Module 10 — Subscriptions & Billing

Audience: Customer Success & Sales Agents
Goal: Understand SmartSell subscription plans, how billing works, how to help customers upgrade, apply promo codes, and what happens when a subscription expires.

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1. How Subscriptions Work

Every business on SmartSell is on a subscription plan. The subscription is tied to the business, not the user account — meaning one user who owns three businesses has three separate subscriptions (one per business).

Subscriptions are managed from the web portal under the Subscriptions section. The mobile app reflects the current plan but billing and plan changes are handled on the web.

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2. Subscription Statuses

A business's subscription can be in one of these states:

Status	Meaning	Impact on business
Trialing	The business is in its free trial period	Full access to plan features
Active	Subscription is paid and current	Full access
Unpaid	Payment is due and not yet received	Access may be restricted
Expired	Subscription has ended	Limited or no access to features

Agent Note: When a customer says "the app is not working" or "I can't access my products," the first thing to check is the subscription status. An expired or unpaid subscription is the most common reason for feature lockouts.

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3. Subscription Plans

SmartSell offers tiered plans. The key limits per plan are:

Limit	Starter	Professional	Enterprise
Max users	Fixed low count	Higher count	Unlimited (-1)
Max branches	1	Multiple	Unlimited (-1)
Max products	Fixed count	Higher count	Unlimited (-1)

Note for agents: Exact pricing is displayed on the Plans page of the web portal and is subject to change. Always direct the customer to the live Plans page for current pricing rather than quoting from memory.

Billing cycles

Plans can be billed monthly or annually. Annual billing comes with a discount. The discount percentage is shown on the Plans page next to the annual option.

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4. Free Trial

New businesses start on a free trial. The trial gives full access to the selected plan's features for a defined period (visible on the subscription dashboard as the trial end date).

When the trial ends, the business must pay to continue. There is no automatic charge — the customer must complete payment manually.

Sales tip: During onboarding, always confirm the customer has started their trial and knows when it ends. Follow up before the trial expires to convert them to a paid plan.

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5. Viewing the Subscription Dashboard (Web Portal)

From the web portal, the Subscription Dashboard shows:

• Total Businesses — how many businesses the user owns
• Active — businesses with active, paid subscriptions
• Trial — businesses currently in trial
• Unpaid — businesses with payment due

If there are unpaid subscriptions, a red alert banner appears at the top with a "Payment Required" message and a link to complete payment.

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6. Upgrading a Plan

To upgrade from Starter to Professional (or Professional to Enterprise):

1. Log in to the web portal
2. Go to Subscriptions → Plans
3. Select the target plan
4. Choose billing cycle (monthly or annual)
5. Complete payment

The upgrade takes effect immediately. New limits (more branches, more users, more products) are unlocked right away.

Agent Note: If a customer on Starter is trying to add a second branch and the system is blocking them, they need to upgrade to Professional. This is a natural upgrade conversation: "Your current plan allows 1 branch. To add a second location, you'll need to move to the Professional plan."

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7. Applying a Promo Code

Promo codes give customers a discount on their subscription.

To apply a promo code:
1. Log in to the web portal
2. Navigate to Subscriptions
3. Find the Apply Promo Code option on the subscription detail page
4. Enter the promo code (codes are case-insensitive — the system converts to uppercase automatically)
5. Tap Apply

Promo code rules:
- A code can only be applied once per subscription
- Codes may be limited to specific plans (e.g. only valid for Professional)
- Codes have an expiry date — expired codes are rejected
- Codes may give a discount for a fixed number of months or forever
- If a code has reached its maximum number of uses, it will be rejected

Possible error messages when applying a promo code:

Error	Meaning
"Invalid promo code"	The code does not exist or is inactive
"Promo code has expired"	The code's validity date has passed
"This promo code is not valid for your selected plan"	The code is restricted to a different plan
"This promo code is already applied to your subscription"	The same code cannot be applied twice
"You have already used this promo code the maximum number of times"	Per-user usage limit reached

Agent Note: If a customer says a promo code is not working, run through the error list above. The most common issue is a code that has expired or has already been used.

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8. What Happens When a Subscription Expires

When a subscription expires (trial ends or payment lapses):

• The business data is not deleted — it is preserved
• Access to certain features may be restricted or blocked
• The owner sees a banner or prompt to renew when they log in
• The Subscription Dashboard highlights the business as Unpaid

To restore full access, the customer must complete payment for the current or a new billing cycle.

Agent Note: This is a common support call scenario. When a customer says "I can't access my business," walk them to the web portal Subscription Dashboard. If the status shows Unpaid or Expired, direct them to complete payment.

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9. Subscription-Related Selling Points

Use these when talking to prospects:

• "You can start for free" — every new business gets a trial with full access
• "No commitment needed to start" — trial requires no payment details
• "Pay annually and save" — annual billing discount incentivizes longer commitment
• "Scale as you grow" — move from Starter to Professional when adding your second branch, no need to restart
• "Your data is always safe" — even if a subscription lapses, data is not deleted

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Summary

Task	Where
View subscription status	Web portal → Subscriptions Dashboard
Upgrade plan	Web portal → Subscriptions → Plans
Apply promo code	Web portal → Subscriptions → Apply Promo Code
Check trial end date	Web portal → Subscriptions Dashboard
Resolve unpaid subscription	Web portal → Subscriptions → Complete Payment

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Previous Module → 09 — Warehouses & Stock Management
Next Module → 11 — Troubleshooting & Common Issues