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Locked Apps and Payment Problems

A self-serve app is open while its subscription is in its trial or paid up, and locked when it is not. A locked app keeps all its data; it simply cannot be used until the billing owner puts the subscription right. This article explains which statuses lock an app, what each kind of person sees, and how the owner reopens it.

Where to find it

Admin Panel → Account:

  • Billing & Plan — the reason for the lock and the button that fixes it; reachable even while locked

Architect Panel → Subscriptions:

  • Tenant Plans — Status, Past due since, Trial ends and Last synced for the tenant

Which statuses keep an app open

Status is Stripe's own subscription status, mirrored on Tenant Plans.

  • trialing and active: open. If an expected renewal or trial-end message from Stripe is late, the app stays open for up to 72 hours past the date while the platform rechecks with Stripe, at most every 15 minutes.
  • past_due: locked straight away as shipped. Your hosting administrator can allow a grace period of some days instead.
  • incomplete, incomplete_expired, unpaid, canceled and paused: locked.

While locked, the app cannot use AI. ActiveManage staff are never locked out.

What each person sees

  • The app's users see "This app is temporarily unavailable." and "Please contact its administrator.", with a Log off button.
  • Administrators opening any Site Administration screen are taken to Billing & Plan, with a red banner "This account's subscription is not active." and the reason. Only the billing owner gets buttons; others are told to ask them.

The reasons, and how the owner fixes each

  • "Your app is ready. Start your subscription to open it.": Checkout was never finished. Click Start your 14-day trial (or Complete checkout if a trial has already been used).
  • "The first payment hasn't completed yet.": click Complete payment.
  • "The last payment didn't go through. Update the payment details to open the app again.": click Update payment details and change the card in the Portal. Stripe retries the payment and the app reopens when it succeeds.
  • "The subscription has ended. Resubscribe to open the app again." or "Checkout wasn't completed in time.": click Resubscribe for Starter or Pro.
  • "The subscription is paused.": click Resume subscription.
  • "We couldn't confirm this subscription with our payment provider.": a date has passed and Stripe could not be reached to confirm. Check payment details, or try again in a few minutes.

Trials and the card rule

Each billing owner gets one free trial, and so does each card. If a new subscription is started with a card that has already had a free trial on another account, the trial ends at once and the first month is charged that day. The page after Checkout and Billing & Plan both explain this, starting "This card has already been used for a free trial on another ActiveManage account". If that first payment fails, the app locks with the payment-failed reason above. Tenant Plans records it in Trial ended early because and Trial ended early on.

Refunds and disputes

A refunded or disputed AI top-up removes that credit. Credit already spent becomes an amount owed, taken off the next period's AI allowance, and Billing & Plan says so.

What goes wrong

  • The owner has fixed the card but the app is still locked. Stripe retries the payment on its own schedule; the app opens when the payment succeeds. Last synced on Tenant Plans shows when the platform last heard from Stripe.
  • The owner has left the organisation. Only the billing owner can act. Contact ActiveManage to transfer ownership.
  • "Only the person who manages this account's subscription can do that.": somebody other than the billing owner pressed a button.

Worked example

A charity's card expires and the renewal fails. Staff using the app see "This app is temporarily unavailable." The treasurer, who signed up, opens Site Administration and lands on Billing & Plan with "The last payment didn't go through." They click Update payment details, enter the new card in the Portal, and once Stripe's retry succeeds the app reopens with nothing lost.

Recommendations

  • Owners: keep card details current; a failed payment locks the app immediately as shipped.
  • Owners: tell your users who to contact if they ever see the unavailable page.
  • Operators: decide on a past-due grace period deliberately with your hosting administrator.
  • Use Tenant Plans to confirm what Stripe last reported before advising a customer.