Berkeley Lab has negotiated discounted pricing for Slack licenses.  The cost for a Business+ license is $31.58 per user, per year.  To purchase licenses for your Workspace, fill out this form. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I request licenses for my team/workspace(s)?

• Fill out this form to submit a request for the licenses for each workspace.  The cost of each license is $31.58/user/year recharged to the Project and Activity ID submitted with the request.

Does IT provide technical support for Slack?

• No, although IT negotiated a discounted licensing plan for Slack licenses, we do not provide technical support.  For support resources, visit the Slack Resources Library or the Slack Help Center.

Can you have paid and free users on the same channel?

• Slack is less of accounts, and more of Billable Active Users on a Workspace.  So the license needed is dictated by the Workspace.  If you have a paid Workspace, then any user that is interacting in a channel within that workspace would need to have a license.  If they are on a Free Workspace, nothing is needed.  There is an option to invite a User in as a Guest using Slack Connect, if they are only going to collaborate for a short time period.  See this link for details: -- https://slack.com/resources/slack-for-admins/guests-vs-channels-in-slack-connect

If we want to have channels that combine Berkeley Lab staff and non-Lab staff, can we have the users on free accounts, joining channels with staff?

• The same rules apply with needing a license for any workspace you join that is on a Paid plan.  If an outside user is on a paid plan at their own institution, they can collaborate in any channel you invite them into.  Licenses are also tied to a workspace, not a lifetime to an individual user.  

Can I reclaim licenses of decommissioned users?

• Yes, you can provision and decommission accounts.  The decommissioned license can be assigned to another user.

Will the data of a decommissioned user disappear?

• No, the historical data of a decommissioned user will still remain available in the channel. 

Comparison of Free, Pro, and Business+

The Free, Pro, and Business+ plans include a single Slack workspace for small and medium-sized companies. You can use the free version of Slack with some limitations, or upgrade to a paid plan to access more features.