How Monthly Signing Request Allowances Work in QCDS

QCDS applies the Basic and Pro monthly allowance when a brand-new signing Request is authorized at Send Now. Basic allows 5 and Pro allows 25 new Requests per recognized site/domain per UTC calendar month. Max and All Access have no QuantaCade plan-level monthly Request ceiling.

This plan allowance is different from the optional Max / All Access Joomla user-group limit shown for individual accounts.

What Counts Against the Plan Allowance

One unit is consumed when QuantaCade authorizes a new Request at Send Now. QCDS performs that authorization synchronously before the immutable Request is created.

  • Basic: 5 new Requests per recognized site/domain per UTC month.
  • Pro: 25 new Requests per recognized site/domain per UTC month.
  • Max / All Access: no plan-level monthly Request ceiling.

Contacts and Templates do not consume this allowance.

Actions That Do Not Consume Another Plan Request

Once a Request has been authorized, normal work on that same Request does not create another plan-level unit. That includes reminders, delivery retries, correcting a failed recipient address through the supported Request workflow, signer activity, completion processing, completed-document resend, cancellation, and archiving. Deleting or archiving a Request does not refund an authorization already consumed.

Why Repeated Send Now Does Not Intentionally Double-Count

QCDS uses an idempotent Request-send path and a stable authorization identity for the draft. If the first send already created the immutable Request, a repeated submission returns or resumes that Request rather than intentionally creating a second transaction. This is also why you should not create a fresh replacement Request merely because one delivery step failed.

The QuantaCade Check Is Server-Authoritative

For Basic and Pro, the Joomla site does not decide the authoritative plan-level 5/25 usage by itself. At Send Now, QCDS contacts the QuantaCade Request authorization service with the recognized installation/domain context. If the allowance is exhausted, the new Request is not sent. If allowance verification is temporarily unavailable, QCDS also refuses to create the new Request rather than guessing.

The authorization receipt stored with a sent Request preserves the effective tier, monthly allowance, usage-after value, period, and reset information returned for that transaction.

What “Requests used this month” Means on the Dashboard

The frontend Dashboard card is deliberately account-facing. With no optional user-group limit enabled, it shows how many Requests the signed-in Joomla/QCDS user sent during the current account month window. It does not display the Basic 5 or Pro 25 site/domain allowance as that user's denominator.

When the optional Max / All Access Joomla user-group limit is enabled, the same card can show used / limit or used / Unlimited for that account.

Optional Max / All Access Joomla User-Group Limits

Administrators can enable a second, local monthly control for Joomla user groups on Max or All Access. Each group's value may be numeric or Unlimited. A user in multiple groups receives the highest applicable allowance, Unlimited overrides numeric values, and Super Users remain unlimited.

This local control is checked in addition to the central Request authorization. It is not a replacement for the plan allowance.

If Send Now Says the Allowance Is Exhausted

  1. Do not keep creating replacement drafts.
  2. Confirm the current QCDS Base/Effective tier on Status.
  3. If you use Max user-group limits, check the sender's applicable Joomla groups and saved allowance.
  4. For a Basic or Pro plan-level exhaustion message, wait for the next UTC monthly reset or change the applicable entitlement.

Already-sent and completed Requests remain available when the allowance is reached.

Community Discussion

Want to compare workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCDS feature? Visit the QC Digital Signature Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.