How Plan Limits Work
This article explains how the plans (free and paid) define the limits applied to users and listings. It applies to LaraClassifier v19.1.2+ and JobClass v19.1.2+.
The limits concerned
| Limit | Related setting | Plan field | Plan types defining it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of listings per user | Admin panel → Settings → Listing Form → Listings Limit per User |
Listings Limit |
Subscription |
| Number of pictures per listing (LaraClassifier only) | Admin panel → Settings → Listing Form → Pictures Limit per Listing |
Pictures Limit per Listing |
Promotion and Subscription |
| Number of days an activated listing stays online before being archived | Admin panel → Settings → Cron → Activated Listings Expiration (Activated Ads Expiration in JobClass) |
Publication Duration |
Promotion and Subscription |
These limits are resolved in two layers: the free tier, then the paid plans applied on top of it.
1. The free tier
The free tier is what every user without a paid subscription and every listing without a paid plan get (for example, listings posted without selecting a plan, or by selecting the free plan).
- A plan whose price is
0.00is the free plan of its type. Only one free plan is allowed per type (or per currency, when users pay the plans in their country currency). - When the free plan is active and its limit field is filled, this value replaces the related setting.
- When the free plan's field is empty (or when the free plan is not active), the setting is used.
- When both free plans (promotion and subscription) define the same limit, the highest value is used.
- No payment is made for a free plan, and its other options (promotion duration, ribbon, badge, external ads, etc.) have no effect.
2. The paid plans
- A valid paid plan (active payment, within its validity dates) replaces the free tier value with its own value:
- the user's subscription plan applies to the user and to all their listings,
- a listing's promotion plan applies to that listing,
- while posting a listing, the selected paid plan already applies to the pictures limit, so the user can upload the pictures included in the plan before paying.
- When several plans apply at the same time (free tier, a subscription and a promotion), the highest value is used. Buying a plan can therefore only extend what a user or a listing already gets, never reduce it.
- A paid plan's limits must be at least the free tier values. This is checked when the plan is saved.
- An empty paid plan field means "same as the free tier".
- When a paid plan expires, the free tier values apply again.
- A payment made for a free plan (for example, approved through the Offline Payment add-on) is not considered as a paid plan: the free tier applies.
Examples
Settings: Listings Limit per User = 5, Pictures Limit per Listing = 4, Activated Listings Expiration = 30 days.
| Active plans | Result |
|---|---|
| No free plan (or free plans with empty fields) | Free users: 5 listings, 4 pictures, 30 days. |
| Free promotion plan: 6 pictures, 45 days | Free users: 5 listings, 6 pictures, 45 days. |
| Free promotion plan: 6 pictures, 45 days Free subscription plan: 3 listings, 8 pictures, 40 days |
Free users: 3 listings, 8 pictures, 45 days (the highest free value wins). |
| Same free plans, and a user subscribed to a paid plan: 50 listings, 12 pictures, 60 days | This user: 50 listings, 12 pictures, 60 days, for all their listings. |
| Same as above, and one of the user's listings promoted with a paid plan: 10 pictures, 90 days | That listing: 12 pictures (from the subscription) and 90 days (from the promotion). |
Where to see the current values
- On the plans form (
Admin panel → Plans), the hints of the limit fields show the current setting value and the current free tier value. - On the
Listing FormandCronsettings pages, the hints of the related fields tell when a setting is currently replaced by an active free plan, with a link to that plan.
Notes
- The publication duration is applied by the Listings Purge command, run by the scheduler. Make sure your cron job is configured: see Configuring the Cron Job.
- The listings limit counts the user's unarchived listings in the current country (pending, verified and reviewed listings are counted, archived listings are not).
- More information about the plans: Configuring the Packages/Plans.