Client statuses and the Free limit
What each client status means, which statuses count towards the Free limit of 3 active clients, and what happens when you reach it.
The seven statuses
Every client has a status. It tells your team where the relationship is and it feeds the dashboard, which highlights clients that need attention.
| Status | Use it when | Counts towards the Free limit |
|---|---|---|
| Prospect | You are pitching or scoping, and no work has started. | Yes |
| Onboarding | The client has said yes and you are setting up. | Yes |
| Active | Work is under way. | Yes |
| Paused | Work is on hold for a while. | Yes |
| At Risk | The relationship needs attention. | Yes |
| Completed | The engagement has finished. | No |
| Archived | You no longer want it in everyday lists. | No |
Clients are archived, never deleted, so their history is kept. Nothing in SEO Ops changes a client’s status on its own. When a client is complete but still marked Onboarding, the client page suggests Mark as Active, and you decide.
The Free limit
The Free plan allows up to 3 active clients, where “active” means Prospect, Onboarding, Active, Paused or At Risk. Completed and archived clients do not count, so finishing or archiving a client frees a place.
If you try to add a fourth, or to move a Completed client back to an active status when you are already at the limit, SEO Ops refuses with a clear message and a link to the plans. It never deletes or hides anything: clients above the limit stay visible and editable.
Premium has no client limit. It also adds AI drafting and the Search Console, GA4, Business Profile, Semrush and Ahrefs connections. See Free vs Premium.
Change a status
- Open the client, choose the … menu at the top of the page and then Edit client.
- Choose the new status and save. If it would take you over the Free limit, you will see why and what to do.
How status relates to client health
The dashboard’s Clients requiring attention list is separate from status. It looks at overdue tasks, approvals that have waited too long, quiet clients and reports that are due. You set the thresholds under Settings › General › Client health thresholds.
Common questions
If my licence ends, do I lose clients above 3?
No. Switching Premium off never deletes or hides anything. Existing clients stay visible and editable. Only adding new active clients and the Premium features stop. See Activating your licence.
Does a prospect need a strategy?
No. A strategy is recommended but optional, so one-off audits work fine. See Setting up a client.