to request it. Fire-and-forget: the app submits the request and continues. Delivery is handled server-side with a cooldown so repeated bumps do not spam the account holder.
The snackbar on mobile is informational. No links, no CTAs, per store rules. The invite form’s message follows the same rules: neither phone links to or names the website.
The action that triggered the prompt is always blocked. Dismissing the prompt leaves the syndicate at its current size. The limit is not bypassable.
The role decides whether the limit applies at all. The member limit counts seats, and only admins and members hold one. An invitation to a viewer is never measured against it, on the server or in the app.
This is not the size-change confirmation. A paid syndicate adding an aircraft or a member above its allowance sees a cost confirmation instead, which checks the price with the payment provider before quoting it. See pricing.
Any admin can complete the checkout on the web version. Completing it upgrades the syndicate.
The account-limit email goes to the active admin who attempted the action, not to every admin. It contains no offers or encouragement to upgrade. It is a service notice, rather than a marketing campaign.
The settings link signs you in, and lasts one hour. Opened later, it lands on the sign-in screen with the notice “That link has expired. Sign in and we’ll take you straight there.” Signing in then carries on to the syndicate’s subscription screen, so an expired link still gets you there without another email. If you are already signed in where you open it, it goes straight to that screen. The same happens for any emailed link that has expired and was going somewhere in the app.
At most one account-limit email per syndicate per 24 hours. The cooldown is on the syndicate, not on the admin or on the event, so a second admin who hits the same limit an hour later may get only the on-screen notice. If an admin is waiting on the link, check with whoever hit the limit first before assuming it failed to send.