Billing: the trial, plans, active clients and what happens when it ends

Your agency's billing is under Settings in the Billing box: choose Open billing to see whether you are in the free trial, on a plan or without one, and, while you have a trial or a plan, your active clients this period. Only the owner chooses, changes and manages the plan; everyone else in the agency sees the same page without the buttons. When a trial or a plan ends, new links stop, while your clients, the dashboard and the access already given at Meta and Google stay.

See where your agency stands

The Plan line in the Billing box in Settings says where you are:

• Not switched on yet. Everything is included. Billing is not on for the service yet; see below.
• Free trial until the day your trial ends.
• Your plan's name with in trial until a day: you chose a plan during the trial, and nothing is paid before that day.
• Your plan's name and its price a month: the plan is paid up.
• Your plan's name with The last payment did not go through.
• No plan. Your trial has ended. or No plan. Your subscription has ended.

Choose Open billing for the Billing page. It holds one box: a title with a badge (the days left of the trial, Trial, Active, Ends with a day, Payment failed or No plan), and rows such as Plan, Trial ends, First payment, Next payment or Plan ends, and Active clients this period. Billing is per agency: each agency you are in has its own trial and plan, and the page shows the agency you are working in.

The free trial

Every agency starts with a free trial of 7 days, with no card. It counts from the day the agency was created or, for an agency that already existed when billing was switched on, from that day. The page says Free trial with the days left, and "Everything is included while it runs, with no card. Choose a plan before it ends to keep creating links." Trial ends gives the day. Active clients this period shows the clients so far, "free during the trial": clients cost nothing in the trial, whatever their number.

Each Meta business portfolio and Google Ads manager account gets one free trial. If you connect one on Connections that was already used in another agency's trial, in an account that still exists or one that was deleted, your trial ends then, and Connections and the billing page say: "Your free trial ended when you connected a business portfolio or manager account that already had a free trial in another Adcato account. Each one gets one free trial." If you think that is a mistake, write to the support address.

You can choose a plan at any time during the trial. The trial then goes on at Stripe, and nothing is paid before it ends. If less than 49 hours of the trial are left, the trial at Stripe runs 49 hours from when you choose Continue to payment, a little longer than yours; the sentence under the plans gives the day.

What counts as an active client

The page says it under the rows: "A client is active once they have given you access through a link." A client who opened the link but has not given anything yet does not count.

• Per billing period. Each client who was active at any time in the period counts once. The period is your plan's current billing period, or the trial before you have a plan. On a paid plan, the period's first and last days are under Active clients this period.
• Until you archive it. A client stays active, period after period, until you archive it: choose Archive on the client's page. "An archived client stops counting from the next period": it still counts in a period it was active in. A client from the trial also counts in your first paid period, unless you archive it before that period starts.
• Revoking does not stop it. A revoked link still counts while it is not archived, because the access it gave stays with you. So does a link that staff turned off after a report.
• Back again. Move back on an archived client, or access that lands on an archived link, brings the client back to Clients, and it counts again.

Choose a plan

Only the owner sees these buttons.

1. In Settings, choose Open billing in the Billing box.
2. Choose Choose a plan. The plans open in the box, each with its price a month, the active clients it includes and the price for each one more. The plan that costs least for your active clients now is selected; pick another if it suits you better.
3. Read the sentence under the plans. During the trial it says you pay nothing before the day the trial ends, and that you can cancel before then under Manage billing. After the trial it says "You pay the first month now, by card through Stripe. Extra active clients are billed at the end of each month."
4. Choose Continue to payment and enter the card on Stripe's payment page. Stripe asks for a card during the trial too.
5. Back on the billing page, it says Your plan is set up. If it says instead that Stripe is confirming your plan, which takes up to a minute, choose Reload.

If you leave Stripe's page without paying, the page says "Nothing was charged. Choose a plan whenever you are ready." The current prices are in the pricing section of the home page and in the plan choice itself. Stripe keeps the email address of the owner who first chose Continue to payment, for receipts and invoices; handing the agency over later does not change it.

Extra clients above your plan

Going over the clients your plan includes is never refused. Each active client above them in a billing period is billed on the next invoice, at your plan's price for each one more. Active clients this period shows the count against the number included, and when you are over, the number above it and the amount on the next invoice. During the trial, extra clients cost nothing; clients still active when the paid plan starts count in its first period.

Change your plan

1. On the billing page, choose Change plan beside Manage billing.
2. Your plan is marked Your plan now. and cannot be picked. Pick another.
3. Choose Change plan. The box says Your plan is now with the new plan's name.

On a paid plan the change takes effect at once: the time so far is billed on your old plan, with its extra clients, the unused part of its price is credited, and a new billing period starts that day on the new plan, so the day of your next payment moves. During the trial at Stripe the change takes effect at once too, and nothing is billed before the trial ends. Change plan is not offered while a payment has failed: update the card first.

Manage billing, invoices and canceling

Manage billing opens Stripe's customer portal for your agency, where the owner updates the card, reads invoices and cancels.

To cancel, choose Manage billing and cancel there. The plan runs to the end of the period you paid for: Plan ends gives the day, the box says "Until then everything works as now.", and on a paid plan the badge says Ends with the day. After that day the subscription has ended (see below). If you cancel during the trial at Stripe, the badge stays Trial, the plan ends with the trial, and nothing is paid.

After an end, Past invoices shows beside Choose a plan if the owner has gone on to Stripe's payment page before. It opens Stripe's portal with your invoices.

Who can manage billing

Only the agency's owner. On the billing page, Choose a plan, Change plan, Manage billing and Past invoices are shown to the owner alone, and the actions behind them refuse anyone else: Only the owner of the agency can manage billing. Everyone else sees the same box with every number, and a line under it that names the owner as the person who manages billing. After an end, the box on Create link shows its Choose a plan button to everyone; it leads to the billing page. To let a colleague manage billing, hand the agency over to them under Team; see invite your team and hand over the agency.

Mails about your plan

While billing is switched on, the agency's owners get a mail when something about the plan changes or is about to, each one once. The mails give dates, never prices, and each has an Open Billing button.

• Billing is switched on for your agency: billing was switched on for the service and your agency has a trial from that day, with at least 4 days of it left.
• Your trial ends in 3 days: two to three days before the trial ends, while you have no plan.
• Your trial has ended: within a day after the trial ended without a plan.
• The payment for your plan did not go through: within a day after Stripe could not charge the card (see below).
• Your subscription has ended: within a day after the subscription ended.
• Your links stop taking new clients in 3 days: two to three days before the links you sent before an end stop taking new clients, if one of them still could take one.

A mail whose moment has passed, for example while the service was down, is not sent late. Members and admins do not get these mails; they see the same state on the billing page.

When a payment fails

If Stripe cannot charge the card for a renewal, the badge says Payment failed and the box says Your last payment did not go through and "Everything keeps working while the card is tried again", until a day it names: 14 days after the first failure. Until that day you can create links and clients can start as before. The same applies when the first payment after a trial at Stripe fails.

1. Choose Manage billing.
2. Update the card on Stripe's page.

Once the payment has gone through, the badge says Active again and Change plan is back. If it has not gone through by the day in the box, the subscription counts as ended, as below.

When the trial or the subscription ends

When the trial runs out without a plan, or the subscription ends:

• No new links. Create link shows a box instead of the form, Your trial has ended or Your subscription has ended, with Choose a plan. A form that was already open answers New links need a plan now that your trial or subscription has ended. Choose one on the Billing page in Settings. The billing page says the same, with the badge No plan.
• Links you already sent go on for 30 days. A link made before the end takes new clients for 30 days after the end, and the box names the day: "Links you already sent take new clients until" that day.
• Then those links pause. A client who has not started reads "This link is not taking new clients right now. Nothing was shared. Ask the agency that sent it."
• A client who already started can finish. The pause only turns away clients who have not started. How long a started session lasts is in what your client sees.
• The dashboard stays. Clients, each client's page and Settings work as before: you can follow progress, revoke and archive, and the owner can export the agency's data.
• Access already given is never touched. In the box's words: "Access your clients gave you stays where it is."

Choose a plan at any time to start again. Once the plan is set up you can create links again, and every link you sent that is still active takes new clients again. After the trial, the first month is paid at once.

Deleting the agency cancels the subscription

When the owner deletes the agency, or the only person in an agency deletes their account, the subscription is canceled at Stripe at once, before anything is deleted. There is no refund for the rest of the period, and that period's extra clients are not billed. If Stripe cannot be reached or does not cancel it, nothing is deleted, and the page says The subscription could not be canceled at Stripe, so nothing was deleted. Try again in a few minutes. Deleting is in archive, export or delete.

While billing is not switched on

Until billing is switched on for the service, the page says Billing is not switched on yet and "Everything is included and free to use until it is.", and that your agency starts with a free trial, with no card, when billing is switched on. See the planned prices leads to the pricing section. There are no buttons, nothing is counted against you, billing never refuses Create link, and links never pause for billing.

VAT

The prices in the pricing section and in the plan choice are without VAT. Whether VAT is added at payment depends on how the service is set up:

• Without VAT at payment (the default), Stripe's payment page charges the price as shown.
• With VAT at payment, the plan choice says Prices are without VAT. Where VAT applies, Stripe adds it at payment, and you can enter your business’s VAT number there. Stripe's payment page then asks for your billing address and lets you enter your business's VAT number and legal name, which go on your invoices.

When it worked

After Stripe's payment page, the billing page shows your plan's name with Trial and First payment if you chose it during the trial, or with Active and Next payment if you chose it after the trial. The Plan line in Settings names the plan.

If it did not work

• Stripe could not be reached just now. Nothing was changed. Try again in a minute. Nothing happened; try again.
• This page was opened for another of your agencies. Reload it and try again. You switched agency since the page opened.
• This agency already has a plan. Reload the page to see it. A payment has just gone through, perhaps in another tab. If you see it after the last day of a failed payment, Stripe has not closed the subscription yet: choose Past invoices and update the card in Stripe's portal. Once the payment goes through, your plan is back.
• Back from Stripe, the page still shows the trial: Stripe is confirming. Wait up to a minute and choose Reload.