Subscriptions#

Skalio may provide access to a product or a service free of charge, possibly with limitations or restrictions in scope or volume. In order to remove limitations or extend the scope of service, a subscription is required. This is created through an initial purchase, where the customer provides payment method and billing information.

A customer can also manage and extend an existing subscription, view past and current invoices or cancel the subscription.

The external third party Stripe provides the secure payment and billing infrastructure.

Initial purchase#

In order to create a new subscription, a customer visits the "Checkout" page for the chosen product. This creates a "shopping cart" at Stripe, which the customer purchases. At this stage, the necessary billing information and payment method is requested, and the appropriate tax rate is calculated.

Anyone can initiate this checkout process, provided they

• have signed up, and
• are not member of an organization.

An exception is made for members of the "free" organization. Since this is not a commercial service offering, a person can make an initial purchase while being a "free" member.

Once this checkout session is completed, an organization is created representing the customer. The person is made its first and only member and granted organization admin privileges. The purchased subscription is registered, and the product is available within the purchased limitations.

A subscription auto-renews at the end of its billing cycle, unless cancelled.

Managing a subscription#

Members of an organization can manage their subscription by accessing their customer portal, provided they have appropriate privileges. The following functionality is available to them there:

• change billing cycle (where available),
• update customer information,
• upgrade the subscription,
• view invoices,
• cancel or renew the subscription.

Billing cycle#

Some products may be charged on a monthly basis. Switching to a yearly billing cycle may offer significant discounts. This may not be available to all products.

Update customer information#

The person can change the billing address or register a new payment method.

Upgrade the subscription#

When the limitations of a subscription are not sufficient, the customer can switch plans (where available) or adjust individual restrictions (e.g. number of users; where available).

The changes are available immediately, and result in a payment and invoice of the delta amount.

View invoices#

Current and past invoices can be downloaded.

Cancellation#

A customer can cancel a subscription. This effectively ends the auto-renewal of the subscription.

It remains available for the remainder of the purchased billing cycle.

During this time, a customer can renew the subscription, preventing it from expiration.

Expiration#

Once a cancelled subscription has reached its end-date, it is removed. This results in irrevocable removal of the organization, all its users and data.

Invoices are not deleted, but the customer can no longer access them via the customer portal. Instead, a customer support request should be opened.