Plans and billing

Your subscription decides which features your organization can use and how much of each - how many sites, how many active lots, whether the Finance module is on, and so on. The Billing section at /billing is where you see what you are paying for and change it without calling support.

Starter is free for life. It does not require a card, does not renew, and has no subscription to cancel. Billing shows a single Compare paid plans action when you want more features or higher limits.

Your trial

A new organization starts with a trial that turns on the paid features so you can try them out. A badge in the app header shows how long is left, and you get reminder emails as the trial nears its end. To keep the paid features once the trial ends, add a payment method before it runs out. If you do not, the organization drops to the free tier: your data stays readable, but the features above that tier pause until you upgrade.

Monthly or annual billing

Paid plans can be billed monthly or annually. Annual billing gives you two months free - about a 17% saving versus paying month to month. Grower is $19 a month or $190 a year; Mother Hen is $49 a month or $490 a year. The free Starter tier and the custom-priced Rooster tier are not billed on this cycle.

• When you sign up, use the Monthly / Annual toggle on the pricing page before you choose a plan. The cadence you pick carries into sign-up. After creating the Organization and signing in, a paid-plan signup returns to Billing to review automatic renewal. Account creation does not start recurring billing.
• During your trial, open Billing then Plans (/billing/plans) and use the Billing cadence control to switch between Monthly and Annual. The change applies to the first invoice raised when your trial converts - no charge happens while you are still in the trial.

Your current cadence is shown on the Plans page. Once a paid subscription is active, changing cadence mid-cycle is not self-serve yet; contact support if you need to switch an active subscription.

Choose how to pay

Manual invoice payment remains available through the enabled providers on each invoice. M-Pesa requires you to approve every STK prompt, and one-off card checkout pays only that invoice.

After you approve an M-Pesa prompt, PoultryDesk waits for Safaricom's confirmation. If the callback is delayed or lost, the app makes one direct status check after the normal wait. A confirmed payment still marks the invoice paid; a pending result stays visible as processing instead of asking you to pay twice.

During a Grower or Mother Hen trial that settles in USD, Billing also offers automatic renewal. Review the exact plan, USD price, monthly or annual frequency, automatic-renewal wording, cancellation route, and linked policies. Select the recurring-billing acknowledgement, then choose Subscribe. Paddle shows the first charge date and any trial before the final confirmation, then collects and stores the card details in its secure checkout; PoultryDesk never receives card data.

Creating an account and accepting the Terms and Privacy Policy does not authorise recurring charges. The recurring-billing acknowledgement is separate and is required immediately before Paddle checkout. PoultryDesk records the policy and disclosure versions you accepted. Paid access changes only after PoultryDesk receives Paddle's signed confirmation; closing the checkout does not activate automatic renewal.

Paddle auto-renew is not offered for KES settlement. M-Pesa requires customer approval for each payment, so KES subscriptions stay on manual invoice payment. An existing active USD subscription can opt in when its current paid period reaches the end date; Billing does not offer an immediate mid-period charge.

After auto-renew is active, Billing shows Manage auto-renew and Update card. Both open a temporary, secure Paddle-hosted portal. Use it to update the saved card, view Paddle transactions, pause renewal when the plan permits it, or request cancellation. PoultryDesk does not store the temporary portal link or your card details.

To return to manual invoice payment, choose Switch to manual billing. PoultryDesk records the pending switch and opens Paddle's hosted subscription management. Auto-renew stays active until Paddle sends the signed cancellation confirmation; after that, Billing changes to Manual and the internal period scheduler resumes. Reopening the action while confirmation is pending does not create another request. If Paddle cannot create a temporary link, PoultryDesk uses the configured reusable Paddle portal instead.

Plans and limits

The Billing page shows your current plan alongside usage meters - how many sites and lots you are using against what your plan allows. When you reach a limit, the app tells you and offers the upgrade that lifts it.

• Upgrading creates an invoice for the prorated cost of the rest of the current cycle. Your current plan stays active until that invoice is paid and the payment is confirmed. Before you confirm, review the current and new monthly price, the amount due now, and the features and limits that become available. If the price or billing period changes before confirmation, refresh and review the updated amount.
• Downgrading is scheduled for the end of your current period. Before you confirm, review the lower monthly price and the features and limits that change. Existing data is retained, but some access or new activity may be restricted by the lower plan. You can cancel the scheduled change until it takes effect.

Select the acknowledgement after reviewing the cost, timing, and organization-wide access changes. After confirming an upgrade, complete payment from the invoice page. You can return to Billing and reopen the pending invoice if checkout is interrupted. Cancelling an abandoned payment attempt releases the pending upgrade so you can choose a plan again.

Add-ons use the same review and payment confirmation rules.

Invoices and payments

At the end of each billing cycle PoultryDesk keeps an internal invoice as the tax and audit record. For manual billing, you open that invoice and pay through an enabled provider. For Paddle auto-renew, Paddle charges the saved card and PoultryDesk marks the matching invoice paid after the signed provider confirmation. Every invoice lists its line items so you can see exactly what each charge is for.

If a payment fails

If a charge fails, the subscription becomes past due and PoultryDesk retries over the next several days, emailing you a link to fix the payment. If it still cannot collect, the organization is suspended and everyday actions are paused until you update your payment method - your data is never deleted. As soon as the outstanding balance is paid, everything is restored.

See also

• Members and roles
• Sites and houses