Reference
How licensing & seats work
The seat model explained - billing accounts, licences, seats, trials, and exactly when a child can play.
PEN Play's subscription is built from three simple pieces. Once you see how they fit together, everything about billing and game access makes sense.
The three pieces
- Billing account - who pays. It holds your details, address and saved card. Most families have one personal billing account; a school or practice has its own.
- Licence - your subscription. It sits on the billing account, tracks your billing period, and holds your seats.
- Seat - a single slot that lets one child play. One seat per child, always.
In short: a billing account owns a licence, the licence has seats, and each seat is assigned to one child.
Pricing and the free trial
- Each seat costs R99 per child.
- New licences start with a 30-day free trial. During the trial the licence status is Trialing, and children can already play.
- When the trial ends, billing begins for the seats you have (monthly by default).
Payments are currently in testing mode, so you won't actually be charged yet. See Subscription & billing for the checkout steps.
Assigning seats to children
Having a seat and using a seat are two steps:
- Your licence has a number of seats (you choose how many).
- Each seat is either assigned to a specific child or left unassigned.
A child can only play once they hold an assigned, active seat. You manage this on your Billing page - assign an unassigned seat to a child, or unassign it to free it up for someone else.
Changing how many seats you have
From your billing page you can:
- Add a seat - takes effect immediately so you can add another child right away. The cost is prorated for the rest of the current period.
- Remove a seat - scheduled for the end of the current period. The seat stays usable until then (its status shows as pending removal), so nobody loses access mid-month.
- Cancel the licence at the end of the period, or reactivate it before it lapses if you change your mind.
Because removals only apply at the period end, you keep what you've paid for. Add seats when you need them; schedule removals when a child no longer plays.
Licence status at a glance
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Trialing | Inside the 30-day free trial. Children can play. |
| Active | Paid and in good standing. Children can play. |
| Past due | A payment didn't go through. Access is paused until it's resolved. |
| Cancelled | The licence has ended. Seats no longer grant access. |
When can a child actually play?
Whether a child can play comes down to their seat, the licence and the billing account together. This is the single most useful thing to understand when a child can't get in:
| Child's game access | Why | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Ready to play | Seat is active, licence is Trialing or Active, and the account is in good standing. | Nothing to do. |
| No seat | The child has no seat, or their seat was removed. | Add a seat and assign it to the child. |
| Paused | A payment issue - the account is suspended or the licence is past due. | Resolve payment on your Billing page. |
| Expired | The licence was cancelled, or the billing period has ended. | Reactivate or start a new subscription. |
If a child suddenly can't play, it's almost always one of the rows above - check that they still have an assigned, active seat on a Trialing or Active licence. See Troubleshooting.
Schools and practices
Institutions work the same way, with their own billing account covering seats for their students:
- A school or therapy practice can hold a licence and provide seats to the learners or clients it adds.
- When an institution adds your child, you still approve the connection - see Approving requests.
Related guides
- Subscription & billing - the practical steps to start, pay and manage your plan.
- Adding a child - create a child and give them a seat.
- Glossary - quick definitions of seat, licence, billing account and more.