Understand Base Tier, Effective Tier, All Access, and Max Preview
QCFUM keeps the entitlement you own separate from the capabilities that are usable right now. The Base tier represents the underlying product entitlement; the Effective tier is the tier QCFUM is currently allowed to execute after entitlement, preview, expiration, and task-health rules are applied.
This distinction lets a temporary Max Preview elevate a Basic or Pro installation without overwriting the underlying tier, and it lets All Access provide Max-level QCFUM capabilities without creating a universal product license key.
Base Tier Is the Underlying Entitlement
For a normal Authorized-Domain entitlement, Base tier is the purchased QCFUM level: Basic, Pro, or Max. When the entitlement source is QuantaCade All Access, QCFUM treats the product-level Base tier as Max and labels it Max via All Access.
QCFUM preserves that Base tier separately from temporary elevation. Starting a Max Preview does not rewrite a Pro purchase into Max, and ending the Preview does not erase the saved Pro entitlement.
Effective Tier Controls What Can Run Now
Effective tier is the tier QCFUM uses when it builds the feature matrix and authorizes plan-gated workflows. Before QCFUM grants anything above Basic, the canonical Entitlement Revalidation task must be structurally healthy. A missing, unpublished, duplicated, disabled, or slower-than-hourly entitlement task forces Effective Basic until the structure is repaired.
QCFUM also fails closed when the entitlement is authoritatively invalid or expired. A genuine communication failure is different: a previously confirmed paid or preview entitlement can continue only inside the bounded 24-hour transport grace window and never beyond a known access or Preview expiration.
Common Examples
| Underlying state | Current state | What QCFUM reports |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | No Preview | Base Basic / Effective Basic |
| Pro | No Preview | Base Pro / Effective Pro |
| Pro | Active 30-Day Max Preview | Base Pro / Effective Max |
| All Access | Valid Authorized Domain | Base “Max via All Access” / Effective Max |
| Paid tier | Entitlement task structurally unhealthy | Base remains known / Effective Basic |
What Happens When the Max Preview Ends
If an active Preview elevated QCFUM to Max, its end does not delete premium configuration. QCFUM falls back to the still-valid Base entitlement: for example, Base Pro returns to Effective Pro. If no valid paid Base entitlement remains, Effective Basic is used.
Where to Read the Current State
- Open Components > QC Frontend User Manager.
- Open Status.
- Read Status, Base tier, Effective tier, Verification, and Access until in Current Entitlement.
- If a Preview is active, also check Max Preview ends.
- Review Entitlement Automation Integrity before troubleshooting a surprising Effective tier.
Do Not Treat Tier Labels as Joomla Permissions
An Effective tier only answers the product-plan question. Joomla/QCFUM ACL, Profile and Invite Pack availability, protected-user safeguards, and workflow-specific settings still apply. Max access does not turn a frontend manager into a Joomla backend administrator.
Community Discussion
Want to compare Joomla user-onboarding workflows, share practical QCFUM tips, or discuss how other administrators use this feature? Visit the QC Frontend User Manager Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific entitlement problems, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.