Provisional access gives users access to Smartsheet that’s temporarily free. This article explains how it works, when it’s triggered, and best practices to manage it.
USM Content
In the User Subscription Model, users can be added to your plan provisionally—meaning they have full access to Smartsheet, but aren't yet paid Members. This allows collaboration to start immediately, while giving you time to review usage and make decisions during the reconciliation period.
Understanding what triggers provisional access and some best practices for sharing is essential for managing costs and avoiding surprise true-up charges.
What is provisional access?
A Provisional Member can work in Smartsheet just like a Member without additional cost for at least 30 days.
You review Provisional Members’ usage during reconciliation. If you take no action, they automatically become paid Members at the end of that period.
Two things need to happen for someone to become a Provisional Member:
- Based on item sharing or direct methods (like UAP), the user receives the ability to do certain actions Viewers can’t normally do
- The user takes one of the specific qualifying actions that makes them a Provisional Member
What triggers provisional status?
Permissions drive seat types. When a user gets permissions that are higher than for a Viewer or Guest, then they can do things only Members can do. If they do any of these qualifying actions, then they become a Provisional Member.
Permissions that elevate a user’s abilities to include qualifying actions
Seat type | Sharing scenario |
|---|---|
Internal user | Shared to a core item with Commenter or higher permissions |
External user | Shared to a core item with Admin permissions |
Pro plans don’t support the Guest seat type. External users are treated the same as internal users.
If a previously downgraded user (for example, Viewer or Guest) is later re-shared at a higher permission level, they regain the ability to take qualifying actions and become a Provisional Member.
For more information, see:
- Appendix: Common actions and their effect on user permissions
- Appendix: How users get provisional Member status without being shared to an item
Qualifying actions that make a Viewer a Provisional Member
- Comment on a core item
- Edit a core item
- Create a core item
- Rename a sheet, dashboard, workspace, or collection
- Modify permissions for a sheet, dashboard, workspace, or collection
- Modify permissions for a content file in a file library
- Approve permission requests for a sheet, dashboard, workspace, or collection
- Approve permission requests for a content file in a file library
- Delete a sheet, dashboard, workspace, or collection
- Delete a content file from a file library
Qualifying actions that make a Guest a Provisional Member
- Create a core item
- Rename a sheet, dashboard, workspace, or collection
- Modify permissions for a sheet, dashboard, workspace, or collection
- Modify permissions for a content file in a file library
- Approve permission requests for a sheet, dashboard, workspace, or collection
- Approve permission requests for a content file in a file library
- Delete a sheet, dashboard, workspace, or collection
- Delete a content file from a file library
How long does provisional access last?
Once a user is provisionally added to your plan:
- They stay a provisional Member for at least 30 days
- You evaluate their usage during your next reconciliation period after their first 30 days
- If you take no action, they become a paid Member automatically
Reconciliation occurs:
- Quarterly for annual plans
- Monthly for monthly plans
Learn how reconciliation and true-up works.
Best practices to avoid unnecessary provisional users
To manage access efficiently and prepare for your true-up:
- Train your users to share with the minimum necessary permissions
- Review group memberships to make sure only intended users have access
- Use filters in the Admin Center to track new Provisional Members and regularly identify Members who haven't been active in a while
- Schedule regular audits of seat types and permissions
You can create a custom welcome screen for your Enterprise plan to guide internal users through your access approval process before they begin using Smartsheet. This shows a message or policy page on their first login and can include a link to request access. Learn how to set up a custom welcome screen.
What if I downgrade a user?
If you change a Provisional Member or Member to a Viewer or Guest, they immediately lose higher-level access to core items.
However, if someone later shares an item with them at a higher permission level and they take a qualifying action, they're re-added as a Provisional Member, and you see them again during your next reconciliation period.
Why this matters
Downgraded users can unintentionally regain provisional status if they are:
- Shared to a new core item with Commenter+ (internal) or Admin (external) access and then take a qualifying action that makes a user a Provisional Member
- Part of a group that’s shared to an item at those permission levels and then take a qualifying action that makes a user a Provisional Member
To prevent this from happening
- Review group memberships to ensure you've only included intended users
- Communicate internal sharing guidelines to your users
- Limit high-permission sharing, especially to large groups
- Downgrade users who aren’t using the higher-level permissions, so the downgrade doesn't impact productivity
- On Enterprise plans, create a custom welcome screen to route internal access requests through your preferred process
Appendix: Common actions and their effect on user permissions
If I grant a user this ability, does it change their permissions to the level that allows them to take a qualifying action to become a Provisional Member?
Users sharing a core item with other users at a specific permission level turns on their ability to do things only Members can do. If they do one of these qualifying actions, then they become Provisional Members. Reminder: Provisional Members can do everything Members can do, but there is no cost associated until after a reconciliation period.
The following user actions don't elevate a user’s capabilities to allow qualifying actions, so they don't trigger provisional use:
- Submit a form
- Respond to an update, approval, or feedback request
- View a sheet, report, dashboard, or workspace
- View a Dynamic View
Use this table to quickly assess whether a typical user action will elevate a user’s capabilities to allow qualifying actions that result in provisional status:
Action | Allows a user to take a qualifying action |
|---|---|
Share a sheet, report, dashboard or workspace with view-only permissions | No |
Add a Viewer to a report | No |
Add someone as a sheet Editor | Yes |
Share a workspace with Commenter permissions | Yes * |
Add a user to a group that has Editor permissions | Yes |
Assign Admin access to an external contractor | Yes |
Share a Dynamic View | No |
Add permissions in WorkApps | No |
Create a proof | Yes |
Respond to a proof feedback request | No |
Sign in to Smartsheet for the first time on a User Auto Provisioning-enabled plan | Yes |
Sign in to Smartsheet for the first time on an SSO-enabled plan | Yes |
* only for internal users or external user on a Pro plan
Appendix: How users get Provisional Member status without being shared to an item
When you add a new user to your plan, they get Viewer status with the ability to take a qualifying action to become a Provisional Member unless you explicitly assign them as a System Admin.
You can add users:
- Manually through the User Management page
- Automatically through User Auto-Provisioning (UAP)
- Automatically through Directory Integration
- Manually through the Public API
Some users may appear as Provisional Members even if they don’t currently have access to any items.
This can happen if they were previously shared to an item and took a qualifying action, but their permissions were later removed.