Understanding Your Tier
Last updated: 2026-05-20
Your tier determines what your ShieldMyLot™ account can do — how many properties, how many drivers, what features are available, and what limits apply. This guide explains how to read your Plan tab and decide whether your current tier fits your needs.
What is a tier?
A tier is your subscription level. ShieldMyLot offers tiered pricing because customer needs vary enormously — a single-property towing company and a 50-property towing company have different requirements. Lower tiers cost less and have lower limits; higher tiers cost more and unlock more capacity and more features.
You're on one of these tiers:
Enforcement track (towing companies)
| Tier | Designed for |
|---|---|
| Starter | Small operations, 1-5 properties, up to 3 drivers |
| Growth | Mid-size operations, 6-15 properties, growing team |
| Legacy | Established operations, unlimited properties and drivers, all features |
Property Management track (PM firms)
| Tier | Designed for |
|---|---|
| Essential | Small portfolios, 1-3 properties, basic visitor pass management |
| Professional | Mid-size portfolios, 4-10 properties, higher visitor pass volume |
| Enterprise | Large portfolios, unlimited properties, all features |
Reading the Plan tab
The Plan tab in your Company Admin portal shows everything about your subscription in one place.
You'll see four main sections:
1. Tier summary
At the top, your current tier name and track type. For example: "Enforcement · Legacy" or "Property Management · Professional."
If this doesn't match what you signed up for, contact support@shieldmylot.com immediately.
2. Hard limits (capacity)
These are numeric caps on resources you can create:
For Enforcement:
- Properties — Maximum active properties (Starter: 5, Growth: 15, Legacy: unlimited)
- Drivers — Maximum active driver accounts (Starter: 3, Growth: 10, Legacy: unlimited)
- Photos per violation — Maximum photos a driver can attach (Starter: 3, Growth: 10, Legacy: unlimited)
- Video duration — Maximum length of evidence video (Starter: 30s, Growth: 60s, Legacy: 120s)
For Property Management:
- Properties — Maximum active properties (Essential: 3, Professional: 10, Enterprise: unlimited)
- Visitor passes per property per month — Total passes any single property can issue in a calendar month (Essential: 50, Professional: 200, Enterprise: unlimited)
- Maximum visitor pass duration — How long a single pass can last (Essential: 12 hours, Professional: 24 hours, Enterprise: 48 hours)
Each limit displays current usage next to the cap, e.g., "Properties: 4 of 5" or "Drivers: 7 of 10."
3. Feature availability
Beyond the numeric limits, your tier determines which capabilities your account has access to. These aren't settings anyone turns on or off — they're included (or not) based entirely on your tier. If a capability is part of your tier, it's available to your whole company automatically. If it's not part of your tier, upgrading is the way to unlock it.
- Advanced analytics — Detailed reporting beyond basic violation counts (Growth+/Professional+)
- Tow records CSV export — Download your tow records as a CSV file for use in your own back-office tools (Growth+)
- API access (read-only) — Programmatic access to your data for custom integrations (Legacy/Enterprise)
- Leasing agent role — Additional user role for read-mostly portal access (Growth+/Professional+)
- AI-powered docs search — Smart search across the help center that surfaces answers in context (Growth+/Professional+)
- Premium video tutorial library — Curated video walkthroughs of key workflows and best practices (Legacy/Enterprise)
On the Plan tab, each capability shows green/checked if your tier includes it, gray if it doesn't. Neither you nor your managers can toggle these individually — they follow your tier. To gain a capability that's currently gray, upgrade to a tier that includes it.
4. Custom arrangements (if applicable)
If your account has any custom pricing or limit arrangements with ShieldMyLot, those are reflected in the limits and features above — you'll see your actual effective limits, not the default tier limits.
If you have questions about custom arrangements, contact support@shieldmylot.com.
What happens when you hit a limit
ShieldMyLot enforces limits in two ways:
Hard stops (most limits)
When you try to create a resource beyond your limit, the + Add button is replaced with an upgrade prompt.
You can't add the resource until you either:
- Deactivate an existing resource (frees up the slot)
- Upgrade your tier (raises the limit)
Soft caps (some limits)
For limits where blocking would cause operational pain (e.g., a driver in the field needing to submit a violation):
- Photo cap per violation — Driver can take more photos than the cap; only the first N (per tier) are saved. The driver sees a notice.
- Video duration — Driver can record longer than the cap; only the first N seconds (per tier) are saved. The driver sees a notice.
Soft caps prevent operational interruption while still respecting the tier boundary.
When to upgrade
Common signals that you've outgrown your current tier:
You're approaching property limits If you have 13 of 15 properties on Growth, you're close to needing Legacy. Wait until you actually need #16, but plan ahead.
Your drivers are hitting photo or video caps regularly If drivers report "the cap is too low for tough tows" or "I need more video time on these," upgrading the tier gives them more evidence headroom.
You want analytics you can't currently access Growth (advanced analytics) gives substantially more visibility than Starter. If you're flying blind on operational metrics, upgrade.
You want CSV export of your tow records Available on Growth and above. If you're importing tow data into your own back-office tools today and copying it by hand, the upgrade lets you download a clean CSV instead.
You want AI-powered docs search Available on Growth and above. If your team spends time hunting through documentation for answers, smart search gets them to relevant information faster.
You want premium video tutorials Available on Legacy and Enterprise. A curated video library covering workflows, best practices, and edge cases — useful for onboarding new staff or refreshing your team's knowledge.
When to downgrade
Less common, but valid:
You closed properties and your operations shrank If you're at 6 properties and using Growth (limit 15), downgrading to Starter could save money. But Starter's lower limits (3 drivers, 30s video, 3 photos per violation) may not work for you operationally.
You don't use the higher-tier features If you're on Legacy but never use tow records CSV export or the video tutorial library, you may be over-paying.
Important: Downgrading isn't instant. If you currently have 10 properties and downgrade to Starter (limit 5), you don't automatically lose 5 properties — but you can't add any new ones until you deactivate down to 5. Plan downgrades carefully.
See Billing and Tier Changes for the upgrade/downgrade process.
What stays the same across tiers
Regardless of tier, every customer gets:
- Full audit trails — Every action is logged
- Soft-delete with audit for evidence (photos, videos) — Enforcement only
- Texas Chapter 2308 workflow features — Available regardless of tier (compliance with the law remains the operator's responsibility)
- Customer data security — Same encryption, same access controls
- Mobile-friendly portals — All roles can use their portal on phone, tablet, or computer
- Support access — Email support; response time varies by tier
Tier affects capacity and advanced features, never security or core functionality.
What if I'm not sure which tier is right?
If you're a new customer trying to decide:
Starter / Essential — If you have 1-3 properties and a small team. Test the platform with minimal commitment.
Growth / Professional — If you have 4-10 properties or expect to grow. This is the "real business" tier with advanced analytics.
Legacy / Enterprise — If you have 10+ properties or want all features unlocked. The premium tier with the full video tutorial library and priority support.
Still unsure? Talk to us at support@shieldmylot.com. We'll look at your operational size and recommend a tier that fits without over-committing.
Tier comparison at a glance
Enforcement track
| Feature | Starter | Growth | Legacy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active properties | 5 | 15 | Unlimited |
| Active drivers | 3 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Photos per violation | 3 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Video duration | 30s | 60s | 120s |
| Advanced analytics | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tow records CSV export | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Leasing agent role | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI-powered docs search | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Premium video tutorial library | — | — | ✓ |
| API access | — | — | ✓ |
Property Management track
| Feature | Essential | Professional | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active properties | 3 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Visitor passes / property / month | 50 | 200 | Unlimited |
| Maximum pass duration | 12h | 24h | 48h |
| Advanced analytics | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Leasing agent role | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI-powered docs search | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Premium video tutorial library | — | — | ✓ |
| API access | — | — | ✓ |
For current pricing, see your service agreement or the pricing page at shieldmylot.com.
Next steps
- Set up the rest of your account: Account Setup
- Add your first property: Adding Properties (Enforcement) or Property Management Overview (PM)
- Understand billing: Billing and Tier Changes
Questions? Email support@shieldmylot.com.
Was this helpful?