Smartsheet User Subscription Model Documentation

Smartsheet grants the right to access and use its online service at an individual level. Any individual permitted or invited to access and use the Smartsheet online service is called a User. Smartsheet supports several User types with different access levels to meet varying business needs:

• Member is an internal or external User with full access to and utilization of the features and functionality available within their plan.

• Viewer is an internal or external User with only Viewer permissions.

• Guest is an external User with Editor or Commenter permissions, and may also have Viewer permissions.

Information on Smartsheet plans can be found on our Pricing page.

Upon the start of your period of authorized access and use of a service (Subscription Term), your System Admins may provision Members purchased under an order or other transactional document (each, an Order). Additional Members may be purchased at any time by entering into a new Order.

You can also leverage Smartsheet’s provisional use and true-up process, which allows you to grant Member rights to new Users for a provisional period at no cost before deciding whether they will become a paid Member (see details below). 

With the above as background, here are some key points regarding User types and provisioning:

System Admin

All plans require at least one Member to be designated as a System Admin. System Admins have administrative oversight and control over your online services and Users, including management of your Smartsheet plan, billing, and in-service security controls. System Admins are your designated point of contact for all Smartsheet communications and notices, and you are responsible for keeping contact information up-to-date within the service. System Admins are responsible for reviewing and tracking User type allocation via the Admin Center within Smartsheet. 

Internal v. External

Smartsheet uses email addresses to uniquely identify Users within the online services. A User's email domain dictates whether the User is internal or external. A User is internal if they access your Smartsheet plan under an email associated with a domain you own, control, or are affiliated with. Any User who does not qualify as an internal User will be considered an external User.

Permissions and Entitlements

Sheets, dashboards, reports, workspaces, and applications (including Premium Apps) created or utilized within the online service are called “assets.” A User’s type is determined by their permissions to assets. Permissions to assets are granted as follows: 

1. Admin (administer, view, create, edit, add attachments, share, and delete assets),
2. Editor (view, edit, add attachments, share and delete assets), 
3. Commenter (view, create and edit comments, and add attachments), and 
4. Viewer (view assets).

Under your plan, certain features and functions are made available for use with your assets. A User’s type will dictate to what extent it is entitled to use those features and functions.

Provisional Members

Smartsheet’s User model provides Member functionality to new Users on a non-paid basis for a provisional period. 

These provisional Members may access and use the online services with the following permissions:

• For Pro Plans: Commenter or Editor permissions, and 
• For Business or Enterprise Plans: If you are an internal user, you must have Editor, Commenter, or Admin permissions, or Admin permissions if you are an external User.

A Member’s provisional status lasts until the next true-up date (see details below), at which point the Member will become a paid Member. Before the true-up date, your System Admin will have the opportunity to reconcile the User’s type to a Viewer (for internal or external users) or Guest (for external users only) or remove the User altogether from your account.

If you grant access to the Smartsheet service to a new User via Premium Apps, that User will qualify as a Member with provisional status, subject to the usage and reconciliation process, and assessed and invoiced against any authorized limits. 

An individual User may have provisional status only once throughout a Subscription Term and any renewal Subscription Term thereafter. If provisioned a second time, the individual must be added as a paid Member. An individual may not utilize different credentials to access and use your service with provisional status again.

Usage and reconciliation

Annual Subscription Term

An annual Subscription Term and any renewal thereafter is divided into four “usage periods,” each ending with a “reconciliation period.” For multi-year Subscription Terms, each annual period, beginning from the term start date, is divided into four “usage periods”. 

Here is an example of an annual Subscription Term timeline:

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Subscription Term Start: January 1, 2025
Subscription Term End Date: December 31, 2025

Members may use the online services with provisional status during the usage period in which they were added through the end of the following reconciliation period. A System Admin may change a provisional Member to a Viewer/Guest (unpaid) or remove the Member altogether before the end of the following reconciliation period or else they will become a paid Member.

Members added during a reconciliation period with provisional status must be reconciled by the end of the next reconciliation period. 

Monthly Subscription Term

A monthly Subscription Term and any renewals thereafter will be divided into one “usage period” and one “reconciliation period.” The reconciliation period will be the last seven days of each monthly Subscription Term. Here is an example of a monthly Subscription Term timeline:

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*if renewed

If no action is taken prior to the end of the reconciliation period, all Members will become paid Members.

True-up and renewals

All provisional Members that become paid Members through the reconciliation process, plus any Members added under an additional Order, are considered Added Members. ​​At the end of a reconciliation period, Smartsheet will issue a true-up invoice covering all Added Members in excess of the previously purchased Member count. All Added Members will be invoiced pro rata for the remainder of the then-current Subscription Term. Your services will renew at the total number of Members qualifying as paid Members during the preceding Subscription Term.