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Advanced Concepts

Seat-Based Billing

A pricing model where customers pay per user or seat on their account.

Definition

Seat-based billing charges customers based on the number of users who have access to the product. Adding team members increases the subscription cost. This model is common for collaboration tools, sales platforms, and productivity software where value scales with team size.

Why It Matters

Seat-based pricing creates natural expansion revenue as teams grow. Every team invite is a potential upsell. Email plays a role in prompting team expansion, managing seat utilization, and handling seat-related billing changes. Understanding seat dynamics helps optimize both email communication and pricing strategy.

How It Works

Price subscriptions based on user count with tiered pricing or per-seat rates. Track active versus total seats to understand utilization. Bill for seats added mid-cycle or at renewal. Use email to encourage team invites, notify about billing changes, and manage seat allocation.

Best Practices

  • 1Make adding seats frictionless to encourage team growth
  • 2Send notifications when seats are added with billing impact
  • 3Alert admins when seat limits are approaching
  • 4Highlight underutilized seats to prevent perceived waste
  • 5Prompt team invites to drive natural expansion
  • 6Consider annual seat commitments for predictable revenue
  • 7Track seat utilization as a health and expansion signal

Team Growth Tracking

Track team size changes and trigger expansion campaigns. Sequenzy syncs seat data from your billing system.

Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

Notify admins when seats are added or removed with clear billing implications. Send utilization reports showing active versus paid seats. Alert when approaching seat limits. Make it easy for admins to understand and manage their team's seats.

Prompt team invites after activation and at usage milestones. Highlight collaborative features that require teammates. Show the value of team adoption. Make adding seats one-click simple. Consider temporary seat trials for hesitant buyers.

Most seat-based models charge for provisioned seats, not just active ones. However, high inactive seat counts create perceived waste and churn risk. Consider policies like automatic deprovisioning, seat pooling, or utilization-based adjustments.