Plan Upgrades & Downgrades
Customers change their minds. Allow easy plan changes to reduce churn and increase revenue.
Why Allow Plan Changes?
Reduces churn — Customer upgrades instead of leaving
Increases revenue — Expansion MRR from upgrades
Improves retention — Shows you care about their needs
Competitive advantage — Reduces friction
Upgrade (Lower Plan → Higher Plan)
What Happens
Customer requests upgrade (e.g., Starter → Professional)
BillPine calculates pro-rata charge:
Days remaining in current billing cycle
Difference in plan price
Customer pays difference immediately or next billing
Plan changes immediately
New invoice sent for the upgrade charge
Next billing date stays the same
Example
On May 15, customer upgrades from $99/month (Starter) to $199/month (Professional)
Billing cycle ends June 15 (31 days remaining)
Pro-rata charge = ($199 - $99) × (31 ÷ 30) = ~$103
Customer charged $103 now or on next billing date (configurable)
June 15: Customer billed $199 for next month
Customer requests downgrade (e.g., Professional → Starter)
BillPine calculates pro-rata credit:
Days remaining in current billing cycle
Difference in plan price
Credit applied to next invoice
Plan changes immediately or at next billing (configurable)
Credit applied to next billing cycle
Feature access downgraded
On May 20, customer downgrades from $199/month (Professional) to $99/month (Starter)
Billing cycle ends June 15 (26 days remaining)
Pro-rata credit = ($199 - $99) × (26 ÷ 30) = ~$86
Customer gets $86 credit on next invoice
June 15: Customer billed $99 - $86 = $13
Change takes effect right away
Pro-rata billing adjusts immediately
Feature access changes instantly
Best for upgrades (faster revenue realization)
Change takes effect on next billing date
No pro-rata adjustment
Feature access changes on new billing date
Better for downgrades (improves UX)
Go to Settings → Billing
Enable Allow Plan Changes
Choose Immediate or End-of-Cycle
Enable Pro-rata Adjustments
Save
Add-on charges continue independently
Plan change adjusts only base plan price
Example: Customer upgrades base plan but keeps same add-ons
Upgrade rate: % of customers upgrading per month
Downgrade rate: % of customers downgrading per month
Net expansion: Revenue growth from upgrades minus downgrades
Make upgrades frictionless — One click
Show savings on downgrades — "You'll save $45 this month"
Pro-rata billing builds trust — Fair to customers
Immediate upgrades = faster revenue
End-of-cycle downgrades = better retention (customer keeps access until cycle ends)