Which package am I running?
There are two ways Pet Central arrives, and it is worth knowing which you have, because it changes what happens when you upgrade.
From us — a hosted site, or a download from your account. One package containing everything. Upgrading is instant: the licence arrives and the features appear, with nothing downloaded and no files replaced.
From the WordPress plugin directory — the free download. The directory does not allow a plugin to carry features that only a payment unlocks, so the paid code genuinely is not in it. When you take out a plan, a small companion plugin called Pet Central Pro installs itself alongside — usually within the few seconds you are already waiting on the upgrade screen — and brings those features with it. You never handle a file.
Either way, your plan decides what you can use. Having Pet Central Pro on the site unlocks nothing by itself: if a plan lapses the paid features padlock and every record stays exactly where it is.
Example
You installed the free plugin from WordPress, then upgraded to Premium on a Friday afternoon. You paid, waited about ten seconds on the same screen, and the rota and permissions were there — no second download, nothing to upload.
FAQ
How do I tell which one I have?
Plugins → Installed Plugins. If Pet Central Pro is listed as well, you have the directory version with the add-on. If you see only Pet Central and your paid features work, you have the complete package from us.
Should I install Pet Central Pro myself?
No need — taking out a plan installs it for you. It is only offered as a download if your site is set up so that plugins cannot install themselves.
My site will not install plugins automatically. What now?
Some managed hosting blocks it deliberately. The upgrade screen says so, confirms your payment went through, and gives you the file: download it, then Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin. Your features appear as soon as it is activated.
I paid but a feature is still padlocked.
Open Pet Central → Upgrade. If the extra files have not arrived it will say so and offer to try again, and you can always ask us to finish it. Your payment is not affected either way.
Can I delete Pet Central Pro?
You can, but the paid features padlock until it is back — the code lives in it. Nothing is removed from your records.
A licence warning appeared while I was working in a different copy of Pet Central
Fixed in 2.721.0. The warning is about one copy — the one whose paid features are missing — but until that release it appeared on every screen in WordPress and never said which copy it meant, so on a site running two it looked like a complaint about whichever one you had open. It now names the copy and appears only on that copy’s own screens. If you see it, the copy named in it is the one to sort out; the others are fine.
The warning told me to check for updates and nothing happened
That wording was wrong for a plugin installed from the WordPress directory, and was corrected in 2.721.0. Those copies have no update channel of their own, so checking for updates will always say you are up to date — there is nothing on the other end to offer. Their paid features come from the matching Pet Central Pro add-on instead, and the warning now points at the Upgrade screen, which fetches it.
Do the two need to be the same version?
Yes. Pet Central Pro appears on your Plugins screen and under Dashboard → Updates like any other plugin, and follows the same auto-update setting as Pet Central itself, so the pair stay in step without you tracking them. If they ever do drift apart Pet Central says so, rather than letting you find out through a broken screen.
Why not just ship everything to everyone?
We do, everywhere except the WordPress directory — its rules do not allow a free listing to contain locked paid code, and that rule is a reasonable one. The add-on is the directory’s own recommended way round it.
Will I lose anything if I downgrade?
No data, ever. The paid screens stop being available; everything you created with them stays in the database and comes straight back if you upgrade again.