diff --git a/index.php b/index.php
index 6433c24..44c0365 100644
--- a/index.php
+++ b/index.php
@@ -94,34 +94,15 @@ if ($page === 'activate') {
         }
     }
 
-    if (isset($_POST['update_license'])) {
-        $id = (int)$_POST['id'];
-        $status = $_POST['status'] ?? null;
-        $owner = $_POST['owner'] ?? null;
-        $address = $_POST['address'] ?? null;
-        
-        $updateData = [];
-        if ($status !== null) $updateData['status'] = $status;
-        if ($owner !== null) $updateData['owner'] = $owner;
-        if ($address !== null) $updateData['address'] = $address;
-
-        $res = LicenseService::updateLicense($id, $updateData);
+    if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST' && isset($_POST['start_trial'])) {
+        // We need a way to call startTrial() which is private in LicenseService
+        // I'll make it public or use a public wrapper
+        $res = LicenseService::initTrial(); 
         if ($res['success']) {
-            $message = "License updated successfully!";
+            $success = "Trial period started! Redirecting...";
+            header("refresh:2;url=index.php");
         } else {
-            $message = "Error: " . ($res['error'] ?? 'Unknown error');
-        }
-    }
-
-    if (isset($_POST['issue_license'])) {
-        $max = (int)($_POST['max_activations'] ?? 1);
-        $owner = $_POST['owner'] ?? null;
-        $address = $_POST['address'] ?? null;
-        $res = LicenseService::issueLicense($max, 'FLAT', $owner, $address);
-        if ($res['success']) {
-            $message = "New License Issued: " . $res['license_key'];
-        } else {
-            $message = "Error: " . ($res['error'] ?? 'Unknown error');
+            $error = $res['error'];
         }
     }
     ?>
@@ -171,8 +152,18 @@ if ($page === 'activate') {
                     <label class="form-label small fw-bold text-muted"><?= $lang === 'ar' ? 'بصمة السيرفر' : 'Server Fingerprint' ?></label>
                     <div class="fingerprint text-muted"><?= LicenseService::getFingerprint() ?></div>
                 </div>
-                <button type="submit" name="activate" class="btn btn-primary w-100 py-2"><?= __('activate_now') ?></button>
+                <button type="submit" name="activate" class="btn btn-primary w-100 py-2 mb-3"><?= __('activate_now') ?></button>
             </form>
+
+            <?php if (!$is_activated && $trial_days <= 0): ?>
+                <div class="text-center">
+                    <hr>
+                    <p class="text-muted small"><?= $lang === 'ar' ? 'أو ابدأ الفترة التجريبية (15 يوم)' : 'Or start your 15-day trial period' ?></p>
+                    <form method="POST">
+                        <button type="submit" name="start_trial" class="btn btn-outline-secondary w-100 py-2"><?= $lang === 'ar' ? 'بدء الفترة التجريبية' : 'Start Free Trial' ?></button>
+                    </form>
+                </div>
+            <?php endif; ?>
         </div>
         <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
     </body>
@@ -1188,15 +1179,37 @@ function getPromotionalPrice($item) {
 
     if (isset($_POST['import_items'])) {
         if (isset($_FILES['excel_file']) && $_FILES['excel_file']['error'] === 0) {
-            $handle = fopen($_FILES['excel_file']['tmp_name'], "r");
-            fgetcsv($handle); $count = 0;
-            while (($data = fgetcsv($handle)) !== FALSE) {
-                if ($data[1] || $data[2]) {
-                    db()->prepare("INSERT INTO stock_items (sku, name_en, name_ar, sale_price, purchase_price) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)")->execute([$data[0] ?? '', $data[1] ?? '', $data[2] ?? '', (float)($data[3] ?? 0), (float)($data[4] ?? 0)]);
-                    $count++;
+            $tmpPath = $_FILES['excel_file']['tmp_name'];
+            $firstBytes = file_get_contents($tmpPath, false, null, 0, 4);
+            if ($firstBytes === "PK\x03\x04") {
+                $message = "Error: It looks like you uploaded an Excel (.xlsx) file. Please save it as CSV (UTF-8) and try again.";
+            } else {
+                $handle = fopen($tmpPath, "r");
+                fgetcsv($handle); // Skip header
+                $count = 0; $errors = 0;
+                while (($data = fgetcsv($handle)) !== FALSE) {
+                    if (empty($data[1]) && empty($data[2])) continue;
+                    try {
+                        foreach ($data as &$val) {
+                            if ($val === null) continue;
+                            if (!mb_check_encoding($val, 'UTF-8')) {
+                                $val = mb_convert_encoding($val, 'UTF-8', 'Windows-1252');
+                            }
+                            $val = mb_convert_encoding($val, 'UTF-8', 'UTF-8');
+                        }
+                        db()->prepare("INSERT INTO stock_items (sku, name_en, name_ar, sale_price, purchase_price) 
+                                      VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?) 
+                                      ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE name_en=VALUES(name_en), name_ar=VALUES(name_ar), 
+                                      sale_price=VALUES(sale_price), purchase_price=VALUES(purchase_price)")
+                          ->execute([$data[0] ?? '', $data[1] ?? '', $data[2] ?? '', (float)($data[3] ?? 0), (float)($data[4] ?? 0)]);
+                        $count++;
+                    } catch (Exception $e) {
+                        $errors++;
+                    }
                 }
+                fclose($handle);
+                $message = "Import completed! $count items processed." . ($errors > 0 ? " ($errors rows skipped due to data errors.)" : "");
             }
-            fclose($handle); $message = "Imported $count items!";
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/lib/LicenseService.php b/lib/LicenseService.php
index 849495c..00ccf36 100644
--- a/lib/LicenseService.php
+++ b/lib/LicenseService.php
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ class LicenseService {
         $res = $stmt->fetch();
 
         if (!$res || !$res['trial_started_at']) {
-            self::startTrial();
-            return 15;
+            // self::startTrial(); // Disabled automatic trial start as per user request to keep things manual
+            return 0; // Return 0 if trial not started
         }
 
         $started = strtotime($res['trial_started_at']);
@@ -79,6 +79,18 @@ class LicenseService {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Public wrapper to initialize the trial period.
+     */
+    public static function initTrial() {
+        try {
+            self::startTrial();
+            return ['success' => true];
+        } catch (Exception $e) {
+            return ['success' => false, 'error' => $e->getMessage()];
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Initializes the trial period.
      */
diff --git a/license_manager/manage.php b/license_manager/manage.php
index 9a43860..e4a1917 100644
--- a/license_manager/manage.php
+++ b/license_manager/manage.php
@@ -127,12 +127,25 @@ if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
                     $message = "License limits updated successfully.";
                     break;
             }
+            
+            // Redirect to prevent re-submission on refresh
+            if ($message) {
+                $_SESSION['flash_message'] = $message;
+                header("Location: manage.php");
+                exit;
+            }
         }
     } catch (Exception $e) {
         $error = "Operation failed: " . $e->getMessage();
     }
 }
 
+// Get flash message from session
+if (isset($_SESSION['flash_message'])) {
+    $message = $_SESSION['flash_message'];
+    unset($_SESSION['flash_message']);
+}
+
 // Fetch Licenses
 try {
     $licenses = $pdo->query("SELECT * FROM licenses ORDER BY created_at DESC")->fetchAll();