Short answer

Make limits stop adding, never reading. Local CRM's Free plan has every feature except Insights for up to 20 contacts and companies. A single check decides only whether something new may be added; opening, searching, editing, sharing and syncing never ask it. When a Pro subscription ends, everything stays usable, and the upgrade screen appears only when you reach a limit or open it from Settings, never at launch.

A free plan has to stop somewhere. The question is what it stops. Many apps stop the wrong thing: after a trial ends or a subscription lapses, records turn read-only, exports are blocked, or the app opens on an upgrade screen every morning. The data people put in becomes leverage against them. We wanted Local CRM's limits to work the other way around.

One question, asked in one place#

Local CRM has exactly one piece of code that compares what you use with what your plan allows. It answers a single question, may the person add this?, with one of three answers:

  • Yes.
  • Yes, with a hint. From 80% of a limit, Local CRM quietly shows how much room is left: on the Free plan, “4 left” at 16 contacts.
  • Not on this plan. This is the only moment the upgrade screen opens.

Everything else never asks. Opening a contact, searching, editing, sharing a contact as a vCard, deleting, syncing with iCloud: none of it checks the plan, because none of it adds anything.

12 contacts · Free has room for 20

Adding

Everything else

Free plan, 12 contacts. Add some and watch what happens near 20.

Figure 1. Local CRM's limit rules on a contact counter. Add contacts past the hint, import ten when only a few fit, then switch to Pro, add more, and end Pro: every contact stays usable.

Imports take what fits#

Imports follow the same rule, record by record. With 15 contacts on the Free plan, importing 10 from the Contacts app brings in 5. The other 5 aren't imported, and nothing is lost: they're still in your Contacts app, which Local CRM reads but never changes.

The Shopify Partners plugin works the same way. Apps beyond the plan's limit are paused, not removed: nothing is read for them and nothing is deleted. On the Free plan, the 20 most recently installed shops get a client, and later installs wait for room. After an upgrade, the waiting shops arrive with their whole history, without a burst of notifications.

When Pro ends#

A subscription can end on purpose, through a refund, or because a payment failed. In every case:

  • nothing is deleted;
  • nothing is locked: every contact stays readable, searchable and editable, and you can still share it as a vCard;
  • iCloud sync keeps working across your devices;
  • adding beyond the Free limits needs Pro again.

When a renewal payment fails, Apple keeps trying for a while, and Pro keeps working during that grace period, 16 days, so a card that expired over a holiday doesn't interrupt anything.

No trial to cancel, no pitch at launch#

There's no free trial of Pro. The Free plan is how you try Local CRM, for as long as you like, so there's no countdown to remember and nothing that turns into a charge on its own. Prices come from the App Store in your own currency, and the upgrade screen only opens at a limit or from Settings → Plan & Billing.

Questions to ask of any free plan#

Before you put years of notes into an app, it's worth asking:

  1. On the day I stop paying, what can I still open and edit?
  2. Can I get my data out without paying?
  3. Does the app interrupt me before I've reached a limit?

For Local CRM, the answers are: everything; yes, contact by contact as vCards, and your Contacts app is never changed; and no. The values behind this are on About h2made, and the plans side by side are on the Local CRM page.

Questions this note answers

What are the limits of Local CRM's Free plan?
Up to 20 contacts and companies, 1 Shopify app, 1 Partner organization and 20 active shops, with every feature except Insights.
What happens to my contacts if my Pro subscription ends?
Nothing is deleted or locked. You can still open, search, edit, share and sync every contact; only adding new ones needs Pro again.
What happens if I import more contacts than the Free plan allows?
Local CRM imports what fits. The rest aren't imported and stay in your Contacts app, which Local CRM never changes.
Does Local CRM show an upgrade screen when it opens?
No. It appears only when you reach a limit, or when you open Settings → Plan & Billing yourself.

In Local CRM: Insights, Shopify Partners

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