Plan-Gate Validation Playbook
Use this playbook to validate that plan changes and entitlements behave correctly across the product.Core principle
Plan validation is not only checking prices and limits.You must verify:
- module visibility
- action-level enforcement
- usage and credit behavior
- downgrade impact and recovery behavior
Step 1: Pre-change baseline snapshot
- Record current plan tier and billing period.
- Record active features in use (domains, webhooks, integrations, affiliate, API keys, tracking).
- Record current usage against key limits (links, campaigns, team members, domains, webhooks).
- Record credits state (plan credits vs purchased credits).
Step 2: Validate upgrade behavior
- Change to target higher plan in test-safe environment.
- Confirm newly entitled tabs/modules appear.
- Confirm formerly blocked actions now execute successfully.
- Confirm pricing/credits reflect target plan.
- Re-run key setup tasks that depended on prior gates (for example integrations or webhooks).
Step 3: Validate downgrade behavior
- Change to lower plan in controlled test cycle.
- Confirm unsupported modules are disabled or hidden as policy requires.
- Confirm over-limit resources are governed safely (not silently broken).
- Confirm credits behavior follows policy (plan credits vs purchased credits).
- Confirm downgrade-related warnings and actions are understandable to operators.
Step 4: Validate gating across non-settings pages
Check not only Workspace settings but also:- campaign/link creation surfaces
- analytics tabs and advanced views
- conversion tracking and revenue modules
- affiliate and integrations areas
- hidden features are unavailable across all entry points
- direct deep links to gated areas do not bypass enforcement
Step 5: Validate limits and credit economics
Use a realistic traffic simulation and verify:- Usage increases against expected counters.
- Credit deductions follow action costs.
- Threshold alerts and auto-recharge policy operate correctly.
- Hard limits block additional resource creation with clear feedback.
Plan-change QA matrix
| Check area | Upgrade expectation | Downgrade expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Tabs/modules | Newly allowed modules appear | Unsupported modules are blocked/hidden |
| Actions | Previously blocked actions become available | Gated actions return clear restriction behavior |
| Limits | Higher ceilings become active | Lower ceilings enforced without silent data loss |
| Credits | New plan allocation applied | Lower allocation and carryover policy applied |
| Integrations/affiliate | Newly entitled workflows become available | Unsupported workflows are disabled safely |
Capacity and spend checks
Before campaign scale, verify:- projected click/conversion volume vs included credits
- fraud-check policy impact on costs
- top-up strategy and thresholds
- plan-fit for required modules (not only resource counts)
Common mistakes
- validating only sidebar visibility, not action execution
- comparing analytics across different plans without aligned retention windows
- assuming upgrade fixes over-limit resources automatically
- not testing downgrade recovery path before production billing changes
/user-guides/manual/monetization/plans-pricing-and-limits-reference/user-guides/manual/monetization/billing-plans-and-credits/user-guides/manual/workspace/workspace-tabs-and-plan-gates-reference/user-guides/manual/foundations/end-to-end-setup-playbooks