Answer
Lightning Payroll displays an upgrade or add-on prompt whenever you reach a feature that your current subscription does not include. The prompt appears as a card in the relevant screen. What the card shows ÔÇö and what happens when you click it ÔÇö depends on your account role and subscription type.
What Triggers an Upgrade Prompt?
A prompt appears in the following situations:
- Trial expired ÔÇö your free trial period has ended.
- Subscription expired ÔÇö your paid subscription has lapsed.
- Employee limit reached ÔÇö you have tried to add an employee beyond your plan's employee cap.
- Company limit reached ÔÇö you have tried to open or create a company beyond your plan's company cap.
- HR Suite required ÔÇö you have navigated to an HR Suite feature (document management, onboarding checklists, policy tracking, training records) that requires the HR Suite add-on.
- Accounting Integration required ÔÇö you have attempted a Xero or MYOB AccountRight export that requires the Accounting Integration add-on.
- Farm Focus required ÔÇö you have attempted a Farm Focus payroll export that requires the Farm Focus add-on.
What the Card Shows
The card has three possible appearances depending on your account type:
- Account admin (subscription owner) ÔÇö a headline, a short description, and a button to begin the upgrade process.
- Sub-user (non-admin) ÔÇö a message directing you to contact the account admin to request a subscription change. In the online app, an Ask admin button opens a pre-filled email to the admin, and a Copy request button copies the request text to the clipboard.
- Reseller-managed account ÔÇö a message directing you to contact your reseller to change your subscription. No purchase button is shown.
How the Upgrade Button Works
In the desktop app: clicking the button sends a secure sign-in link to the email address registered to your subscription. A confirmation message appears in the card ÔÇö check your inbox and click the link to open the storefront, where you can complete the purchase. The link expires after one hour. If the email did not arrive, a Resend link button appears in the card. If sending fails, a Retry button appears instead.
For trial accounts (where no subscription exists yet), clicking the button opens the pricing page in your browser directly, rather than sending an email.
In the online (web/mobile) app: clicking the button fetches a secure sign-in link and redirects you to the storefront immediately. Once you complete the purchase, the app detects the change automatically and unlocks the feature ÔÇö you do not need to log out and back in.
After Completing a Purchase
Once your purchase is confirmed, return to the feature you were trying to access. In the desktop app, restart or refresh the relevant screen. In the online app, the feature unlocks automatically within a short time of the purchase completing.
For full details on renewing or upgrading your subscription, see How Can I Renew or Upgrade My Subscription?. For information on individual add-ons, see What Is the Accounting Integration Add-On? and How Do I Export Payroll Data to Farm Focus?.
