---
title: "Products, versions, and offers"
section: "Selling Templates"
canonical_url: "https://support.buildwithhq.com/selling/products-versions-offers.html"
reviewed_at: "2026-10-20"
authority: Official
---

# Products, versions, and offers

Preview reference: The three-layer listing model, the four billing models, and the activation checklist.

## In brief

- **Availability:** Release-gated preview
- **Three layers:** Product → versions → offers
- **Billing models:** Free, one-time, recurring, usage
- **Activation model:** The activation checklist

Marketplace preview

The seller journey described here is not an available production workflow. Paid checkout, refunds, payouts, and installation or upgrade require release acceptance. The material below is a preview reference, not instructions to perform financial tests or enable background workers.

Listings have three layers, and keeping them straight makes everything else obvious:

| Layer | What it is | Changes over time? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Product** | The listing: name, slug, category, descriptions, preview image, visibility (public, unlisted, or private). | Yes — it's your marketing surface. |
| **Version** | A semantic release of the underlying artifact, with release notes and install notes. | Append-only — new releases, never edits. |
| **Offer** | The commercial terms attached to a version: billing model plus one or more prices. | Drafted, then activated. |

## Billing models

- **Free** — price must be zero. Free products build storefront reputation and funnel buyers to your paid work.
- **One-time** — pay once, own the version. The natural fit for templates.
- **Recurring** — a subscription, for products that deliver ongoing value (kept-current template lines, services).
- **Usage** — metered billing with included units and an overage rate; requires at least one active meter before the offer can go live. Built for appliances and integrations more than templates.

Prices are set per currency, so one offer can carry a USD and a EUR price side by side.

Note

Free trials on paid offers aren't available yet — offers currently activate with trials set to zero. It's on the marketplace billing roadmap.

## The activation checklist

An offer flips from draft to live only when everything lines up, and the platform checks rather than trusts:

1. The product version is **published** (not draft).
2. Your seller profile is **Active**.
3. The offer has **at least one active price** (zero for free, positive for paid).
4. Usage offers have an **active meter**.

Each failed check tells you exactly which requirement is unmet — fix it and activate again.

---

Capability review: 2026-10-20. [View the canonical guide](https://support.buildwithhq.com/selling/products-versions-offers.html).