Free trials
Give a product a free trial, see what happens when it ends, and extend or end a trial by hand.
A free trial lets a customer use a recurring product before paying. The service starts at once, nothing is invoiced, and the first invoice is created when the trial ends.
Turn on a trial for a product#
Open the product under Products and find the Trial and plan changes card.
- Free trial (days): 0 means no trial. Any number from 1 to 365 turns it on.
- Require a saved payment method to start a trial: the customer must have a saved payment method before the trial starts. Otherwise they see "Add a payment method before starting this trial."
Trials only apply to recurring billing cycles. A one-time product is never a trial.
What happens when a customer orders#
- The service is created and set up on the server straight away.
- No invoice is created. The first due date is the last day of the trial.
- The customer gets an email, "Your trial of ... has started", with the end date and the price they will be invoiced after it.
In the Services list the service shows as a Trial, not Active, and the customer sees a notice on the service page: a free trial until that date, then the price, and that they can cancel before then without being charged.
A trial is once per customer per product, however the first one ended. If the same customer orders that product again, it is billed normally from the start.
When the trial ends#
Three days before the end, by default, the customer gets an email, "Your trial of ... ends soon". Then the billing run creates the first invoice for one period at the full price, plus the setup fee if the price has one. The invoice is due on the day the trial ends and follows the normal rules: autopay if the customer has a saved method with automatic payment on, otherwise a pay link by email, then reminders, suspension and termination if it stays unpaid. See Recurring billing.
Two settings in Settings → Billing → Trials and plan changes control the timing:
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Remind customers before a trial ends | 3 days before | One reminder per trial. A negative number such as -1 turns reminders off. |
| Create the first invoice | 0 days before trial ends | 0 invoices on the day the trial ends. A higher number invoices that many days earlier. The due date stays the last day of the trial. |
Cancelling and changing plan during a trial#
- If the customer cancels during a trial, the service ends immediately and nothing is ever billed.
- Changing plan during a trial is free and nothing is prorated. The new plan's price is what the trial converts to. See Plan changes.
What staff can do#
On the service page, a trial shows a Free trial card with the days left.
- Extend by days adds 1 to 365 days to the trial. The next due date moves with it, and the reminder is sent again for the new end date.
- End trial and invoice now ends the trial today and creates the first invoice at once.
When you add a service by hand under Services → New service, a product with a trial starts as a trial. Tick Skip the trial and bill now to start it without one. A service created this way is not invoiced automatically. Its next due date is used for the first renewal invoice, and staff are not asked for a saved payment method.