Paywall / Plan changes and billing
Plan changes and billing
What happens when your customer changes plan: what they pay, when, and what happens to unused time.
General rules
- — Payment first, then the change. The plan changes only after the payment succeeds. If the card is declined, the customer stays on their current plan.
- — Unused time is never lost. On an immediate change, the unused part of the paid period is credited, valued from what the customer actually paid, and lowers the new charge.
- — Surplus is never refunded to the card. If the unused value exceeds the new charge, the rest goes to the customer's credit balance and pays the next invoices automatically.
- — Preview = charge. The amount in the confirmation dialog is exactly what is charged.
- — Discount codes combine with the credit, but never apply or get used up when the amount due is 0.
Case table
| Change | When | Customer pays now |
|---|---|---|
| Free → paid plan | immediately | full price (codes allowed) |
| Higher plan, same interval | immediately | new price for the rest of the current period − credit; the renewal date stays and the full new price applies from the next renewal |
| Same plan: monthly → annual | immediately | annual price − credit |
| Higher plan + monthly → annual | immediately | new annual price − credit |
| Higher plan + annual → monthly | immediately | usually 0; the surplus on the balance pays the next months |
| Same plan: annual → monthly | at the end of the year | nothing now; first monthly charge on the end date |
| Lower plan, same interval | at period end | nothing now |
| Lower plan + monthly → annual | immediately | new annual price − credit |
| Paid → Free | at period end | nothing; access until the end of the paid period |
Special cases
- — During a free trial: the plan changes immediately, the trial end does not move and nothing is charged now. At trial end the new plan is charged.
- — Switching to a product with a trial: a customer who changes plan gets no trial. Trials are for new customers.
- — Changed their mind: a scheduled downgrade can be cancelled with “Keep <plan>” in the portal or the store, at no charge.
- — Change after cancelling: choosing a plan resumes the subscription. Choosing the same plan costs nothing now, and the renewal is charged normally at period end.
- — One-time purchase → subscription: the unused value lowers the first charge; any surplus goes to the balance.
What the customer sees
- — a confirmation dialog with the saved card, with no re-entry of card details;
- — the amount due today, or “No charge today”;
- — with a surplus: “You have X credit, it covers your next N months”;
- — for a scheduled change: “Switching to <plan> on <date>”.