🏆 Best Practices: Bring projects shared by Basic-Users into a business account

Joerg Koper

Hello dear community 👋🙂

Many of you are currently wondering how to deal with the changes resulting from the restrictions on sharing projects between Basic-Uers and Business-Users announced for 7 December 2023.

I have a little workaround for you:

Step 1:

• Business-User opens the project shared by Basic-User.
• Export project in JSON format.
• Import exported project into MeisterTask.

The project is now available as newly imported in the list. It can be recognised by the fact that it does not yet have an icon. This project is now owned by the business user and no warning icon should be visible.

Step 2:

• Drag the newly imported project in the project list (dashboard sidebar) under the original. This makes the further steps easier.
  
• The newly imported project now contains all (copied) tasks, but the attachments and comments from the original are missing.
  
• So go back to the original project and move the relevant tasks to the newly imported project. Keep in mind, that you have the option to select multiple tasks at once 💪😋
  
• Pay attention to the correct columns here. After moving, you will have the tasks in the corresponding columns twice, but this is not a problem at all.
  
• The copies (without attachments) in the newly imported project can now be deleted, as they have been replaced by the originals (incl. attachments) 😉
  
• Moving the original task to the new project should also save the comments.

Step 3:

To be able to work on the project together with the Basic-User again, the Business-User invites him and business can continue as usual 😎

You are welcome to let me know how it worked for you.

Best, Jörg

Andrew Lapidus

Thanks so much for sharing @Joerg Koper ! 🙌

This is an excellent how-to on how to convert projects owned by basic users into projects owned by Pro- and/or Business users. Hugely important to everyone wondering about the recent changes.

Alison Lewis

Surely this will only work until 5 February 2024 when the Basic user will completely loose access to the project as it is owned by a Pro/Business user? From what I understand, after 5 February 2024 you can only work with people that have the same account type as you - so Basic users can only work with other Basic users, and Pro/Business users can only work with other Pro/Business users. It seems that there will be no way to collaborate with other account types at all.

Joerg Koper

https://community.meister.co/discussion/comment/7983#Comment_7983

Hi Alison,

Basic users will, of course, still be able to collaborate with Business users as long as the project owner is the Business user and as long as the Basic user is invited by the Business user. That's the main point.

But, Basic users can still build their own teams and collaborate with their own teams within the given options. Still for free.

And…projects, that are owned by Basic users, will still be owned by them as long as they don't delete them. We're talking about Business projects here, that a Basic user and a Business user are collaborating on. And about a solution, how to keep on collaborating after the changes.

The only thing, that will have to be clarified between the two involved parties, is whether it is OK to move the original tasks to the new "Business" project. But that's what two parties have to handle, when they are working on a project that was created via a totally free and normally for private uses cases meant account 😉

Best, Jörg

Alison Lewis

According to the FAQ page about the future changes after 7 December you can only collaborate with people in your Team and the people in your Team have to all be on the same account:

- - - - - - - - - - -

For users of a paid (Pro or Business) MeisterTask plan:

If you don't collaborate in projects or notes that belong to a Basic user, you are not affected by this change.

If you do collaborate in projects or notes that belong to a Basic user (see below to learn whether this is the case), you must either add them to your team or the Basic user must upgrade to a paid plan.

- - - - - - - - - - -

If you click through the link on add them to your team it says how you must have enough licences for your new Team members or they will be invoiced for a paid account. Therefore, Pro/Business users will not be able to work with Basic users. Likewise, as a Basic user you cannot add a Pro/Business user to your Team.

After the 25 October changes we were expecting non-Team members to just be downgraded from Administrator to Member (with reduced ability) but now from 5 February non-Team members will loose all access.

Or maybe I have misunderstood it!!

Andrew Lapidus

Hi all — sorry for the confusion here @Alison Lewis!

@Joerg Koper is indeed correct. I think the culprit here is the rather confusing wording in the FAQ. (sorry for this, I wrote it! 🙈) I will update it for clarity!

Let me try to clarify here:

Paid users can continue to invite anyone to their projects, whether that user is on a free plan, paid plan, on their team/not on their team etc.

Starting Feb 4th, Basic (free) users can only invite team members to their projects. They can, however, still be invited to collaborate on any project owned by a paid user.

Now comes the confusing part: Sometimes, paying users are collaborating on projects that were created (and hence "owned") by a free user. In this case, since the project is owned by the basic user and the paid user was invited to their project, the paying user will lose access.

In such a situation, @Joerg Koper 's solution above will solve the issue by transferring ownership of the project the paying user, thus allowing the paying user to invite anyone they want.

Please let me know if this helps, or if it just adds more confusion… Happy to clarify this, as many folks have similar questions!

Best,

Andrew

Alison Lewis

@Andrew Lapidus it is all very confusing!!

As a Basic (free) user I already get told I need to upgrade if I am added to a Team owned by a Paid user!

I'm going to send you a private message as my specific requirements are complicated and probably not relevant to many people.

Alison Lewis

@Andrew Lapidus please see the private message I've sent to your inbox. Are you able to help me there or should I post a new thread on here? Thanks.