Billing & Plans

UMS includes a self-serve billing area where organisation administrators can choose a plan, change plans, and manage payment details without contacting Utilified. Billing lives under Settings → Billing.

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When to use this

Use the billing area when you need to:

• Subscribe to a plan for the first time after signing up.
• Change to a different plan as your usage grows.
• Check current usage against your plan limits.
• Update your payment method or download invoices via Stripe.
• Restore access after a failed payment.
• Request access to an Enterprise (request-only) plan.

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Who can manage billing

Only users with the Manage billing permission (can_manage_billing) can start a checkout, change plans, or open the Stripe Billing Portal. This typically maps to organisation administrators. Users without this permission can still see the current plan and usage on the Billing page, but the Subscribe, Manage billing, and Change plan actions are hidden. If billing lapses, non-admins are asked to contact an administrator.

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The Billing page

The Billing tab gives you a single-panel summary of your subscription:

• Current plan — Plan name with a status dot (Active, Trial, or Cancelled), the monthly price, and the next renewal date.
• Manage billing — Opens the Stripe Billing Portal in a new tab (Stripe-billed orgs only).
• Usage — A three-up row of usage meters: Connections, Users, and Invoices this month. Each meter shows your current count against the plan limit (or Unlimited) and turns amber as you approach the limit.
• Change plan — A button that reveals the plan picker on demand. Use it when you want to compare or switch plans.
• Commitment notice — When your organisation is inside its 12-month term, a short line under the price summarises when downgrades and cancellation become available.

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Billing modes

How your organisation pays for UMS determines which controls appear on the page:

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Choosing or changing a plan

Click Change plan on the Billing page to reveal the plan picker. Each plan card shows the plan name, monthly base price, a short description, included features, usage limits, and a Subscribe button — or a Current plan badge if your organisation is already on that plan.

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Enterprise and other request-only plans

Some plans — typically Enterprise and other usage-based plans — are request-only: they don’t have a fixed monthly price and can’t be subscribed to directly from Stripe Checkout. Their plan card shows:

• A custom pricing summary instead of a monthly figure (for example, “from $400/mo + 50¢/meter”).
• A Request access button instead of Subscribe.

Clicking Request access opens a short form where you can confirm your name and email and add an optional message about your needs (for example, how many meters you manage). Submitting the form creates a lead and notifies the Utilified team, who will follow up to set up the plan for you.

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12-month commitment

Paid plans run on a 12-month commitment. While the commitment is active:

• A note under the current plan shows the date your term ends — for example, “On a 12-month commitment until 1 Dec 2026.”
• Upgrades to a higher-priced plan stay available at any time. Choosing an upgrade resets the 12-month clock from the new start date.
• Downgrades and cancellation are locked until the term ends. Plan cards priced below your current plan show a disabled button with a “Committed until …” helper instead of Subscribe.
• Request-only plans (such as Enterprise) are not affected by commitment gating — you can submit an enquiry at any time.

Once the commitment end date passes, all plan-change options become available again from the same plan picker.

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Managing your subscription

Once your organisation has an active Stripe subscription, a Manage billing button appears on the Billing page. This opens the Stripe Billing Portal in a new tab, where you can:

• Update your payment method
• Download invoices and receipts
• Change billing address and tax details
• Cancel the subscription (after the commitment term ends)

If your organisation is billed by Utilified directly (manual billing mode), the page shows a “billed by Utilified” notice instead — contact Utilified to make any changes.

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What happens when billing lapses

UMS derives a billing access state from Stripe’s subscription status. This drives the in-app behaviour you see when payments fail or a subscription is cancelled.

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Grace-period banner

When a payment fails but Stripe is still retrying, UMS shows a warning banner at the top of every page:

We couldn’t process your latest payment. Update your billing details to avoid interruption.

The banner has an Update billing button that links straight to Settings → Billing. You can dismiss the banner for the rest of the tab session, but it returns on the next reload until the payment is resolved.

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Billing Locked screen

If retries are exhausted and the subscription lapses, UMS replaces the main app with a full-screen lock that cannot be dismissed.

• Billing managers see two actions: Manage billing (opens the Stripe Billing Portal to pay the overdue invoice or update the payment method) and Choose a plan (jumps to the plan picker in Settings → Billing).
• Other users see a message asking them to contact their organisation’s administrator.

Both views also offer a Sign out action.

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Billing during onboarding

Plan selection is optional during sign-up. On the Plan step of onboarding you can either:

• Pick a plan and complete Stripe Checkout up front, or
• Request access to a request-only plan (such as Enterprise) using the same contact form available in Settings → Billing, or
• Click Skip for now — set up billing later to continue onboarding without a subscription.

If you skip, you can subscribe at any time from Settings → Billing. Your organisation will keep working until the billing gate kicks in — once your trial or grace period ends without an active subscription, the Billing Locked screen prompts an administrator to choose a plan.