Failed payments, cancelling and read-only access
How to fix a failed payment, cancel or resume your subscription, resubscribe after it lapses, and what read-only access allows.
Your workspace keeps full access while its subscription is active, even when a payment fails. It becomes read-only only once the subscription has ended. Only the workspace owner can fix payments, cancel or resubscribe.
Subscription state | What you can do |
|---|---|
Active, or in trial | Everything |
Payment failed, Stripe still retrying | Everything |
Cancelled, current period not over | Everything |
Lapsed, or cancelled and the period is over | Read-only |
Failed payments
If a payment fails, Stripe retries it on its own schedule. Your workspace keeps full access while Stripe retries. Every member sees a banner titled Update your payment method. The owner’s banner says “Your last payment failed. Update your card to keep your subscription active.”
Fix a failed payment
Click Update payment method in the banner. It opens Settings → Plan & Billing.
In the Billing Information card, click Manage.
Update your card on the Stripe page that opens.
The banner clears once Stripe collects the payment. If the payment is never collected, the subscription lapses and the workspace becomes read-only.
Cancel your subscription
Go to Settings → Plan & Billing.
Click Cancel plan below the plans.
Click Cancel anyway in the Cancel subscription? dialog. Billow shows “Your subscription will end on [date].”
The subscription runs to the end of your current period, and you keep full access until then. Settings → Plan & Billing shows a Cancelled per [date] badge. After that date, the workspace becomes read-only.
If you cancel during your trial, your card is never charged, and access ends on the trial’s end date.
If you hold a founding seat, the dialog lists what you give up instead, and the confirm button reads Cancel and give up seat #[number].
Resume a cancelled subscription
You can undo a cancellation until the current period ends.
Go to Settings → Plan & Billing.
On your current plan, click (Click to resume).
Billow shows “Your subscription is active again.” After the period ends, resuming is no longer possible. To come back, resubscribe.
Read-only access
A workspace becomes read-only when a failed payment is never collected, or when a cancelled subscription reaches the end of its period. Every member sees a banner titled Your subscription has lapsed, read-only access.
In a read-only workspace, everyone can still:
View all your accounts, projects, offers and invoices.
Change their own profile, password and two-factor settings.
The owner can also:
Export all your data as a zip.
Resubscribe.
Update the payment method.
Delete the workspace.
You cannot create or edit anything: no new invoices, no project changes, no invitations and no workspace settings changes. The buttons for these actions are disabled. Hovering over one shows “Subscription lapsed. Resubscribe to make changes.” to owners and “Read-only access. Ask your owner to resubscribe.” to everyone else.
Billow does not delete your data when the workspace becomes read-only.
Resubscribe after your subscription lapses
Click Resubscribe in the read-only banner, or Choose a plan to resubscribe on Settings → Plan & Billing.
Choose Pay monthly or Pay yearly with the toggle above the plans.
Click Choose [plan] on the plan you want.
Complete checkout on the Stripe page.
There is no second trial. Your card is charged as soon as you subscribe, and full access returns. See Plans and limits.
Exporting before you leave
Exports stay available for the rest of a cancelled period and afterwards in read-only. If you want your own copy of your data, export it before you cancel.
Deleting the workspace
Only the owner can delete a workspace, and only once the subscription is cancelled. While a subscription is still live, Settings → General shows “Cancel your subscription before deleting this workspace.” and the Delete Workspace button is disabled.
Export anything you want to keep.
Go to Settings → General.
Click Delete Workspace.
Type the workspace name to confirm.
Click Delete Workspace in the dialog. Billow shows “Workspace deleted successfully.”
