Why am I not able to buy more storage or upgrade my plan?

[Cathkns]

I also have the business starter plan. I did receive numerous emails saying my storage was full. I did everything they suggested to compress delete my content. I deleted a lot of things but it never changed my storage amount. I have tried to add more storage and even change my plan (even though I don’t need any other options, just more storage) and it is telling it is not an option. So I am at a loss of what to do. I have no old emails in my folders? And I desperately need them. 

Thank you, 

[Penelope]

Are you the admin or an end user of the domain? Only the admin can upgrade the storage plan or add more users to the plan. 
one thing I have learned from the Google Drive help community (on the support.google.com platform) is that some users report that they forget to empty the Gmail, Photos, and Drive trash bins so make sure you are doing that (even if Photos people tell you that storage is freed up when an item gets placed into the trash bin). I have had some users who report back that clicking on the empty trash bin again even if nothing is in there has proven to be useful. 

[ericalgerard]

Hi! Did you ever figure this out? I am having the same problem. I am the admin and it won't let me upgrade my plan! 

[Penelope]

Sorry for the delayed reply here. For admin one on one support please try the instructions at https://support.google.com/a/answer/1047213?hl=en.

I will say I believe that if the workspace edition is by a reseller than they are the ones to help you with the upgrade. Information on finding the reseller: https://support.google.com/a/answer/7632792?hl=en#do_i_have.

[CloudBlazer]

As described in this help article (https://support.google.com/a/answer/12284220?hl=en), only super admins can purchase storage for their organization. You can’t purchase storage for an individual account, but you can increase the storage limit for users in an organizational unit. Additionally, if the organization has a Business Starter plan, it might be more cost-effective to upgrade the subscription rather than buy more storage.

You mentioned that you "deleted a lot of things, but it never changed my storage amount." Your Google storage is shared across Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive. Usually, files in the trash are automatically deleted after 30 days. Therefore, you might want to check whether or not you have emptied the trash in each of these products.

Another important point about Google Drive is that if you delete multiple files or folders at once (bulk deletion), it might take time for your storage changes to take effect. The more items you delete, the longer it might take for the deletion to be reflected in your storage. (Reference article: https://developers.google.com/drive/api/guides/delete#:~:text=If%20you%20trash%2C%20restore%2C%20or%...)

I hope this helps. Cheers!