Trials, proration, and dunning policy

This page documents three billing policies that often raise questions: whether we offer a free trial, what happens when you change plans mid-month, and what happens when a payment fails. The short answers are: no trial, no proration, and a 7-day grace period before optional features go read-only.

No trial period

Gridwork does not offer a free trial at launch. You add a payment method when you set up billing, and the subscription starts in the calendar-month model documented in the main billing article. The partial first month before your first 1st is effectively free because no charge runs until then, but this is part of how monthly billing works, not a separate trial product.

If you want to evaluate Gridwork before paying, use the Starter tier where available, or contact sales for a guided demo.

No proration on plan changes

When you upgrade or downgrade your plan, we do not prorate the difference. Stripe is configured with proration_behavior: none.

What that means in practice:

• A plan change takes effect on the next 1st, not immediately.
• You are not refunded the unused part of the old plan, and you are not pre-charged for the new plan.
• Add-ons (Website, Google Ads, Personio, Google Business Profile) follow the same rule.

If you add a company mid-month, that company is free for the rest of the month and shows up on the next invoice. If you remove a company, the quantity drops on the next invoice and there is no partial refund.

7-day past-due grace, then read-only

If a payment fails, Stripe marks your subscription past_due and begins retrying the card. During the first 7 days of past-due status, your account continues to work as if billing were active. A banner appears in the dashboard with a link to update your payment method.

After 7 days of continuous past_due, or if Stripe moves the subscription to unpaid, gating changes:

• Optional content features (jobs, references, posts, gallery) become read-only. Existing data stays visible, but you cannot create, edit, or delete.
• Integrations (Website, Google Ads, Personio, Google Business Profile) are disabled. Outbound syncs stop until billing is restored.
• Core company and location management stays writable so you can keep operating while you fix the card.
• Settings, including Plan & Billing, remains fully reachable so you can update payment details.

Once the payment goes through, Stripe moves the subscription back to active, the webhook updates your account state, and full access returns within a few seconds.

Email reminders

Account admins receive a transactional email when Stripe first marks a payment overdue, and a reminder before the grace period ends. Both link directly to Plan & Billing.

Questions to support

If you need a trial for evaluation, a one-off proration, or an extended grace period for a specific situation, contact support. These are not self-serve, but exceptions can be made case by case.