Applications can be assigned in two ways:

1. User-based assignment (Directory → Users → User → Apps)
   You assign multiple apps to a single user. Only compatible apps are displayed, so license conflicts do not occur in this flow.
   
2. Application-based assignment (Directory → Applications → App → Assign Users)
   
3. You assign one application to multiple users. 
   This flow may trigger license conflicts when users do not have compatible licenses or when add-on limits are exhausted.
   

Conflict Scenarios and Resolutions

Conflict Type		Example	System response	Your action
App Not Supported by User's Lite Add-ons		You're assigning Zoho CRM to a Lite user who has only the Lite-Accountant add-on.	Shows a "User License Change" conflict alert Lists affected users Possible resolution options: Add a Lite-user add-on that supports CRM (if available) Convert the user to a Zoho One license Exclude the user from this assignment	Review the proposed license changes Make the appropriate resolution call Click Next and Import to apply changes, or cancel to abort
Add-on Limits Exhausted	Case 1: Zoho One licenses are available	You're trying to assign Zoho Meeting to a Lite user who does not already have the Lite-Collaboration add-on. But, all 10 of your Lite-Collaboration licenses are already assigned to other users. Some Zoho One licenses are still available.	Shows a "User License Change" conflict alert Lists affected users under License Change Proposes converting this user from Lite to Zoho One	Do one of the following: Review the proposed license changes Click Import to convert the affected users to Zoho One and assign the app Click Exclude to remove the user from the assignment Purchase additional Lite-Collaboration licenses if you'd prefer to keep them on Lite license
	Case 2: No Zoho One licenses are available	You're trying to assign Zoho Meeting to a Lite user who does not already have the Lite-Collaboration add-on. But, all 10 of your Lite-Collaboration licenses are already assigned to other users.And, no Zoho ONe licenses are available either	Shows a "License Limit Exceeds" conflict alert Lists affected users who cannot be assigned	Do one of the following: Navigate to Subscription -> Manage Add-ons to buy more licenses first. (online subscriptions) Contact Support (offline/partner subscriptions) Deactivate or relicense an existing users to free up some licenses Exclude these users from the assignment
Multiple Issues Combined		Assigning an app to 20 users where: 5 users do not currently have Lite-Collaboration but require it for this app assignment (2 licenses available) 10 users need Zoho One license conversion (but only 5 available) 5 users are already compatible (no changes needed) How the 15 affected users are handled: The 5 users needing Lite-Collaboration: 2 users get Lite-Collaboration assigned (licenses available) - Therefore, no conflict 3 users have add-on exhausted. Zoho One license availability is checked: If Zoho One licenses are still available at this point → "License Change" conflict (conversion of these 3 to Zoho One is proposed) If Zoho One licenses are also exhausted by this point → "License Limit Exceeds" conflict for these 3 users The 10 users needing Zoho One conversion: 5 users get converted to Zoho One (licenses available) → "User License Change" conflict (review and confirm) 5 users cannot be converted (no Zoho One licenses left) → "License Limit Exceeds" conflict Shows "User License Change" for all users where a resolution path exists	Shows "License Limit Exceeds" conflict only for users where no license of any kind is available Categorizes users into each bucket Provides a summary of available licenses vs. required licenses across all types	Review each category carefully Purchase additional licenses if needed (Lite-Collaboration add-ons or any other Lite-user add-ons for that matter, Zoho One, or both) Exclude users if necessary Proceed with partial assignment (only compatible users + those with available licenses) The order in which the system allots available licenses matters. Users are processed and licenses are consumed as the system works through the list. A Zoho One license that is available when the first batch is checked may be consumed before the second batch is reached.

Understanding App Selection, App Assignment vs. License Conversion

1. During App Selection (while adding/activating users)
   When creating or activating a Lite user:
   
1. Only apps supported by the selected Lite-user add-ons are displayed.
   
2. Apps not supported by any Lite-user add-on in your organization are not shown in the selection list.
   
3. Incompatible configurations are prevented at selection time.
   
4. No automatic license conversion occurs during app selection.
   
2. During App Assignment:
   When you attempt to assign an app to an existing user whose Lite-user add-ons don't support it:
   
1. A "License Change" conflict alert is shown.
   
2. You can review the proposed changes.
   
3. You can choose to convert the license, add an add-on, or exclude the user.
   
4. Changes only occur after you confirm.
   
3. Reason for the difference:
   
1. App selection is a preventive control during user setup that stops you from making incompatible selections.
   
2. App assignment is for existing users, offering resolution options because you might want to change their license to accommodate the new app.
   

Best Practice

1. Which users will have their licenses changed
   
2. What the cost impact will be
   
3. Whether any users will be skipped
   
4. If any apps will be unassigned from users
   

Assign Lite Users as Admins

Assigning Zoho One Admin Roles to Lite Users

Assigning Service Admin Roles to Lite Users

1. Add a Lite-user add-on that supports the app,
   
2. Convert the user to a Zoho One license
   
3. Select a different user
   

Conditional Assignment with Lite Users

Key behavior

Additional rules

1. Application not supported by Lite add-ons: If an application is not supported by any Lite-user add-on available in your org, the CA rule's license selector will default to Zoho One and cannot be edited.
   
2. Downgrade restriction: A Lite-user add-on that is referenced in a CA rule cannot be completely removed (downgraded to zero licenses) until it is removed from all CA rules. Partial downgrades are still allowed as long as the remaining license count is enough for the users currently assigned to it. See Downgrade a Lite-user Add-on for details.