What happens when my account gets restricted

In this article, you will learn about the systeme.io restriction process and what happens to your account when it gets restricted.

Each systeme.io plan has a limited number of contacts that can be managed by the user.

To see the features offered for each subscription plan, click here.

Why would an account be restricted?

There are two situations where restrictions may be applied:

1. Exceeding the contact limit defined by the subscription plan

Freemium Plan: 2,000 contacts
Startup Plan: 5,000 contacts
Webinar Plan: 10,000 contacts
Unlimited Plan: Unlimited contacts

If these limits are exceeded, your account becomes subject to restriction.

2. Exceeding feature limits after a change in plan

This may occur in cases where:

You cancel a paid subscription and revert to the Freemium plan
You downgrade from a higher-tier plan to a lower-tier one

To check your current subscription and plan limits, go to: Profile picture > Settings > My plan.

We recommend taking preventive action before restriction occurs to avoid losing new leads or sales. Monitoring your contact list size and following the steps below can help you avoid service interruptions.

The pre-restriction process

When plan limits are exceeded, a pre-restriction process is initiated to notify the user and allow time to take action before restrictions are applied.

During this process:

You will receive three warning emails (one per day)
An alert is displayed on your systeme.io dashboard

This pre-restriction period provides the opportunity to avoid the restriction process through one of the following actions:

Upgrading to a higher plan
This increases your contact limits and available features. To view available plans, click here.
If none of the available options meet your current needs, contact support for assistance.
Removing exceeded items

In case of exceeding the limits of the available features:
To easily identify excess items, go to Profile picture > Settings > My plan. Items exceeding the plan limits will appear in red within the subscription summary table for easy identification and removal.
In case of exceeding the limit of contacts:
You must proceed to clean your email list, as explained in this article. However, if you do not have any inactive contacts, you can always delete contacts using other criteria by following the instructions in this article.

The restriction process

If no action is taken by the fourth day, the restriction process is automatically activated.

There are two scenarios, depending on the subscription plan:

Freemium plan:

We send a final warning email, confirming that the account has been restricted
A permanent alert is displayed on the systeme.io dashboard

Once the account is restricted, some features on your account will be disabled:

General account limitations

Opt-ins and payments stop working
It is no longer possible to add or import contacts and students through any method (forms, manual entry, automations, Zapier, or API)
New sales cannot be processed
Users cannot join a community owned by a restricted account

Email-related limitations

Creation of new newsletters is not allowed
Scheduled newsletters are not sent
Email campaigns are paused during the restriction period
Sending test emails is disabled

Automations

New automation and workflow triggers do not activate (existing ones already running continue normally)

Course and student communication (for teacher accounts)

Drip access emails are paused (after the restriction ends, only the last email related to the last unlocked lecture will be sent)
Course reminder emails will not be sent
Students retain access to previously unlocked lectures, but course access is blocked
Manual enrollment of students from the dashboard is disabled

Important: Please note that even while the account is restricted, the days continue to be counted in the drip schedule. This means that if there is a delay set between lectures, the restriction period will still be included in the calculation for the next lecture release.

Paid plan:

The system will automatically upgrade the subscription to the next available tier to ensure uninterrupted service.

If this automatic upgrade occurs, and you wish to return to your original plan, any excess content must first be removed. Once the account is within the limits again, contact customer support to request the downgrade.

Note: Content is not automatically deleted when an account is restricted. However, if no login or activity occurs for 6 months, content may be permanently removed.