Upgrading or Downgrading Your Plan
Step-by-step guide to changing your ClientSynq subscription plan.
Quick Overview
Upgrades (Basic → Pro or Pro → Enterprise):
- ✅ Take effect immediately
- ✅ Pro-rated billing (only pay for remaining days)
- ✅ All new features activate instantly
Downgrades (Pro → Basic):
- ⏳ Take effect at end of current billing cycle
- ⏳ Keep premium features until billing date
- ⚠️ Some features will be removed
Upgrading from Basic to Pro
Why Upgrade to Pro?
Key Pro features:
- 💳 Online payments - Clients pay invoices instantly with credit card or ACH
- 🎨 Custom branding - Add your logo and brand colors to the portal
- 👥 Team access - Add up to 5 team members
- ⚡ Priority support - 24-hour response time (vs 48 hours)
- 💰 Convenience fees - Recover processing costs automatically
ROI: Many customers find that online payments alone pay for the Pro upgrade (faster payments = better cash flow!)
Step-by-Step Upgrade Process
1. Review the upgrade
Navigate to billing:
Settings → Billing → Click "Upgrade to Pro"
2. Review plan comparison
You'll see a side-by-side comparison:
| Feature | Basic | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99/mo | $29.99/mo |
| QuickBooks Connection | ✅ | ✅ |
| Client Portal | ✅ | ✅ |
| Unlimited Clients | ✅ | ✅ |
| Online Payments | ❌ | ✅ |
| Custom Branding | ❌ | ✅ |
| Team Members | 1 | Up to 5 |
| Support | 48hr | 24hr |
3. Understand pricing
You'll see:
- Today's charge: Pro-rated amount for remaining days
- Next billing date: Full $29.99 charge
- Savings breakdown: How we calculated today's charge
Example:
Current billing cycle: Oct 1 - Oct 31
Today's date: Oct 16 (15 days remaining)
Price difference: $15/month ($29.99 - $14.99)
Days remaining: 15 out of 30 days = 50%
Today's charge: $7.50 (50% of $15)
Nov 1 charge: $29.99 (full Pro price)
4. Confirm upgrade
- Click "Upgrade to Pro - Charge $X.XX today"
- Your payment method on file will be charged
- Confirmation screen appears
5. Access new features
Immediately available:
- Payment Settings (new sidebar item)
- Branding (Settings → Branding)
- Team Management (Settings → Team)
Post-Upgrade Setup
Recommended next steps:
Set up payment processing (15 minutes)
- Settings → Payment Settings
- Connect to QuickBooks Payments
- Configure convenience fees (optional)
- Full payment setup guide
Customize branding (5 minutes)
- Settings → Branding
- Upload your logo
- Set brand colors
- Branding guide
Invite team members (5 minutes)
- Settings → Team
- Click "Invite Team Member"
- Enter email and assign role
- Team management guide
Upgrading from Pro to Enterprise
Why Upgrade to Enterprise?
Key Enterprise features:
- 🏷️ White-label - Remove all ClientSynq branding
- 🌐 Custom domain - portal.yourcompany.com
- 👥 Unlimited team members - No restrictions
- 🔌 API access - Build custom integrations
- 📊 Advanced analytics - Custom reports and dashboards
- 👤 Dedicated account manager - Personal support contact
- 🚨 24/7 support - 4-hour SLA response time
Best for:
- Accounting firms with many clients
- Companies with complex workflows
- Businesses needing custom integrations
- Organizations requiring white-label solutions
Enterprise Upgrade Process
Enterprise is custom pricing - We need to understand your needs first.
1. Contact sales
Settings → Billing → Click "Contact Sales" under Enterprise
Or use our contact form
2. Schedule a discovery call
We'll discuss:
- Your business and client volume
- Which Enterprise features you need
- Custom feature requirements
- Integration needs
- Support expectations
3. Receive custom proposal
Based on your needs:
- Custom monthly or annual pricing
- Feature package tailored to you
- Implementation timeline
- SLA commitments
4. Contract signing
- Review and sign agreement
- Provide payment method (credit card or invoice billing)
- Schedule implementation kickoff
5. White-glove onboarding
Your dedicated account manager will:
- Set up white-label branding
- Configure custom domain
- Provide API credentials
- Train your team
- Ensure smooth transition
Timeline: 1-2 weeks from contract to full Enterprise features
Downgrading from Pro to Basic
Before You Downgrade
⚠️ Important: You will lose these features:
- ❌ Online payment processing (clients can no longer pay online)
- ❌ Custom branding (reverts to default ClientSynq look)
- ❌ Team member access (all team members lose access)
- ❌ Priority support (back to 48-hour response)
- ❌ Convenience fee configuration
✅ You will keep:
- QuickBooks connection
- All client data and history
- Client portal invitations
- Invoice viewing
- Basic reporting
When to downgrade:
- Not using Pro features
- Cost reduction needed
- Seasonal slowdown
- Testing if Basic is sufficient
Alternative: Keep Pro and just disable features you're not using (you still pay for them, but they're available when needed)
Step-by-Step Downgrade Process
1. Navigate to billing
Settings → Billing → Click "Change Plan"
2. Select Basic plan
You'll see:
- Feature comparison (what you're losing)
- New price ($14.99/month)
- When downgrade takes effect
- Savings per month ($15)
3. Review impact warnings
Critical warnings:
⚠️ Payment processing:
- Outstanding payment links will stop working
- Clients won't be able to pay invoices online
- You should notify clients before downgrading
⚠️ Team members:
- All team members immediately lose access on downgrade date
- Only account owner retains access
- Recommend notifying team members in advance
⚠️ Branding:
- Your logo and colors will be removed
- Portal reverts to default ClientSynq branding
- Client experience changes (but still functional)
4. Confirm downgrade
- Click "Downgrade to Basic"
- Confirm you understand feature loss
- Downgrade is scheduled
5. Downgrade scheduled
You'll see:
✓ Downgrade scheduled for [Next Billing Date]
Current plan: Pro ($29.99/month)
New plan: Basic ($14.99/month)
Takes effect: November 1, 2025
You'll keep Pro features until then
[Cancel Downgrade] button
Post-Downgrade (On Billing Date)
What happens automatically:
Payment settings disabled
- Payment processing turned off
- Convenience fees no longer added
- Outstanding payment links deactivated
Branding reset
- Logo removed
- Colors revert to default ClientSynq green
- Custom domain deactivated (if configured)
Team access revoked
- Team members can no longer log in
- Only account owner retains access
- Team receives notification email
Support tier adjusted
- Priority support → Standard support
- Response time: 24hr → 48hr
Your data is safe:
- ✅ All clients remain in system
- ✅ Invitation history preserved
- ✅ QuickBooks connection still active
- ✅ All invoices still visible
- ✅ Activity logs retained
Canceling a Scheduled Downgrade
Changed your mind?
Before the downgrade takes effect:
- Go to Settings → Billing
- Click "Cancel Downgrade"
- You'll stay on Pro plan
- No changes occur
Note: You can cancel anytime before the billing date. Once the billing date passes and downgrade occurs, you'd need to upgrade again (and pay the upgrade fee).
Pro-Rated Billing Explained
How Pro-Rating Works
Upgrade mid-cycle:
- You only pay for remaining days at the higher price
- Calculation: (Days remaining ÷ Days in month) × Price difference
Example 1 - Halfway through month:
Current plan: Basic ($14.99/mo)
New plan: Pro ($29.99/mo)
Price difference: $15.00
Current billing cycle: Oct 1-31 (30 days)
Upgrade date: Oct 16 (15 days remaining)
Pro-rated charge: 15/30 × $15 = $7.50
Next billing (Nov 1): Full $29.99
Example 2 - Early in month:
Upgrade date: Oct 5 (26 days remaining)
Pro-rated charge: 26/30 × $15 = $13.00
Example 3 - End of month:
Upgrade date: Oct 28 (3 days remaining)
Pro-rated charge: 3/30 × $15 = $1.50
Downgrade mid-cycle:
- No refund for unused Pro time
- You keep Pro features until end of billing cycle
- Charged Basic rate starting next cycle
Plan Change FAQ
Can I change plans multiple times?
Yes, but:
- Upgrades: Unlimited, takes effect immediately each time
- Downgrades: One scheduled downgrade at a time
- Must wait for downgrade to complete before requesting another
What happens to my team members if I downgrade?
They lose access on the downgrade date:
- Receive notification email 7 days before
- Receive final reminder 24 hours before
- Can no longer log in after downgrade
Their data:
- Any settings they configured are retained
- Activity logs remain
- Can be re-added if you upgrade again later
Will clients notice if I downgrade?
Yes and no:
Clients WILL notice:
- Branding changes (your logo → ClientSynq logo)
- Can no longer pay online (payment buttons disappear)
- Portal URL may change (if you had custom domain)
Clients WON'T notice:
- Can still log in to portal
- Can still view invoices
- Can still see payment history
- Core functionality remains
Best practice: Send a quick email letting clients know about changes, especially if payment options are being removed.
Can I upgrade just for one month?
Yes, but it's not cost-effective:
- Upgrade immediately (pro-rated charge)
- Use Pro features for rest of month
- Schedule downgrade before next billing date
- You'll pay for about 1 month of Pro
Better option:
- Most features can be enabled/disabled
- Keep Pro subscription, just turn off features you're not using
- Features available when needed, no upgrade/downgrade needed
What if I upgrade and don't like it?
7-day satisfaction guarantee:
- Upgrade to Pro
- Try it for up to 7 days
- If not satisfied, contact support for refund
- We'll downgrade you back to Basic
After 7 days:
- Can still downgrade (takes effect next cycle)
- No refund for current month
- But you keep Pro features until billing date
Timing Your Plan Change
Best Time to Upgrade
Early in billing cycle (Days 1-7):
- Pay more upfront (more days remaining)
- But get Pro features for almost full month
Mid-cycle (Days 8-23):
- Balanced approach
- Moderate upfront cost
- Good chunk of time to use features
End of cycle (Days 24-30):
- Minimal upfront cost (few days remaining)
- But only get Pro features for a few days
- Then charged full Pro price next cycle
Recommendation: Upgrade when you need the features, don't try to time it. The pro-rated billing is fair regardless of when you upgrade.
Best Time to Downgrade
Early in billing cycle:
- Schedule downgrade immediately
- Keep Pro features for almost full month
- Maximize value before downgrade
End of cycle:
- Barely any Pro time remaining
- Might as well keep Pro for next month
- Then downgrade before following month
Recommendation: If you know you want to downgrade, do it as soon as possible. You keep Pro features until your next billing date regardless of when you schedule it.
Enterprise Plan Changes
Enterprise Upgrade Timeline
Unlike Basic/Pro changes, Enterprise takes time:
Week 1:
- Sales call and discovery
- Custom proposal created
- Contract review
Week 2:
- Contract signing
- Payment setup
- Kickoff call with account manager
Week 3-4:
- White-label setup
- Custom domain configuration
- API credentials provisioning
- Team training
Go-live: Typically 2-4 weeks from first contact
Enterprise Downgrades
Rare (most customers stay on Enterprise), but possible:
Process:
- Contact your account manager
- Discuss what's not working
- We may offer adjustments before downgrade
- If proceeding: 30-day notice required (per contract)
- Custom features disabled at end of contract period
- Can downgrade to Pro or Basic
Contract terms: Check your Enterprise agreement for specific notice periods and conditions
Getting Help with Plan Changes
Questions Before Changing?
- Unsure which plan is right?
- Questions about features?
- Need help deciding?
We can help you:
- Understand which features you actually need
- Calculate ROI on upgrade
- Walk through the change process
- Set up new features after upgrade
Issues During Plan Change?
Payment declined:
- Update payment method in Settings → Billing
- Try again or contact support
Features not showing after upgrade:
- Hard refresh browser (Ctrl+Shift+R)
- Clear browser cache
- Log out and back in
- Contact support if persists
Team members can't access after upgrade:
- Check Settings → Team to ensure they're invited
- They may need to accept invitation again
- Verify their email address is correct
Related Articles
- Managing Your Subscription
- Setting Up Payment Processing (Pro feature)
- Customizing Portal Branding (Pro feature)
- Team Member Management (Pro/Enterprise)
- Understanding Plan Features
Ready to Change Your Plan?
Head to Settings → Billing to upgrade or downgrade now!
Need help deciding? Contact our team - We're here to help you choose the right plan!
Last Updated: October 26, 2025
Applies to: All plans