Billing & subscriptions

Most billing problems trace back to one of three things: the demo plan being more restrictive than expected, a saved card going stale, or the auto-renewal billing cycle running before someone in the firm realized it would. Here’s how to recognize and fix each.

”I tried to switch plans and got an error”

What you saw: the workspace showed an error like “no active subscription” when you clicked a paid plan card.

What it means: you’re on the demo plan, which doesn’t have a subscription row in the system. The “switch plans” path expects an existing subscription to swap.

What to do:

1. Hard-refresh the billing page (Cmd-Shift-R on Mac, Ctrl-Shift-R on Windows).
2. Try the plan switch again. Newer builds automatically route demo → paid through the “subscribe” path instead of “switch”, which resolves the error.
3. If it still fails, email support@folaform.com with your org name and screenshot.

”I’m being asked to sign an agreement before subscribing”

What you saw: a 409 error with the text firm_service_agreement_required, or a redirect to the agreement page when you tried to upgrade.

What it means: Fola requires every paying customer to sign the service agreement before their first paid subscription. This is a one-time step that gates the upgrade.

What to do:

1. Open Settings → Service agreement.
2. Review the document. If your legal team needs to read it first, click Download unsigned PDF for review at the top.
3. Fill in your name and title, check the authority-to-bind box, draw your signature in the canvas pad, and click Sign.
4. Return to Settings → Billing and click the paid plan again. The upgrade goes through.

”Square charged my card but my plan didn’t change”

What you saw: your card statement shows a Fola charge but the Current plan still says Demo or your old tier.

What it means: the charge succeeded on Square’s side but the subscription update on our side didn’t fire (rare, usually a deployment timing issue).

What to do: email billing@folaform.com with the date, amount, and last 4 digits of the card. We refund or upgrade — your choice — within one business day.

”My card got declined and now I’m locked out”

What you saw: an email saying your subscription is past-due, and AI features stopped working.

What it means: Square attempted to auto-charge on the cycle boundary (the 1st of the month at 00:05 UTC) and the card failed. We retry every 72 hours up to three times before flipping the subscription to PAST_DUE. After 14 days past-due, AI features suspend automatically. After 30 days, the whole account suspends.

What to do:

1. Open Settings → Billing → Payment method and save a new card.
2. The next retry sweep (runs hourly) charges automatically.
3. Want to force the retry now? Click Pay now on the open invoice on the same page.

If your card is fine but Square keeps declining, contact your bank — banks sometimes block recurring SaaS charges as “suspicious”.

”I see overage charges I didn’t expect”

What you saw: the invoice shows an “AI overage” line item that seems too high.

What it means: your firm exceeded its monthly AI cap and the overrun was billed at the per-run rate ($0.30–$0.65/chat, $4/ autofill, $8–$10/review). Most often this is because one heavy user consumed most of the firm’s pool.

What to do:

1. Open Settings → AI insights to see the per-member breakdown. You’ll see who used what and which feature.
2. To prevent it next month: at Settings → Usage budgets, give the heavy user their own cap and toggle Allow overage off. That makes the cap a hard ceiling instead of a soft one.
3. If the numbers on the invoice genuinely don’t match the insights page, email billing@folaform.com — we re-run the accrual.

Demo orgs never see overage charges

The demo plan is hard-capped. If you’re seeing overage and you think you’re on demo, you’ve actually been upgraded — check Settings → Billing to confirm your current tier.

”I started a chargeback and now my account is suspended”

What you saw: your account went into “suspended” status right after you initiated a chargeback with your card issuer.

What it means: Section 22 of the service agreement prohibits chargebacks against Fola charges. Starting one triggers immediate suspension and forfeits any pending refund you were owed.

What to do: withdraw the chargeback with your card issuer (most will reverse on request). Then email support@folaform.com so we can resolve the dispute directly. We resolve billing errors faster than your card issuer can — please come to us first.

When to email vs when to wait

• Card declined notification but you’ve already updated the card — wait. The next retry sweep runs within an hour.
• Subscription past-due but no email — check spam, then email billing@folaform.com.
• Invoice line item is wrong — email billing@folaform.com with the invoice number and which line.
• You disagree with the agreement gate — email support@folaform.com.