Billing
What the Billing page shows
Five sections:
- Current plan. Free, Starter, Growth, Business, Enterprise. Includes quota usage.
- Payment method. Card on file (last 4 digits visible).
- Invoices. Past invoices with download links.
- Usage. Current cycle's message count and storage usage.
- Plan changes. Upgrade or cancel buttons. Each plan card lists the channels a customer on that plan can use and what it adds over the plan below it. A channel that needs something more says so on the card, for example voice minutes sold separately or your own Twilio account.
Only the account owner can view and change billing.
Plan tiers
Plans differ in message credits, content storage (MB), workspaces, seats and features.
| Plan | Price (USD/mo, excl. tax) | Messages/mo | Content | Team | Workspaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 | 5 MB | 1 | 1 |
| Starter | $39 | 2,000 | 15 MB | 1 | 2 |
| Growth | $99 | 6,000 | 40 MB | 4 | 5 |
| Business | $249 | 15,000 | 100 MB | 10 | 15 |
| Enterprise | Custom | 40,000 floor (custom) | 2 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Plans are billed in USD through Dodo Payments, our merchant of record. Prices exclude tax; any tax that applies where you are is calculated at checkout. Annual prepay (10 times the monthly price, about 17% off) is available on Starter, Growth and Business.
Enterprise and custom agreements
Enterprise plans, and any plan our team sets up for you by agreement, are managed by our team rather than through self-serve checkout. Once this protection is switched on for your account (it is rolling out and not yet on everywhere):
- Your plan only changes when we change it. Payments, refunds, failed charges or cancellations on any self-serve subscription still attached to your account no longer move you to another plan.
- Your negotiated message allowance is kept. If your agreement includes more than the 40,000 monthly message floor, every monthly reset refills to your agreed amount.
- Plan changes go through your account manager. Change Plan on the Billing page explains that your plan is managed by our team instead of opening checkout. Contact your account manager or support to change it.
Upgrading
Plan upgrade applies immediately:
- Open Billing > Change Plan.
- Pick the target plan.
- Review the proration. Charged today: difference between old and new plan, prorated for the days remaining in the cycle.
- Confirm.
Once the change goes through:
- Plan switches.
- New limits apply (more messages, more content, more team seats).
- Currently-paused features re-enable (e.g., WhatsApp if you upgraded to Growth).
- The prorated amount is charged on your saved payment method.
An upgrade switches your existing subscription directly rather than creating a second one, so you are never billed twice.
Locked workspaces and set-aside pages after an upgrade (once enabled)
Rolling out behind a flag, not yet switched on. Once it is enabled, as soon as an upgrade of your existing subscription takes effect:
- Workspaces locked by an earlier downgrade unlock, up to the new plan's workspace limit. The ones locked longest come back first.
- Pages your content cap set aside start indexing under the new plan's larger cap.
When upgrades wait for the payment (also rolling out), both happen once the payment is confirmed.
If we can't confirm your current subscription (once enabled)
Rolling out behind a flag, not yet switched on. Once it is enabled:
- Nothing is charged when your subscription can't be confirmed. If the payment provider can't confirm the subscription you already pay for at that moment, the plan change stops, nothing is changed or charged, and you're asked to try again in a moment. You are never signed up for a second subscription next to the one you have.
- The upgrade price follows the same rule. The amount shown before you confirm is never a new-subscription price for a change that would stop at this step.
- If your account's record doesn't match your subscription, you're asked to contact support, and we change your plan for you.
Upgrades that wait for the payment (once enabled)
Two upgrade safeguards are rolling out and are not switched on yet:
- The new plan starts when the payment is confirmed. Your new plan and its message credits start once the prorated payment goes through, usually within a minute. If the payment is declined, you stay on your current plan with everything you already paid for. A declined upgrade does not put your account into a payment-failed state.
- Upgrading from an annual plan keeps it annual. If you're on annual billing and upgrade with Monthly selected, the upgrade is applied to your annual plan. The unused part of your current year is credited toward the new annual price, and your new year starts when the upgrade takes effect.
Starting a second checkout by accident (once enabled)
Rolling out behind a flag, not yet switched on. Once it is enabled:
- A second checkout is refused while your first payment is still being confirmed. If you pay for a plan and start another checkout before that payment is confirmed (in a second tab, or by clicking Upgrade again), you see "You already have a subscription that is active or still being confirmed" and nothing is charged. You aren't shown a price to confirm first. Refresh the Billing page after a minute to see your plan.
- A subscription whose payment is being retried is not replaced by a new one. You're asked to update your payment method on the Billing page instead.
- A checkout you left without paying never blocks you. You can start again straight away.
- Another account's subscription never blocks yours. If two AskVault accounts paid with the same email address, a subscription that belongs to the other account does not stop you subscribing.
Message credits after a mid-cycle upgrade
This change is rolling out and is not yet switched on. Once it is enabled:
- An upgrade adds the extra credits as soon as it takes effect. You get the difference between the new plan's monthly message allowance and the old one's, added to the credits you have left. For example, Starter (2,000) to Growth (6,000) adds 4,000. Your balance never goes above the new plan's allowance. When upgrades wait for the payment (also rolling out), the extra credits are added once the payment is confirmed, together with the new plan.
- The full new allowance arrives at your next monthly reset. Your reset date does not move. The billing cycle restart that comes with an upgrade does not refill your credits a second time.
- Switching the same plan from monthly to yearly billing adds no credits. Your current balance carries over unchanged.
- Purchased top-up credits are never affected.
Downgrading
You can't switch straight to a lower paid plan from the Billing page yet. Downgrade on a lower plan opens a short explainer with the steps:
- Cancel your current subscription. Choose Go to Cancel Subscription in the explainer, or Cancel subscription on the Billing page, then Confirm cancel. You keep your current plan until the end of the billing period and are not charged again.
- Subscribe to the lower plan once your current plan ends and your account is on Free.
Downgrade to Free is the same cancellation: your plan stays active until the end of the billing period, then the account moves to Free.
Rolling out behind a flag, not yet switched on: scheduled downgrades. Once they are switched on, Downgrade asks you to confirm, then schedules the lower plan for the end of your billing period. You keep the current plan's features until then, nothing is refunded, and you can undo the change from the Billing page before it takes effect.
If your agent is set to an AI model the new plan doesn't include, it switches to the new plan's default model when the plan changes, so it keeps answering. You can pick any model your plan includes in agent settings.
What changes when a downgrade takes effect
Rolling out behind a flag, not yet switched on. Once it is enabled, a downgrade (or a cancellation reaching Free) removes what the new plan doesn't include. Nothing is deleted:
- Extra workspaces are locked, read-only. If you have more workspaces than the new plan allows, the ones you used most recently stay active and the rest are locked. You can still open, browse and export a locked workspace, delete it, or remove a teammate from it. Edits are refused, and its agent stops answering visitors until you upgrade or delete another workspace.
- Branding returns unless the new plan includes removing it, or you hold an unexpired remove-branding add-on.
- Channels the new plan doesn't include are turned off (for example WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or email below Growth). Their settings are kept, and they turn back on automatically when you upgrade. Outbound webhooks pause the same way.
- The AI phone line stops if the new plan doesn't include voice. Your number is not released.
- Team seats count across your whole account. Each person counts once, however many of your workspaces they belong to, and a pending invite holds a seat. Nobody is removed, but new invites and acceptances past the new plan's seat limit are refused.
- Conversation history is never cut short retroactively. The new plan's shorter retention window applies only to conversations that start after the downgrade. Earlier history is kept for up to 365 days.
Common downgrade reasons:
- Never upgraded. The account simply stays on the Free plan.
- Switching from Business to Growth because Business features weren't needed.
- Pausing the team seasonally.
Cancellation
Full cancellation:
- Billing > Cancel Subscription.
- Pick reason (helps us improve).
- Confirm.
Cancellation:
- Account stays active until end of cycle.
- No further charges.
- At cycle end, account drops to Free (50 messages per month, 5 MB cap, widget and hosted chat page only, no time limit).
- Data is kept. Workspaces over the Free cap of 1 are locked, never deleted, until you upgrade. A Free workspace is removed only after 30 days with no conversations (see Free plan).
Enterprise plans are set up by our sales team, so they are changed and cancelled through your account team rather than from the Billing page.
To fully delete (not just cancel), see account deletion.
Inactive Free workspaces
A Free workspace with no activity for 21 days is paused, and you get an in-app notice and an email. Send your agent a message to resume it. If it stays inactive for another 9 days, it is removed.
Once this protection is enabled, a paused workspace is never removed while it holds something you paid for (purchased credits or voice minutes), or while your account still has a subscription on record or paid time remaining. It is paused and you are notified, and the notice says it will not be removed.
Payment methods
Every customer, India included, is billed in USD through Dodo Payments, our merchant of record, which handles global tax and compliance. Checkout is a hosted redirect and works the same in every country: there's no separate India-specific checkout flow today.
To change the card on your subscription, email [email protected] from your account email.
Invoices
Dodo Payments, our merchant of record, issues an invoice for every charge:
- Invoices stay available from the Billing page, with copies from Dodo Payments.
- Available via dashboard.
- Downloadable as PDF.
- Format compliant with your jurisdiction's tax rules (e.g., GST invoicing for customers in India).
International customers get tax-compliant invoices for their jurisdiction.
Usage monitoring
Track current cycle:
- Queries used / quota. Bar chart with daily breakdown.
- Storage used / cap. In MB, with per-source breakdown.
- Team seats used / cap.
- Days remaining in cycle.
When approaching quota:
- 70% used: in-app notice.
- 90% used: in-app notice and an email to the account owner.
- 100% used: in-app notice and email; the agent pauses until you top up, upgrade or the cycle resets.
Upgrade or wait for cycle reset.
Auto-recharge (once enabled)
Available once enabled; rolling out behind a flag. On a paid plan, the account owner can turn on auto-recharge in Billing, under the message-credits card:
- Pick a pack and a threshold. When your credits fall below the threshold, we buy that pack on the card you saved with a previous purchase. You need to have bought a pack once, so that a card is on file.
- You confirm the price first. Before it turns on, we show the exact charge, for example: "We'll charge your saved card $16 for 1,000 credits when your credits fall below 200, at most 3 times a month."
- At most 3 recharges a month. After the third, we tell you and stop charging until next month. Billing shows "Recharges this month: n/3" and the result of the last one.
- Credits arrive only when the payment succeeds. Until then, a conversation that runs out of credits stops, as it does today.
- A declined card switches it off. We email you and we don't try again. Buy credits or turn auto-recharge back on in Billing.
- It applies to your own account only. A teammate cannot change it for you.
Quota reset
Cycles run monthly aligned to your subscription start date:
- Sign up May 5: cycles run 5th to 4th each month.
- Usage resets to 0 at midnight UTC on the cycle start day.
Carryover: no rollover. Unused quota expires at cycle end.
Trial behavior
New accounts start on the Free plan, no credit card required: 50 messages, 5 MB, 1 seat, 1 workspace, no time limit.
Some accounts still see a trial countdown on this page or get reminder emails about a trial ending. That label is being retired, and nothing is deleted or downgraded when it reaches zero. A Free workspace is removed only after 30 days with no conversations, following a pause notice at 21 days. See Free plan and the trial label.
Upgrade any time under Billing > Change Plan.
Discounts
One discount path:
- Annual prepay. Pay 12 months upfront at 10 times the monthly price (2 months free, about 17% off). Available on Starter, Growth and Business.
AskVault does not offer promo codes or non-profit and education discounts today. Enterprise pricing is custom; ask sales.
Tax handling
Every price AskVault shows, on the pricing page, the Billing page and at checkout, excludes tax. Dodo Payments, our merchant of record, calculates any tax that applies where you are at checkout.
Dodo Payments, our merchant of record, works out the tax that applies where you are, such as VAT or GST, adds it at checkout and shows it as a separate line on the invoice. If you need a tax ID shown on your invoices, contact support.
Refund policy
- Monthly subscriptions. Non-refundable. Cancel any time to stop the next renewal.
- Annual subscriptions. Non-refundable. Cancel any time to stop the next annual renewal.
- Add-ons (phone numbers, extra message packs). Non-refundable once provisioned.
- Exceptional circumstances (billing error on our part, duplicate or unauthorised charge, outage of more than 36 hours in a month, material defect we cannot fix): email within 30 days of the charge. Any refund is at our discretion.
There is no refund window and no refund button in the dashboard. Email [email protected] from your account email with your receipt or invoice number. Refunds, when granted, go to your original payment method and typically reflect within 5 to 10 business days. Full policy: Refund policy.
Payment disputes (chargebacks)
This behaviour is rolling out and is not switched on for every account yet. Once it is enabled:
- A bank inquiry does not change your plan. If your bank only asks us about a charge, your plan and your agents keep working while we answer it.
- A chargeback moves the account to Free. When a chargeback is actually opened, the account moves to the Free plan and the subscription is set not to renew, so it cannot charge you again.
- If we win the dispute, your plan comes back. If the bank decides for us, your paid plan is restored automatically for the rest of the period you already paid for, as long as your subscription is still active with our payment provider. The subscription stays set not to renew; you can renew it from the Billing page.
- If the bank decides for you, the account stays on Free. The subscription stays cancelled. You can subscribe again at any time from the Billing page.
- A plan our team manages for you is not changed automatically. If your plan is set up by agreement (see Enterprise and custom agreements above), a chargeback does not move it to Free, cancel its subscription or lock its workspaces, whatever the bank decides. Our team reviews the dispute and contacts you.
Questions about a disputed charge: email [email protected] from your account email.
API access for billing
There is no public API for this page today; use the dashboard.
Audit and compliance
Every billing action logs:
- Subscription creation, upgrade, downgrade, cancellation.
- Payment method updates.
- Invoice generation.
- Author (account owner).
Retained 7 years for tax compliance.
Agency partner plan level
Available once enabled; rolling out behind a flag. Approved agency partners get a higher plan level for limits. It is not a billed plan. When this rollout is on, every limit uses that plan level: workspaces, conversation history, trial status, team seats, message credits, and whether you can buy top-ups and voice packs.
- Approval. Trial countdowns on your workspaces end. Workspaces locked by an earlier downgrade unlock up to the new limit.
- Suspension, or the agency program ending. Your limits return to the plan you pay for. Message credits above that plan's allowance are removed. Credits you bought are kept. Workspaces above the limit become read-only and are not deleted.
- Referrals. A partner earns no commission on an account paid for with the partner's own billing account.
Planned features (on the roadmap)
Documented for accuracy:
- Per-workspace billing. Today, billing is per account.
Limits
- Refund window. None. Fees are non-refundable on monthly and annual plans.
Common pitfalls
Payment reminders not arriving. They may be in spam. Add [email protected] to your safe senders.
Wrong tax details on an invoice. Invoices come from Dodo Payments, our merchant of record. Contact support with the correct details.
Quota exceeded mid-month. Upgrade plan or wait for cycle reset. Quota carryover is not available.
Paid for message credits or voice minutes, but they have not appeared. Credits are normally added within seconds of payment. Once automatic payment reconciliation is switched on, AskVault re-checks any purchase still pending after about 30 minutes with our payment provider, and adds the credits if the payment went through. You are never credited twice for the same payment. If a purchase is still missing after an hour, email [email protected] with your receipt.
FAQ
Can I pay in USD?
Billed in USD through Dodo Payments, our merchant of record, which handles global tax and compliance. Checkout is a hosted redirect and works the same in every country.
What happens if my card fails?
Dodo Payments, our merchant of record, retries a failed renewal automatically, and we email you when a payment fails. If the payment does not recover, the account moves to the Free plan. There is no card-update button in the dashboard today: to change the card on your subscription, email [email protected] from your account email.
Can I switch payment methods mid-cycle?
Yes. Email [email protected] from your account email to change the card on your subscription.
Do you bill annually?
Yes, on Starter, Growth and Business (10 times the monthly price, about 17% off).
Will my data delete if I cancel?
No. The account drops to the Free plan with a 5 MB cap and no time limit, and your data is kept. To fully delete data, use account deletion.