## **🔍 What Is Happening?**

You may notice an **'Access restricted for trial users'** message when trying to use features such as **Local Citations** or **PR Distribution**, even though your Billing page shows your Starter plan as active. This is a known mismatch that occurs when a payment is submitted but has not yet fully processed or been confirmed on our end.

Until the payment clears and your account status updates, the platform continues to treat your account as a trial, blocking access to paid features.

## **⚙️ Why This Happens**

- **Payment processing delay:** Card payments, especially first-time charges, can take a short time to be verified by your bank or payment provider.
- **Account status not yet synced:** Your billing page may reflect the plan upgrade before our system has finished confirming the payment and unlocking the corresponding features.
- **Incomplete checkout:** If the payment window was closed before full confirmation, the transaction may be pending or failed even if the plan appears active.

## **✅ Steps to Resolve the Issue**

1. **Confirm your payment status.** Go to your Billing page and check whether your most recent invoice shows as **Paid**. If it shows **Pending** or **Failed**, the payment has not completed.
2. **Wait up to 15 minutes.** If the payment status shows as Paid but features are still restricted, allow a short sync window. Refresh your browser after 10–15 minutes and try accessing the feature again.
3. **Clear your browser cache and log back in.** Sometimes a stale session causes the platform to display outdated access permissions. Log out, clear your cache, and log back in to force a fresh session.
4. **Retry your payment if needed.** If your invoice shows as Failed or unpaid, return to the Billing page, update your payment method if necessary, and complete the charge.
5. **Try accessing the restricted feature again.** Navigate to the feature — for example, Local Citations or PR Distribution — and confirm whether the restriction message has cleared.

## **🛠️ If the Problem Persists**

If your invoice clearly shows **Paid**, you have waited 15 minutes, and features are still restricted, this requires manual review by our team. Do not submit a second payment, as this may result in a duplicate charge.

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.

When you reach out, please have the following ready to speed up the resolution:

- A screenshot of your Billing page showing the plan and invoice status
- The name of the specific feature(s) showing as restricted
- The date and time you completed the payment

## **💡 Tips to Prevent This in Future**

- Always wait for an on-screen payment confirmation message before closing the checkout window.
- Check your email for a receipt from Search Atlas — this confirms the charge was captured successfully.
- If you upgrade near the end of a billing cycle, allow a few minutes for the plan change to propagate across all features.