What happens at a limit (soft lock)
When your organization goes over a tier limit, the affected areas become read-only. This is soft lock. It’s designed so a downgraded or expired-trial organization can keep winding down what it already has — returns, check-ins, and reading are never blocked. New lending is paused: while you’re over the limit you can’t start a new loan, even on a carrier you already own. Getting back under the cap — archiving carriers or upgrading — is a Library Owner or Org Admin action.
Two situations
There are two distinct cases, and they behave differently.
At the cap. You’ve filled every slot your tier allows — for example 10 active carriers on Free. You can’t add another carrier or library, but you’re not in soft lock. Everything else works normally.
Over the cap (soft lock). Your usage is above the tier limit, which almost always follows a downgrade or a trial ending at a lower tier. For example, you had 40 carriers on Pro and dropped to Free (limit 10). The affected areas now go read-only.
What still works in soft lock
Soft lock never blocks reading your data or winding down existing loans:
- Check-in and returns always work. You can always receive returned carriers and close loans.
- Renewals keep working if your current tier includes them. Renewing a loan is a Starter-and-up feature; being over the limit doesn’t add or remove it. On Free there are no renewals regardless — that’s the tier, not soft lock.
- Everything is still readable. Carriers, caregivers, loans, and reports stay visible.
- Reservations and the waitlist stay available. You can still reserve a carrier, add someone to a waitlist (new waitlist entries need Starter or above, as always), and remove existing entries.
What’s blocked in soft lock
- Checking out carriers — new loans are paused until you’re back under your limits or upgrade. This applies to every carrier, including ones you already own.
- Adding carriers — blocked until you’re back under the carrier limit.
- Creating libraries — blocked until you’re back under the library limit.
Getting back to normal
You have two ways out of soft lock:
- Get back under the limit. Archive carriers you don’t need active — archived carriers don’t count toward the cap. Once your active count is at or below the limit, the block lifts.
- Upgrade. Move to a tier whose limits cover your current usage. See Upgrade or downgrade.