Complete Guide to Subscription, Plans & Billing

Account & Billing › Complete Guide to Subscription, Plans & Billing

Version: 1.0 · Last Updated: 21 July 2026 · Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes · Audience: Tenant Super Admins, non-technical users

Introduction
Purpose of Subscription & Billing
Subscription Plans
Monthly vs. Yearly Billing
Trial Period
Plan Limits & Included Features
Billing Dashboard
Purchasing a Subscription
Managing Users (Seats)
Upgrading & Downgrading
Renewals
Invoices & Payment History
Subscription Status
Field-by-Field Explanation
Best Practices
Common Mistakes
Troubleshooting
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Articles

1. Introduction

Your subscription controls everything you can do inside Araona Connect — how many properties you can list, how many staff members you can invite, which cities you can operate in, and which features (like custom domains or premium website templates) become available to you. This guide walks you through the entire subscription and billing experience in plain, beginner-friendly language, so you can confidently pick, pay for, renew, and manage your plan without needing to contact support.

[Screenshot: Subscription Dashboard]

2. Purpose of Subscription & Billing

The Subscription & Billing area is your one-stop control centre for:

Choosing the plan that matches the size of your real-estate business.
Paying for your plan securely (monthly or yearly).
Tracking how much of your quota (properties, leads, staff, cities) you have used.
Upgrading when you grow, or downgrading when you need to.
Downloading GST-compliant invoices for your accounts team.

3. Subscription Plans

Araona Connect offers tiered plans built specifically for real-estate teams. Each plan bundles a set of properties, staff seats, city permissions, and premium features. The exact list of plans available to you is visible in Tenant Super Admin › Subscription.

Plan Comparison (at a glance)

Feature	Starter	Growth	Professional	Enterprise
Properties	Up to plan limit	Higher	Higher	Unlimited*
Staff Seats	Small team	Mid team	Large team	Custom
Cities	1	Multiple	Multiple	Custom
Website Templates	Basic	All	All + Premium	All + Custom
Custom Domain	—	✔	✔	✔
Priority Support	Email	Email + Chat	Priority	Dedicated

*Exact numbers appear on the live Subscription page; the Platform Owner may update them from time to time.

[Screenshot: Plan Comparison]

4. Monthly vs. Yearly Billing

Every paid plan can be purchased on either a monthly or a yearly billing cycle.

Monthly: Lower upfront cost, billed every month. Great for new teams testing the platform.
Yearly: Pay for 12 months upfront and receive a discount (typically equivalent to 2 months free). Best if you know Araona Connect is your long-term CRM.

5. Trial Period

Every new tenant automatically gets a 14-day free trial with access to core features so you can evaluate the platform before paying.

The trial starts the day your workspace is created.
No credit card is required to start.
All standard features (properties, leads, staff, website) are enabled with a starter quota.
You will receive email reminders as the trial nears its end.

6. Plan Limits & Included Features

Each plan enforces limits on the following resources. When you approach 80% of any limit, an in-app warning appears in the top bar.

Properties: Total live + draft listings you can hold in the CRM.
Leads: Number of leads that can be stored per month.
Staff / Users (seats): Combined count of Tenant Admins, Staff, and City Admins.
Cities: Number of operating cities you can enable from the master list maintained by the Platform Owner.
Storage: Total size of property images, floor plans, PDFs, and logos.

[Screenshot: Usage Summary]

7. Billing Dashboard

Open Tenant Super Admin › Subscription. You'll see:

Current Plan — the plan name and tier.
Subscription Status — Trial, Active, Pending Payment, Suspended, Expired, or Cancelled.
Renewal Date — when the next payment will be attempted.
Billing Cycle — Monthly or Yearly.
Active Users — how many seats are in use out of the total.
Usage Summary — properties, leads, storage, cities used vs. allowed.
Plan Limits — the full quota list for your current plan.

8. Purchasing a Subscription (Step-by-Step)

Go to Subscription › Choose a Plan.
Compare plans and click Select under the one you want.
Choose Monthly or Yearly billing.
Review the amount, applicable GST (CGST+SGST 18% within West Bengal, IGST 18% for other states), and total payable.
Click Proceed to Pay — you'll be taken to a secure payment page.
Complete payment using UPI, card, net banking, or wallet.
On success, your plan is activated instantly and your quotas update automatically.

[Screenshot: Billing Page]

9. Managing Users (Seats)

A seat is one active user account inside your workspace. Every staff member you invite consumes one seat.

You can freely add staff up to your plan's seat limit.
When the limit is reached, the Add Staff button is disabled and shows an upgrade prompt.
To free a seat, deactivate an unused staff account from Staff Management.
To add more seats without upgrading, upgrade to the next plan tier that offers the required seat count.

10. Upgrading & Downgrading

Upgrade

Takes effect immediately.
You pay a prorated difference for the remainder of the current billing cycle.
New limits and features unlock right away.

Downgrade

Takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle — so you keep what you paid for.
If your current usage exceeds the lower plan's limits (e.g. too many staff or properties), you'll be asked to bring usage under the limit before the downgrade completes.

11. Renewals

Automatic renewal is enabled by default when you enter card / UPI mandate details.
Manual renewal: If auto-pay is off, you'll receive reminders 7, 3, and 1 day before expiry, plus on the expiry day.
Grace period: After expiry, your account enters a 3-day grace period with read-only access before it is suspended.

12. Invoices & Payment History

Every successful payment generates a GST-compliant invoice.

Go to Subscription › Invoices to see the full list.
Click any invoice to view details or press Download PDF.
Invoices include your registered Company Name, Address, GSTIN (if provided), and tax breakup (CGST/SGST or IGST).
Make sure your Company Profile is up to date so invoices are issued correctly.

[Screenshot: Payment History]

[Screenshot: Invoice Download]

13. Subscription Status — What Each One Means

Status	Meaning	Access
Trial	14-day free trial in progress.	Full core features.
Active	Plan is paid and current.	Full access.
Pending Payment	A payment attempt failed or is awaiting confirmation.	Full access during grace period.
Suspended	Payment failed and grace period ended.	Read-only; no new listings/leads/staff.
Expired	Trial or plan ended without renewal.	Login only; renew to restore.
Cancelled	You cancelled and the cycle ended.	Data retained 30 days, then archived.

14. Field-by-Field Explanation

Plan Name: The tier you're on (Starter / Growth / Professional / Enterprise).
Billing Cycle: Monthly or Yearly — determines when your next payment is due.
Amount: Base price of the plan before tax.
GST: 18% total. CGST 9% + SGST 9% within West Bengal, else IGST 18%.
Total Payable: Amount + GST.
Renewal Date: The next scheduled payment date.
Seats Used / Total: How many staff seats are consumed vs. included.
Auto-Renew: Whether the system will auto-charge you at renewal.

15. Best Practices & Recommendations

Start on the smallest plan that covers today's needs; upgrade only when you actually hit a limit.
Choose Yearly billing once you're confident — the savings are significant.
Enable auto-renew to avoid accidental suspensions during busy months.
Keep Company Profile (GSTIN, address) accurate so invoices are legally valid.
Review the Usage Summary once a week to spot growth trends early.
Deactivate ex-employees promptly to reclaim seats.

16. Common Mistakes

Assuming a downgrade takes effect immediately — it applies at cycle end.
Not updating GSTIN before the first invoice, then needing corrections later.
Forgetting to renew when auto-pay is off, causing a suspension.
Adding staff carelessly and hitting the seat cap during a busy day.
Cancelling the subscription instead of downgrading, and losing 30-day cycle access.

17. Troubleshooting

Why can't I add more staff?

You've reached your plan's seat limit. Either deactivate an unused staff member or upgrade to a higher plan.

Why is my account suspended?

The renewal payment failed and the 3-day grace period has ended. Open Subscription › Retry Payment or update your payment method to reactivate.

Why can't I download my invoice?

Invoices become available 5–10 minutes after successful payment. If it still fails, check your browser's pop-up blocker and try again from Invoices › Download PDF.

Why wasn't my payment successful?

Common causes: insufficient balance, expired card, bank OTP timeout, or UPI mandate not authorised. Retry with a different method.

Why can't I access premium features?

Premium features (custom domain, premium templates, priority support) are unlocked only on higher tiers. Upgrade to enable them.

Why does my invoice show IGST instead of CGST+SGST (or vice versa)?

The tax split is decided by your billing state in Company Profile. If it's wrong, update your address, then contact support for a corrected invoice.

18. Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a credit card to start the trial?

No. The 14-day trial requires no payment method.

Can I change my plan mid-cycle?

Yes. Upgrades apply immediately with proration; downgrades apply at cycle end.

Will my data be deleted if I cancel?

Your workspace is retained in read-only archive for 30 days after cancellation, then permanently removed.

Are invoices GST-compliant?

Yes — provided you've filled in a valid GSTIN and address in Company Profile.

Can I pay yearly for a monthly plan?

Yearly billing is a separate option on each plan — select it during checkout to get the annual discount.

Do refunds apply for downgrades or cancellations?

No mid-cycle refunds are issued. You retain access until the end of the paid cycle.

Can Platform Owner change my plan?

Yes, for enterprise arrangements. Ordinary self-serve upgrades/downgrades are done by you from the Subscription page.

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