---
title: "Assign seats and check product access"
summary: "Give organisation members a seat you've paid for, set their own daily limits, or let directory groups give seats."
url: https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/organisations/manage-seats-and-access
product: "Matilda"
kind: how-to
version: v1
source: MaincodeHQ/matilda-apps@44e52b188d4d324371ee5fb4bb094dc1789ea478
---

# Assign seats and check product access

Give organisation members a seat you've already paid for, or let directory
groups give seats for you. People need a seat to chat as the organisation.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

Owners and seat admins can give seats. Billing admins can buy more seats but
can't give them to people; they see the seat count and **Add seats**, without
the seat controls.

Buying seats, and giving them to people, are separate steps. To buy more, see
[Choose and manage your plan](https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/billing/manage-your-subscription). The person must
have joined the organisation first.

## Assign or change a manual seat {#assign-or-change-a-manual-seat}

1. Open **Organisation settings** from the account menu, then **Members**.
2. Check **Seats**. It shows how many seats are assigned and available, by
   plan when you have both.
3. Find the person under **People**, open their menu and choose
   **Change seat**.
4. In **Seat**, choose **Business Standard** or **Business Super**. Each shows how
   many are available. You can't choose a plan that shows **0 available**, and a
   plan you haven't paid for isn't listed.
5. To give them their own daily limits, open **Own limits** and enter
   **Messages a day** or **Token units a day**. Leave them blank to use the
   plan's limits; 0 stops their included use.
6. Select **Save**. The list shows their seat, and **Seats** updates.

![The seat dialog with a Business Standard seat chosen and the Own limits section.](https://help.maincode.com/media/matilda/v1/en/fb3e6db09b632fde8acc374d140650a107199a0941aa533569fcf53b60f406a3.png)

To take a seat back, choose **No seat** and save. They keep their membership
and the seat goes back to the pool. This doesn't reduce the number of seats you
pay for.

When people need attention, **Members** says so at the top of the page. For
example, **1 person has lost a paid seat** means the plan now has fewer seats
than were assigned; add seats in Billing or change their seat. When someone has
no seat and seats are free, **Give a seat** opens their seat dialog.

## Manage directory-based seats {#manage-directory-based-seats}

Once [directory sync](https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/authentication/set-up-microsoft-provisioning) is working, a group can
give everyone in it a seat. Owners and seat admins can change seats here;
identity admins can see the groups and people but not change their seats.

1. Open **Directory sync** and find the group under **Groups**.
2. Select **Set seat plan**, or **Change seat plan** if it already has one.
3. Choose the **Seat plan** and select **Save**.
4. The confirmation says how many people are in the group and what happens to
   their seats. Select **Change**. People get the new plan while there's room,
   and anyone who doesn't fit loses the seat they had from a group. With
   **No seat plan**, people whose seat came from this group lose it. Either
   way, another group's plan gives them a seat only while there's room. Seats
   set manually don't change.
5. Check the people under **People**. Their **Seat** shows the plan and
   whether it's **from group** or **set manually**.

If someone is in more than one group, Business Super wins. To make one person
keep their seat whatever their groups, select **Change seat** next to them under
**People**, choose **Set manually** and select **Save**. To hand their seat
back to their groups, choose **Follow their groups**, select **Save**, then
**Change** in the confirmation. Their current seat and own limits are removed,
and they get a seat from their groups only if a group has a seat plan and
there's room.

![The Groups table in Directory sync, with each group's people and seat plan.](https://help.maincode.com/media/matilda/v1/en/755b2a5f69b01dbe9da88fa1d737ee473a219a4261b9357eac9dfaba04f73cca.png)

A group's people count can include people who haven't joined yet. A seat plan
doesn't buy seats.

## Check access as the member {#check-access-as-the-member}

Have the member sign in, open the account menu and choose the organisation
under **Chat as**. **Usage and limits** in the same menu, or **Usage** in
Settings, shows their allowance for that organisation.

A new page starts as Personal. Opening Organisation settings doesn't change who
you chat as. A seat doesn't make anyone an administrator.

## Resolve unavailable capacity or access {#resolve-unavailable-capacity-or-access}

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **No seats yet**, or every seat is assigned | Ask an owner or billing admin to add seats. Owners and billing admins can select **Add seats**. |
| **There are no free seats of that kind. Add seats in Billing, or choose another seat.** | Choose the other seat type, or add seats first. |
| **Lost paid seat** next to someone | The plan has fewer seats than were assigned. Add seats, or change or remove someone's seat. |
| **Paid seat access isn’t turned on** | These seats don't give anyone access yet. Ask your Matilda contact. |
| **Not joined yet** in Directory sync | The person needs to accept their invitation with the same verified email before their seat works. |
| A group's seat plan differs from someone's seat | Check whether their seat is **set manually**, and whether there was room. |
| A message that seats changed and you should reopen the page | Open **Members** again, then change the seat. |
| **We couldn’t confirm your last change** | Check the list, then select **Try again** or **Discard**. Trying again won't apply it twice. |
| Access still blocked | Check the selected **Chat as** organisation, the person's membership and their seat. |

Lowering someone's limits doesn't undo usage already accepted. For limits on
money spent, see [Control purchases and extra usage spending](https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/billing/manage-spending-and-purchases).