"You need a paid license to access this project"

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1

I have been using Asana and this particular board I work on everyday, in fact I just used it through the course of this morning. Now I went to open a task and get the error message “You need a paid license to access this project” and the project board is grayed out. Is this a system error? Also I tried to access Support Chat and that doesn’t work either.

2

@Cheryl_Stash Hi, are you using Asana within an organization? Or for personal use?

3

I’m also having this problem. I use it for my business but I’m a startup and I’m my only employee. Some of my projects are available and some require me to have a license. Very frustrating. Hopefully this fix this soon

4

What I’ve found as information:

This issue typically occurs when a user without a paid seat tries to access a project that requires a license due to organizational settings or specific paid features.

Common Causes

  • Workspace vs. Organization: In a Workspace, every member (including those with limited access) requires a paid license. In an Organization, only users with the company’s email domain count as paid members; external guests are usually free.

  • Seat Limit Reached: The plan may have exceeded its total seat limit, preventing additional free users from joining until someone is removed or the plan is upgraded.

  • Privacy Settings: The project might be set to “Private to members,” which requires explicit access that may be tied to a paid tier in certain organizational structures.

  • Trial Expiration: If the user previously had access through a trial that has since expired, they will lose access to paid features and projects until a license is assigned.

Troubleshooting Steps

  1. Check User Email Domain: Ensure the user is invited correctly. If they have the company domain but are not on the paid plan, they may be blocked. Invite them as a Guest using a non-company email (e.g., Gmail) if they do not need a full license.

  2. Verify Seat Allocation: Admins should check the Admin Console > Members tab to see if there are available seats or if the user is listed with a “View only” or “Paused” license.

  3. Adjust Project Permissions: Try changing the user’s permission to “Viewer” or “Commenter” instead of “Editor,” as some permission levels might still require a paid seat depending on your specific Enterprise settings.

  4. Confirm Membership Type: If you are in a Workspace, consider moving to an Organization structure to take advantage of free guest seats.

5

It is for personal use. I haven’t had any issues ever like this. I am locked out of a board I use every day :frowning: