FSBT Pro to Freshservice ITSM: Upgrade and downgrade guide

Modified on: Mon, 26 Oct, 2026 at 9:32 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

At a glance
1. When to use this article
2. GTM and Sales process
3. Determine the minimum license requirements
4. Billing scenarios
5. Unsupported and restricted changes

Internal article for Billing and GTM teams

At a glance

Accounts on the Freshservice for Business Teams (FSBT) Pro plan can transition to Freshservice ITSM Pro or Enterprise. This transition adds an IT workspace and is permanent. Once an account moves to an ITSM plan, it cannot move back to FSBT Pro.

Before processing the transition, verify that the account meets the minimum required IT and Business Agent license counts. These minimums are account-specific and are validated when the subscription change is executed.

1. When to use this article

Use this guide when processing or supporting an FSBT Pro to Freshservice ITSM plan transition. It explains the internal request process, minimum license requirements, billing behavior, and unsupported plan changes.

2. GTM and Sales process

Important: All upgrades and downgrades for this transition must be initiated through an Order Form ticket. This transaction is not supported in DealHub.

Follow these steps to initiate the transition:

Open the FreshOps Admin portal and look up the account using its Account ID.
Open the Transitioning to ITSM plans tab.
Check the minimum IT license count required for the account. Review the agent names listed against this minimum.
Verify that the Order Form includes at least the minimum required number of IT licenses and Business Agent licenses for the account.
Raise an Order Form ticket to initiate the transition. Do not use DealHub for this transaction.

3. Determine the minimum license requirements

When an account transitions to Freshservice ITSM Pro or Enterprise, agents can use a combination of IT and Business Agent licenses, or all agents can be assigned IT licenses.

The license required for each agent depends on their responsibilities and the permissions they need to retain after the transition.

3.1 Determine the minimum IT license count

The minimum IT license count is based on the users who require IT-specific access or account-wide permissions after the transition.

Consider the following requirements:

IT team members: Each member of the IT team who needs access to the account requires an IT license.
Existing multi-workspace accounts: Agents who need to retain account-wide permissions require IT licenses.
Existing single-workspace accounts: Users with the Play God permission require IT licenses after the transition.

For single-workspace accounts, the transition introduces a multi-workspace setup and Global Settings. Global Settings includes capabilities such as user management and billing.

Consider the following permission requirements when determining the minimum IT license count:

Global Settings access: Business Agents retain access to some Global Settings capabilities, including view access to agents, requesters, requester groups, roles, and departments. They can also configure Journeys.
Account-wide administration: Agents who need to manage capabilities that move to Global Settings and are not available to Business Agents require IT licenses.
Workspace-level and global-level management: Some capabilities, such as forms and workflows, are available in both Global Settings and workspace settings. Business Agents can manage these capabilities only within workspace settings. IT agents can manage them at both the workspace and global levels.

Review each agent's responsibilities and required access before assigning licenses. You can also sign up for a Freshservice trial account to explore the capabilities available under Global Settings.

Agents who work exclusively in business workspaces, such as HR or Facilities, can continue using Business Agent licenses unless they also need access to the IT workspace or account-wide administrative capabilities.

3.2 Determine the minimum Business Agent license count

The minimum Business Agent license count is based on agents who will continue working exclusively in business workspaces after the transition and do not require IT licenses.

This typically includes agents who:

Work on tickets and other data in business workspaces, such as HR or Facilities.
Administer business workspaces without requiring broader account-wide administrative access.

Business Agent licenses support permissions within business workspaces. However, they do not allow agents to manage agent availability. This is treated as an account-wide capability, even when the permission is granted within a workspace.

Tip: Review administrative permissions before purchasing licenses. If an account-wide administrator no longer needs those permissions, remove them or convert the agent to an occasional agent to reduce the number of required IT licenses.

3.3 Confirm the required license counts

Freshservice validates the minimum IT and Business Agent license requirements when the subscription change is executed. Review both counts before the change takes effect to help ensure that agents retain the access they need.

If the purchased license counts are below the required minimums, Freshservice can add the missing licenses and bill the account separately for them, depending on the transaction type.

To avoid additional license charges, review the account's agent assignments before execution.

Consider the following scenarios:

Both license counts are below the minimums: Freshservice validates the IT and Business Agent license counts independently. A surplus in one license type does not offset a shortfall in the other.
The total license count increases, but the IT and Business Agent counts change: The transaction must still meet both minimums. Increasing the total number of licenses does not remove this requirement.
An agent does not require a full license: Consider converting the agent to an occasional agent or removing the agent, as appropriate.

Converting an agent to an occasional agent does not affect the account's data. However, the agent needs day passes to access the account.

4. Billing scenarios

Billing behavior depends on the transaction channel, the type of commercial change, and when the license requirements are validated.

Channel	Commercial change	Validation behavior	Billing and product outcome
Online	ARR upgrade	Before the transaction proceeds, the system checks whether both the IT and Business Agent license counts meet their respective minimums.	If either count is below its minimum, the transaction is blocked until both requirements are met. If both minimums are met, the transaction proceeds. Any purchased licenses that exceed current usage remain unutilized.
Online	ARR downgrade	On the scheduled effective date, the system validates both minimum license counts again.	If either count is below its minimum, the system adds the missing licenses and bills the account separately for them. If the required licenses cannot be added, the change fails.
Offline	ARR upgrade or downgrade	On the day the billing update is executed, the system validates both minimum license counts.	If either count is below its minimum, the system adds the missing licenses and bills the account separately for them. If the required licenses cannot be added, the change fails. If both minimums are met, the transaction succeeds.

5. Unsupported and restricted changes

The following changes are not supported:

Freshservice ITSM to FSBT Pro: Downgrading an account from an ITSM plan to FSBT Pro is not supported. Once an account transitions to an ITSM plan, it cannot return to FSBT Pro.
FSBT Pro to ITSM Starter or Growth through the offline flow: This transition is not supported through the offline flow, and the transaction fails.
Copilot and project-only user licenses: Existing license validation rules for Copilot and project-only users remain unchanged by this transition.