Last updated Sep 30, 2024

As part of an early access program (EAP), you can now build standard and advanced editions of Marketplace apps in the cloud that are Paid via Atlassian. During this stage of the EAP, participants can build and test editions of non-production apps in development, staging, and production environments.

EAP features are available to select users for demand, viability, and suitability testing. Releasing a feature as an EAP helps us gather insights that inform future development decisions.

FAQ

In anticipation of questions that you and your customers and prospects may have about App Editions, we've created the following FAQs for your review.

General

Question	Answer
What are app editions?	App Editions let partners monetize premium features for high-demand customers while offering affordable options for price-sensitive users. This expands the app’s market by providing multiple pricing offerings in a single paid Marketplace listing.
What are the requirements for app editions?	Cloud apps only Both Connect and Forge are eligible App must first be a Paid via Atlassian (PvA) app Initially, two editions—standard and advanced—will be introduced, with editions to include free apps in the future
Will app editions be available for all Atlassian deployment options: cloud, Data Center, and server?	Atlassian is only introducing app editions for cloud apps, to align with how Atlassian’s own products only have editions for cloud.
If I plan to offer different editions of my app, can I choose how my current app is categorized? Additionally, if my app is currently built for a higher-paying audience, would it be possible to introduce a lower-tier standard edition with App Editions?	The ability to classify your current app as an advanced edition is not included in the initial releases. We are evaluating its feasibility for future releases from both business and technical perspectives.
Will editions be visible for all apps, or can we choose which apps to build editions for?	Partners can decide which of their apps will participate in App Editions. Customers won’t notice any changes during the early access phase unless specific editions are enabled for that app and shared with them. Once we reach standard General Availability (GA), feature sets and pricing will be visible at multiple touchpoints based on the app's participation. We recommend considering App Editions for both existing and new apps, as this creates an effective flywheel to attract customers and enable upsell opportunities. The effort required to set up editions for an app is minimal.
What will my app editions journey look like?	Your app editions journey will be divided into three key phases: Plan: Strategizing for app editions, deciding how you want to diversify, where editions can fit in your roadmap, how you will price and package them, etc. Build: Following the technical instructions and building editions in your code. Publish: Adding and mapping features to respective editions in the partner account, pricing them, and submitting them for review. Once your editions have been approved by the review team, you can share them with your customers on the Marketplace website (GA) or through a standalone link (EAP).
Will there be support for archiving editions (within an app)?	Archiving an edition is not supported during the early access phase and is not planned for GA either. This means that once an edition is created, it remains part of the app. However, you have several creative options, such as adjusting the feature sets or changing the pricing within the editions.
Will App Editions be available for all customers?	App Editions is built exclusively on our new billing system, so it will only be available to customers using that system. Atlassian is in the process of migrating all customers from the old billing system to the new one, and we expect to complete this transition over the next several quarters. By the time of GA, we expect the majority of our customers to be on the improved/new billing system.

EAP

Question	Answer
What’s the plan in the EAP?	We will start with an EAP for select partners which will later roll out to GA. You will be able to configure editions for your apps in your Marketplace partner account. During the Early Access Program, participants will be partnering closely with the Atlassian product and engineering teams to build app editions for their apps and invite their existing customers to upgrade to their new advanced app editions. Read more about how to become a participant and the requirements here.
If editions are only for customers on the new improved billing system, how will I learn which customers are cloud customers while reaching out during the EAP?	We will let EAP participants know which customers are on the improved billing system. Partners will share a list of entitlements with us, and we will inform them which ones are eligible for upgrade.

Question

Answer

What’s the plan in the EAP?

We will start with an EAP for select partners which will later roll out to GA. You will be able to configure editions for your apps in your Marketplace partner account. During the Early Access Program, participants will be partnering closely with the Atlassian product and engineering teams to build app editions for their apps and invite their existing customers to upgrade to their new advanced app editions. Read more about how to become a participant and the requirements here.

If editions are only for customers on the new improved billing system, how will I learn which customers are cloud customers while reaching out during the EAP?

We will let EAP participants know which customers are on the improved billing system. Partners will share a list of entitlements with us, and we will inform them which ones are eligible for upgrade.

Planning and strategy

Question	Answer
How can I plan for app editions?	We have put together a few resources for you to plan for your editions and think about your pricing, packaging, and overall strategy. Visit the App Editions Resource Hub to learn more.
How can I find out which parent product editions my current customer base is using to formulate my app editions strategy?	This information is currently available in the license report available to Marketplace partners. To see this information, Marketplace partners can download the license report and get the edition of the parent product from the field `parentProductplan`.

Technical integration and implementation

Question	Answer
How will app editions work? Are there any specific technical instructions that Marketplace partners must follow to support editions for their apps?	Partners need to introduce conditional logic in their app code, depending on their app’s functions and how these are coded. This conditional logic provides the differentiation of features and services between standard and advanced editions of their apps. The detailed technical instructions will be available to the participants of the EAP.
How will developers integrate app editions into their apps?	Developers can utilize various touch-points to integrate edition-level experiences into their apps, such as: Installation Lifecycle Event Connect License API Connect Conditions Inclusion in Connect iFrame QSPs Forge Custom UI/UI Kit Forge Backend Functions These tools will allow developers to differentiate features based on a customer’s edition and write conditional logic to tailor the app experience.
Will the capabilitySet be available in all API interactions?	The capabilitySet will be added to several API interactions, including installation lifecycle events and the Connect License API, to provide consistent edition information across all relevant touch-points. The existing locations where licensing could be consumed in apps have been extended to provide context around which edition a customer is on.
How will capabilitySet be used?	The capabilitySet defines a customer's feature access level— `capabilitystandard`, `capabilityadvanced`, or `null` `capabilitystandard`: The feature is available when a customer is on the new billing system and has either ndergone a state transition from advanced to standard on the app or is a new customer who has installed the app after editions were introduced. `capabilityadvanced`: The feature is available when a customer is on the new billing system and has either undergone a state transition from standard to advanced on the app or is a new customer who has installed the app after editions were introduced. `null`: Can refer to two scenarios: The customer is using the old billing system, or The customer is on the new billing system but hasn't experienced any state transitions. Ideally, you would want all customers with a status of `null` or `capabilitystandard` to have access to standard features, while only those with `capabilityadvanced` should have access to advanced features.
When a customer upgrades/downgrades from one edition to another, will the IDs remain the same? (i.e EntitlementId, EntitlementNumber etc.)	Yes, they will remain the same. As part of upgrades and downgrades, app identifiers, such as Entitlement Number and EntitlementId, don't get updated.
Will the installationId and clientKey remain the same?	Yes, the installationId and clientKey will remain the same.
Will the Entitlement Number be unique for standard/advanced editions?	The Entitlement Number will remain the same, with only the edition or edition changing.
Will Marketplace partners need to release a new version of an app before creating advanced edition?	No, Marketplace partners don’t need to publish a new version to publish editions currently.
Should versioning for standard/advanced editions be aligned or segregated?	The same version will be used across standard and advanced editions, with differences managed by feature flags in the app descriptors.

Publishing and review

Question	Answer
How will I publish my editions?	You will be able to publish your editions through the Editions tab in your Marketplace partner account. For the purpose of the EAP, the process is divided into three key phases: Adding and mapping features: Add all the features of your app, name them, describe them, and map them to the respective editions. Price your editions: Set the pricing for both your standard and advanced editions. Your existing customers will be transitioned to the standard pricing edition. Submitting for review: Submit your app for review.
What will the review process for app edition approval look like?	Once you submit your app editions for review, a support ticket will automatically be created in ECOHELP JSM to notify the app review team of your submission. You can interact directly with the review team through this ticket. If you don't have access, you can request it via support . The review will test both standard and advanced features to ensure proper licensing validations. If rejected, you’ll need to address the feedback and resubmit. Once approved, the edition will be available for customer upgrades.
Will there be more reviews by Atlassian after the initial advanced edition review?	No, only the initial review is manual. Subsequent updates to features won’t trigger a review.
How often can updates be submitted to the feature map without changing prices?	Updates can be submitted as often as needed without changing prices. There are no limitations on updating the feature map.
What permissions are required for the editions tab to be visible and configurable on the Marketplace Partner Console?	The Editions wizard enables partner users to update feature descriptions and pricing. Therefore, users must have both "Manage app details" and "Manage app pricing" permissions to access the Editions tab.

Revenue and pricing

Question	Answer
What will revenue share be for advanced app editions?	The revenue share will be defined at the app level and will be the same for both standard and advanced editions.
Are pricing rules for the advanced edition going to be different from the existing pricing rules?	All existing pricing rules and constraints for apps will apply to both standard and advanced editions. The key addition for advanced editions is that their pricing must be higher than that of the standard edition. Additionally, offering a free flat tier for advanced editions is not possible.
Will there be rules or restrictions around pricing/packaging editions?	No, partners have the freedom to determine how they want to price and package their editions.

Reporting

Question	Answer
What type of reporting and data will be available to me from Atlassian about customer behaviors and adoption between different editions of my app?	During early access, partners can see the edition of an app in the Licenses and Transactions reports. In the License report itself, apart from edition details, further information around any upgrade evaluations going on for a particular license will be provided.
Will all current Marketplace reports be updated to include the edition of the app?	Some reports, like Licenses and Transactions, will already display edition details. We're working on adding edition details to other reports, like Evaluations, and we'll progressively update other reports to provide edition insights to partners.
How will editions be reflected in Marketplace reports?	During early access, the Licenses and Transactions reports will display the customer’s edition. The reports will include fields indicating whether the customer is on a standard edition, with an active trial of an advanced edition.
Will there be a data field indicating if an advanced trial is from an existing standard customer?	During early access, the license of an existing standard customer will remain as standard. However, there will be three new fields in the Licenses report that indicate the ongoing trial of the app’s advanced edition. These new fields will show the edition they’re trialing (which is advanced), the start date, and the end date of the trial.

Customer behavior and experience

Question	Answer
How will upgrades and trials work?	Customers or the Marketplace partner (on behalf of customer) will submit a ticket to the Atlassian advocate team. The Atlassian advocate team will assist customers in starting a trial or upgrading to the advanced edition. Customers receive the link to a standalone Marketplace page with the app’s edition. They visit the link, view, compare editions, and decide to upgrade. Customer (or Marketplace partner on behalf of the partner) clicks the 'Other: I need help with something else' button, leading to a support page. They then enter the Cloud URL or App entitlement number, like the screenshot below:
What is the customer installation/upgrade/downgrade experience like?	During the EAP, all processes (installation, upgrade, downgrade, and trials) will be managed through Advocate Central. During GA, a self-serve option will be introduced, allowing customers to manage their editions through the Marketplace or other admin interfaces.
Will EAP customers need to pay for upgrades, or will they only need to confirm the upgrade after the EAP has ended?	EAP customers can trial the advanced edition for 30 days, during which they pay standard prices. After the trial, they are invoiced for the advanced edition's price difference unless they choose to revert to the standard edition.
If customers are on a paid standard subscription and are trialing an advanced edition, will they be charged during the trial period?	During the trial period, customers will continue to be charged for their existing standard subscription. After the trial ends and they convert, they will be charged for the advanced edition.
Will there be two active licenses for a paying standard customer on an advanced trial?	No, there will be a single license showing the edition as advanced under evaluation. The transaction report will show the standard edition as the paid version during the trial period.
Will Marketplace reviews specify which edition the customer is using, and can reviews be filtered by edition?	This capability won’t be available in the initial milestones but is being considered for future releases. For now, feedback is collected at the app level, not by edition.
How long are the trials going to be for?	Customers will have a 30-day trial period. They can also extend their trials through customer advocates, similar to standard trials. If they are satisfied with the product, they will transition to a paid edition. Additionally, customers have the option to opt out of an advanced trial. If they wish to do so, they can request their advocates to opt out and revert to their standard edition. It's important to note that opting out is only available for trials. Once a customer moves to an advanced subscription, downgrades can only occur at the end of the billing cycle and are scheduled, not immediate.
What kind of advanced features or support are customers requesting?	Customers frequently request enterprise-grade features such as enhanced support, BYOK, 99.9% SLA, compliance, advanced analytics, improved data residency and security, and audit logging. However, partners should gain more insight into which features to add to the advanced editions based on their research, customer feedback, competitive landscape, support tickets, and growth editions. We recommend that you begin focusing on certain enterprise-level features and those that enhance the attractiveness of cloud offerings for your advanced editions.
In case of any doubts, who can Marketplace partners reach out to?	The partners can reach out to the team through the support desk: Questions about Marketplace.
Can Marketplace partners discuss app editions with customers prior to the customer launch?	Marketplace partners are welcome to talk with customers about specific app features and future strategies, especially to gather customer feedback and conduct pricing research. However, please do not proactively announce Atlassian Marketplace-wide strategy to release app editions at this time. We are planning a coordinated customer announcement that will align with the customer release of app editions.
Why is the customer launch for editions so far from the partner announcement?	As we launch editions, we want to gather feedback from select partners and customers and improve the processes before we release them to all our customers. Hence, we are approaching the launch in a staggered manner.
How are upgrades and downgrades scheduled?	Upgrades take effect immediately, while downgrades are scheduled to occur at the end of the billing period. However, if a standard paying customer is on an advanced trial and chooses to opt out, the opt-out takes effect immediately, and the customer reverts to their standard paid subscription without the advanced trial.
What happens if a customer is on an old version that doesn’t auto-upgrade, and the partner introduces editions in the code? If the customer then upgrades to the advanced edition but remains on the old version, what occurs?	Customers must be on the latest version to access the features. Even if they upgrade to an advanced subscription, they will not have access to the advanced features unless they also upgrade their app version to the artifact that includes those features. Therefore, it’s crucial for customers to upgrade. We are exploring ways to inform customers about this as we transition to self-serve GA, but during the EAP phase, partners will need to communicate this to customers.
What happens to customers with Sandbox?	Please note that we are unable to upgrade the apps in Sandbox during the early access period, meaning we currently do not have the capability to change the edition or subscription for Sandbox app installations via advocates. As a result, customers must trial an advanced edition directly on their production instance. Alternatively, they can create a free production instance, install a standard app, and then request an advanced trial. Until we reach self-serve, customers will have no way to install an advanced trial or subscription in their Sandbox. If customers are on a standard or advanced subscription in their production environment the standard app on the Sandbox is free for them.