An Add-On, or the Next Plan Up?
Running out of one thing is not the same as outgrowing a plan. Which limits an add-on can raise, which only the next plan up does, and the annual-billing detail that changes the arithmetic.
The moment a workspace hits a limit, the reflex is to upgrade — it feels like the grown-up answer, and the next plan up raises everything at once. Often it is the expensive answer. A business that has run out of warehouses has not necessarily run out of anything else, and paying for a bigger tier to get one more site buys a great deal of capacity it will not use this year.
Our take
Buy an add-on when you have run out of one thing that an add-on covers. Move up a plan when you need a feature the plan unlocks, a limit no add-on raises, or several add-ons at once — and on annual billing, check the plan first, because only the plan gets a free month.
Two dials, not one
A plan decides two independent things: which features your workspace can use, and how much of each thing it can hold. Add-ons only ever touch the second, and only for some limits. That split is the whole decision.
What raises each limit
| Limit | An add-on | The next plan up |
|---|---|---|
| User seats (logins) | Yes | Yes |
| HR employee records | Yes | Yes |
| File storage | Yes | Yes |
| AI requests a month | Yes | Yes |
| Warehouses and branches | Yes | Yes |
| POS counters | Yes | Yes |
| Emails, exports and API calls a day | No | Yes |
| API keys, custom fields, portal accounts | No | Yes |
| History kept online | No | Yes |
| Features and permissions | No | Yes |
Built and maintained Configurable by you, not maintained by us Not built
Every figure for every plan is on the pricing comparison; the add-ons page sets out the terms of each add-on.
When an add-on is right
You have run out of exactly one thing, and it is one of the six an add-on covers. A third branch on a plan that allows two warehouses. A busy month of AI summaries. A document vault that has quietly grown. In each case the add-on raises that one ceiling, on the plan you already have, without touching anything else — and if the need goes away, reducing it is free and applies from your next renewal.
When the next plan up is right
You need a feature
The plan is the only route
Bank reconciliation, single sign-on, deeper approvals — features come with the plan, never with an add-on.
You need a limit no add-on covers
Daily limits, keys, fields, history
More emails or exports a day, more API keys, more custom fields or a longer history all move only with the plan.
You need three or four add-ons at once
Price both ways
Several add-ons on a small plan can cost close to the next plan, which raises every limit and adds its features too.
The annual-billing detail
Annual billing charges the plan for eleven months instead of twelve — one month free. Add-ons do not get that discount: they are billed at twelve times their monthly rate whichever way you pay. So on annual billing, the gap between “current plan plus add-ons” and “next plan up” is narrower than the monthly figures suggest. If you pay yearly, run the comparison on annual prices, not monthly ones; the pricing calculator does both.
Moving down again
A downgrade is scheduled for your next renewal, and your current plan stays active until then. It cannot apply while you have more active users than the smaller plan allows, so deactivate the logins you no longer need first.
When neither shape fits
Some organisations are large in one direction and small in every other. These are the arrangements we make for them.
One limit raised in the contract
On Enterprise, a single figure set to how you actually work, without moving every other one.
Add-ons for more of the limits
Daily email or export capacity, or more API keys, as a top-up rather than a tier.
Add-ons on your billing cycle
Capacity added mid-term, aligned to your existing renewal date.
How it works: tell us which limit is the wrong shape, and we come back with the option that fits.
How add-ons workWhat AWRA OpsHub does today
- Add-ons for user seats, HR employee records, storage, AI requests, warehouses and POS counters on the current plan.
- Reductions at no charge, applied from the next renewal.
- A pricing calculator that prices plan and add-ons together, monthly and annually.
- Downgrades scheduled for renewal, with the current plan active until then.
More we can add to your workspace
- Add-ons for daily email, export and API capacity.
- A recommendation that compares your add-ons with the next plan up from your actual usage.
Where we point you to a specialist
- We keep features tied to the plan rather than selling them one at a time, so every workspace on a plan has the same product to learn and support.
Either of the middle column can be added to your workspace.
Before you upgrade
Which limit did we actually hit?
Check
One named limit on Settings › Usage.
What it decides
If an add-on covers it, start there.
Do we need a feature, or only more of something?
Check
A feature on the comparison, or a count.
What it decides
A feature means the plan; a count may not.
Do we pay monthly or annually?
Check
Your billing cycle.
What it decides
On annual, compare annual prices — only the plan gets the free month.
Price it both ways
Plan, seats and storage together, monthly or annually, before you decide.
Open the calculatorFrequently asked questions
Should I buy an add-on or upgrade my plan?
Buy an add-on when you have run out of one thing an add-on covers, such as users, storage, AI requests, warehouses or POS counters. Upgrade when you need a feature, a limit no add-on raises, or several add-ons at once.
Which limits can an add-on raise?
User seats, HR employee records, file storage, AI requests, warehouses and POS counters. Daily emails, exports and API calls, API keys, custom fields, portal accounts and history kept online move only with the plan.
Do add-ons get the annual discount?
No. Annual billing charges the plan for eleven months, but add-ons are billed at twelve times their monthly rate either way, so compare annual prices if you pay yearly.
Can I remove an add-on later?
Yes, at no charge. A reduction applies from your next renewal.
