If you switch to a lower-tier plan than your current monthly active user (MAU) count, certain paid features will be restricted immediately. However, please note that your current paid subscription won't automatically be converted to a free plan. To switch to a free plan, you will need to manually make the change.
Plan upgrade
Scenarios for Upgrading Your Plan
You can upgrade your plan in various situations, including:
Moving to a higher-tier plan (e.g., switching from Small Plan to Medium Plan)
Adding an add-on to your current plan (e.g., upgrading from Medium Plan to Medium Plan + Operation add-on)
Changing from monthly payment to annual payment
Switching from a free plan to a paid plan
Payment process
When you upgrade your plan to a higher tier or switch from monthly to annual payment, the following payment process applies:
We prorate the remaining period of your current subscription and refund it to you as a balance.
We charge the subscription fee for the upgraded plan for the remaining period. During this process, we first use the refunded deposit and then charge the difference (if any).
E.g) When you paid for the [X Small + Operation Function + Marketing Function] plan on March 17th, and on April 6th, you decide to upgrade to the [Small + Operation Function + Marketing Function] plan:
Please keep the following in mind when changing your plan:
The refund period starts from the next day after the plan change. If you upgrade your plan, the upgraded features will be available immediately, and the subscription fees will apply from the day of the upgrade.
Channel.io usage is measured on a daily basis, meaning that if you use it for even just one minute in a day, it counts as usage for that day. If a plan change occurs as a result of this, we will apply the refund from the following day. This usage measurement is standard practice for SaaS services worldwide.
Why are refunds given as balance?
This is because in a consolidation system, there's a possibility that the purchase may expire. For instance, if you pay for a subscription to a connection system using a credit card and then cancel it one week before the subscription expires, the system may not be able to cancel the payment that has already been processed on your card. Additionally, as purchase periods may vary depending on the country or region, we issue refunds as a balance to account for these systemic issues and the quick expiration of some purchases.
When adding additional add-ons:
We calculate the additional subscription fee for the remaining period on a pro-rata basis.
For example, suppose you paid for the [Small Plan] on April 3rd and decided to add the [Operation Function] on April 20th. In that case, we will charge you the prorated subscription fee for the [Operation Function] from April 20th to May 2nd (13 days worth).
Plan downgrade
When downgrading your plan, please note that a penalty may be incurred based on the discount rate if any discounts were applied.
Scenarios for downgrading your plan:
Changing to a lower plan, such as downgrading from the [Medium Plan] to the [Small Plan]
Cancelling an add-on, such as unsubscribing from the marketing function when changing from the [Small Plan + Marketing] to the [Small Plan + Operation]
Changing from annual payment to monthly payment, such as changing from the [Small Plan] annual payment to the [Large Plan] monthly payment
Changing from a paid plan to a free plan.
Payment process
We calculate the remaining period of the subscription on a pro-rata basis and refund it as a balance.
For the remaining period, we charge the subscription fee for the downgraded plan. If there is any balance remaining after applying it to the payment, it will be kept as a balance.
Example 1) If you downgrade to [X Small] on April 6 after paying for [X Small + Operation + Marketing] on March 17:
Penalty
Penalties may be incurred when downgrading a subscription or if there are discounted items from the existing subscription.
If a difference refund is requested, the refund amount will be calculated based on the list price before discount and the percentage of days used compared to the entire subscription period according to the cancellation fee regulations. The remaining amount will be refunded as a deposit.
For example, if a subscription fee of 1000 USD with a 10% annual payment discount is refunded 6 months after purchase at 900 USD, the refund amount will be calculated as follows:
Refund amount = 900 USD - [1000 USD X 50%] = 400 USD refunded.
A 10% fee will be charged when withdrawing the balance back into cash.
Keep in mind that purchasing a subscription in advance is a contract to use the Channel.io service during that period. Cancelling the transaction incurs a penalty as the refunded amount will be withdrawn in cash.
Payment failure
In case of payment failure using the registered payment card for automatic payment, we will make a payment attempt once a day during the 7-day grace period.
Please note that this policy does not apply to manual plan upgrades or downgrades.
If payment fails completely even after the 7-day grace period, your use of Channel.io will be restricted. Since the payment for the 7-day period is not received, your access will be restricted until you pay the entire unpaid amount.
Notification email
We recommend registering an email address for payment notifications. In the case of payment failure, we will notify you via email, and the team members with owner permissions will also be notified.
If you do not register an email address for payment notifications, all team members with owner rights will receive the payment failure email.
Settle overdue payment
To resume using Channel.io after a payment failure, you need to make a repayment for the unpaid period. You can do this by going to [Channel Settings] - [Billing - [Subscription] - [Subscription History] and following the steps to make a payment.
Once the repayment is successful, you can use Channel.io immediately without any restrictions. Note that the unpaid fees for the period during which your account was restricted will be charged along with the current subscription fee.
FAQ
Will my subscription date change if I switch from monthly payment to the connection system or vice versa?
Yes, your payment date will be updated to the new payment date accordingly.
What happens if my monthly active users (MAU) exceed the limit of my current subscription plan during my subscription period?
In such cases, the paid features will be immediately restricted. Note that the plan will not be automatically changed to the free version, and you will continue to be billed as before. If you do not want to incur any additional charges, please switch to a free plan on your own.