Account & License (Licensing, Workspaces, Seats & Trial) Coming

ComingThis feature is designed but not in DimSum yet. This page describes how it will work.

How to try, buy, activate and manage DimSum: $600 a year per Workspace (includes one seat and every feature), $400 a year per extra seat, 2 machines per seat, a 14-day watermarked trial, 30 days offline, and your work is never held hostage: if your account closes, Download all my data unlocks your files so you can still view them.

Overview

DimSum Takeoff is a product of Planbase Estimating LLC. It's sold as a yearly license per Workspace. A Workspace is your company or team account.

Price and editions

Item	Price	Includes
Workspace license	$600 / year (≈ $50 / month)	The Workspace + 1 seat, every feature, all updates during the term
Additional seat	$400 / year each	One more named user
Cloud sync (coming with accounts)	Part of the signed-in account, no add-on price	Jobs, tools, reports, settings and everything else back up to your account and come down on any computer you sign in on

• Each seat is one named user, who can use DimSum on 2 machines at once (e.g. an office desktop and a laptop).
• New users get a 14-day full-featured trial, no payment details needed. Reports and PDFs exported during the trial carry a small "DimSum Trial" watermark.

Your data is never held hostage. DimSum runs signed in to your account, and your files are bound to it. If the trial ends or the license lapses, editing stops until you renew, and nothing in your account is deleted or changed. If the account is closed, use Download all my data first: it gives you every file you own, unlocked, so you can still view them, read-only. A view-only web viewer or view-only app for those files comes later.

But DimSum is not a free viewer: files are bound to accounts. A .dsum copied to someone else's computer won't open unless it was shared with their account or Workspace. Your own work is never locked away from you, and nobody gets the backend for free by copying your files.

What customers get (and don't)

Your customers never see the "backend" (formulas, prices, tools, lists). There is no free .dsum viewer. What you share with customers:

• Reports, including proposals,
• Marked-up plans (PDF / print), see Marked-Up Plan printing,
• the 3D view file (.vsum ) for the DimSum 3D Viewer: a free desktop viewer app built first (no hosting needed), with an online viewer hosted by Planbase later. See 3D viewport.

Cloud sync comes with accounts: it is part of the signed-in account, not a separate subscription, and has no add-on price. Until accounts ship, everything is stored locally.

Where to find it

Place	What's there
First launch	Accept the License Agreement (EULA), then activate a license or start a trial, before First-Run Setup
Title bar	Trial days remaining
Settings → Account & License	License key/activation, seats, subscription status, EULA, privacy/telemetry consent
Settings → About / Updates	Version, update channel (stable/beta), release notes, open-source notices
Account portal (website)	Download installers, manage licenses and seats, billing, invoices, Download all my data (planned)
Help website	The DimSum documentation and support contact
In-app Feedback / Bug report button	Send a report with logs (and optionally the project)

How to use it

1. Start your free trial

1. Install and open DimSum.
2. Read and accept the License Agreement (EULA).
3. Choose Start 14-day trial. No payment details are needed.
4. Continue to First-Run Setup (units, storage, user and company info, defaults, starter templates).
5. Every feature is available during the trial. The days remaining show in the title bar and in Settings → Account & License.
6. Anything you export or print (reports, marked-up plans, PDFs) shows a small "DimSum Trial" watermark until you activate a license. CSV exports carry a "DimSum Trial" row instead, because a CSV can't hold a watermark. Nothing is blocked or truncated — delete the row, or activate first.

2. Buy a license

1. Go to the account portal (from Settings → Account & License, or the DimSum website).
2. Buy a Workspace license ($600/yr, includes your first seat). Add extra seats ($400/yr each) if others in your company need DimSum.
3. Payment and sales tax/VAT are handled by the payment provider. You get an invoice and a license key.

3. Activate DimSum on this computer

1. Open Settings → Account & License (or choose Activate on the first-launch screen).
2. Click Activate and enter your license key.
3. DimSum confirms the Workspace, your seat, and how many of your 2 machine slots are in use.
4. Your projects and trial work carry on as normal. Nothing is lost when you switch from trial to paid, and new exports no longer carry the trial watermark.

4. Use DimSum on a second machine

1. Install DimSum on the second computer (e.g. your laptop).
2. Activate it with the same seat. You're now using 2 of 2 machines.
3. To use a third machine, first deactivate one of the others: Settings → Account & License → Deactivate this machine. That frees the slot.
4. If the old machine is lost or broken, free its slot from the account portal.

5. Move to a new computer

1. On the old computer: Settings → Account & License → Deactivate this machine.
2. On the new computer: install DimSum and Activate.
3. Copy your .dsum projects and .tsum tool libraries and .bsum Building Template libraries over, and export/import your settings as a .ssum file (Settings → import/export).

6. Work offline

• DimSum caches your activation.
• For a machine that is never online, use an offline activation file:

1. On the offline machine, Settings → Account & License → Offline activation → save the request file.
2. On any online computer, upload it in the account portal and download the activation file.
3. Back on the offline machine, load the activation file.

7. Manage seats (Workspace admin)

1. Sign in to the account portal.
2. Add seats ($400/yr each) or remove them at renewal.
3. Assign a seat to a named user, or reassign it when someone leaves or changes role.
4. See billing, invoices and renewal dates in one place.
5. Workspace admins also control Report Branding (logo, header/footer, default terms) in Settings. Later, with accounts and the Workspace defaults folder, admins will be able to lock tools and lists so estimators can use but not change them. Being an admin does not unlock Behind the scenes; that needs the access code. The mechanism is a single master code held by Planbase — not a per-install challenge/response, and not something an admin role can grant. It is never shown in the app or in the documentation, and a normal user never needs it.

8. When the trial ends, a license lapses or the account closes

1. Editing stops, and DimSum shows a notice with an Activate (or Renew) button. Nothing in your account is deleted or changed.
2. Activate or renew (steps 2–3) and everything carries on where you left it.
3. To keep your work without renewing, open the account portal and choose Download all my data. You get one download with every file you own, unlocked, so the files still open for viewing, read-only, after the account is closed.
4. Files other people shared with you stay theirs, so they aren't in your download. Ask them to hand a file over if it should be yours.
5. A view-only web viewer or view-only app for the unlocked files comes later.

9. Get updates

1. Updates install through auto-update. Choose the stable or beta channel in Settings → About / Updates.
2. Updates are included for as long as your yearly license is active.
3. Read the release notes in Settings → About / Updates.

10. Get help

• Help website: the full documentation (these docs), searchable. The same content is the in-app Quick Guide (F1).
• Email support from Planbase Estimating.
• Feedback / Bug report button in the app, which attaches logs.

11. Choose what you share (privacy)

1. Open Settings → Account & License → Privacy.
2. Telemetry is anonymous.
3. Crash reports and telemetry never include plan content or project data.
4. The privacy policy explains what's collected (GDPR/CCPA compliant).

Options & settings

Settings → Account & License

Item	What it shows / does
License status	Trial (days left), Active (renewal date), Lapsed (renew to keep working)
Workspace	Company/team account the license belongs to
Seat	The named user this install is activated for
Machines	Machines in use for this seat (max 2); deactivate this machine
Activate / Enter key	Activate a license
Offline activation	Activation file for machines without internet
Offline grace	Days left before the next required check-in (30-day limit)
Account	The signed-in account, and cloud sync status (coming with accounts)
EULA	View the License Agreement you accepted
Privacy	Crash reporting (opt-in), telemetry (opt-in, anonymous)

License terms at a glance

Item	Billing	Includes
Workspace license	$600 / year	Workspace + 1 seat, every feature, all updates during the term
Additional seat	$400 / year	One more named user
Cloud sync (coming with accounts)	Part of the account, no add-on price	Jobs, tools, reports, settings

Rule	Value
Editions	One, every feature included
Machines per seat	2 at once
Trial	14 days, full-featured, no payment details, watermarked PDFs and a "DimSum Trial" row in CSV
After trial / lapse	Editing stops and nothing is deleted. Renew to carry on
Account closed	Download all my data unlocks every file you own, to view read-only
Offline grace period	30 days
Updates	Included while the yearly license is active
.dsum viewer for customers	None; share reports, marked-up plans and the 3D view file
Support	Email + help website

Workspace benefits

💡 Shared company info, shared tool libraries (coming, through the Workspace defaults folder and Share), central billing, seat management, admin-only report branding.

Examples

Situation	What happens	Cost per year
Solo estimator	Buys one Workspace license (1 seat). Activates the office PC and a laptop: 2 of 2 machines.	$600 (≈ $50/month)
Company with 3 estimators	Workspace license (seat 1) + 2 additional seats. The admin assigns each seat to a named user in the portal.	$600 + 2 × $400 = $1,400
Company with 5 estimators	Workspace + 4 seats	$600 + 4 × $400 = $2,200 (average $440 per user)
Estimator buys a new laptop	Deactivates the old laptop in Settings, activates the new one. Still 2 of 2.	No change
Estimator leaves the company	The admin reassigns that seat to the new hire.	No change
Trial ends mid-bid	Editing stops until the estimator activates a license; nothing is lost. Exports made during the trial carry the watermark.
License not renewed, account closed	The estimator uses Download all my data first. Every file comes down unlocked and still opens for viewing, read-only.
Job-site trailer with no internet	Works offline for up to 30 days, or uses the offline activation file.
Sending a project to a coworker	Share it to the coworker's account, or to your Workspace (coming with accounts). A .dsum just copied to their computer won't open, because files are bound to accounts. Until accounts ship, any DimSum install opens it.
Sending a takeoff to a customer	Don't send the .dsum. Send the proposal/report PDF, the marked-up plan PDF, and (later) the 3D view file.

Tips & shortcuts

• Deactivate a machine before you wipe or sell it, so you don't need the portal to free the slot.
• Keep your .tsum tool libraries and a .ssum settings export backed up; they make moving machines painless.
• Check the title bar during the trial so the end of the trial doesn't surprise you mid-bid, and activate before sending customer-facing PDFs if you don't want the trial watermark.

Rules, limits & edge cases

• 2 machines per seat at once. A third activation needs a deactivation first.
• A seat is a named user, not a shared login.
• After the trial or a lapse: no editing of projects or tools until you renew. Nothing is deleted.
• After the account closes: your files open for viewing only, from Download all my data, which unlocks them.
• DimSum is not a free viewer. A .dsum copied to someone else's computer won't open unless it was shared with their account or Workspace. Customers get reports, marked-up plans and the .vsum 3D file instead.
• A job made during the trial is yours like any other, and it's in Download all my data.
• Offline grace is 30 days; after it, DimSum needs to check in (or use an offline activation file).
• Updates released after your license ends aren't included until you renew.
• Cloud sync comes with the signed-in account, with no add-on price.
• Trial watermark appears on exported reports and PDFs during the trial only; CSV exports get a "DimSum Trial" row instead.

Related features

• First-Run Setup
• Settings page
• File types & the .dsum project file
• Tool library files (.tsum / .bsum)
• Report Designer (the trial watermark)
• Marked-Up Plan printing
• 3D viewport (3D view file for customers)

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