> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.instaforge.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Plans: agencies paying the platform

> Set prices for agencies, give them a free trial, take payment with Stripe and pause agencies that don't pay.

The platform owner can charge agencies for using the platform. You make a few **plans** (a price, an assistant limit and the features included), put each agency on one, and the agency's admins subscribe with a card on a Stripe page. The money goes straight to your Stripe account.

Agencies don't sign up on their own: you [add each agency](/running-the-agency/agencies) and choose its plan.

<Frame caption="The Plans section of the Platform page: add a plan (1), your Stripe account (2), what happens when an agency doesn't pay (3)">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/instaforge/UiXrq_nf5RAQq3j3/images/platform-plans.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=UiXrq_nf5RAQq3j3&q=85&s=adc20cd029c5623fbd2616dc0d08cb3f" alt="Plans on the Platform page" width="2600" height="2240" data-path="images/platform-plans.png" />
</Frame>

## Connect your Stripe account

This is done once. It's your own Stripe account, separate from the Stripe accounts your agencies' clients use for [online payments](/grow-sales/online-payments).

<Steps>
  <Step title="Copy the secret key">
    In Stripe, open **Developers → API keys** and copy the **Secret key** (it starts with `sk_live_`, or `sk_test_` to try it out first). Paste it into **Secret key** in the Plans section (2).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the webhook">
    In Stripe, open **Developers → Webhooks → Add endpoint**. Paste the **Webhook address** shown in the Plans section and select the five events listed under it. Save, then copy the endpoint's **Signing secret** (`whsec_...`) into **Signing secret** and click **Save**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn on the customer portal">
    In Stripe, open **Settings → Billing → Customer portal** and save it once. Agencies use it to change their card, download invoices or cancel.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The section shows **Connected** when both are saved, and **Test mode** while you use a test key.

## Make a plan

Click **New plan** (1) and fill in:

| Field | What it does |
| - | - |
| Name | What the agency sees, for example Starter or Studio |
| Price, currency, monthly or yearly | What Stripe charges. A price of 0 makes a free plan with nothing to pay |
| Assistant limit | How many assistants the agency may have. Leave empty for no limit |
| Free trial | Days before the first payment. 0 asks for payment straight away |
| Features | The same features you can [turn off for an agency](/running-the-agency/agencies#assistant-limit-and-features) |
| Offered to new agencies | Switch off to stop offering a plan; agencies already on it keep it |

A new assistant limit or features apply to every agency on the plan straight away. A new price applies to new subscriptions. A plan can be deleted only when no agency is on it.

## Put an agency on a plan

When you add or edit an agency, pick its **Plan**. The trial starts at once, and the plan's assistant limit and features replace the agency's own. Type a number in **Free trial** to give this agency a different trial, or a new trial later.

Choose **No plan** for an agency you don't charge, or one you bill by hand. The Platform page shows each agency's plan and where it stands: **Trial**, **Paid**, **Waiting for payment**, **Payment failed** or **Cancelled**.

## What the agency sees

The agency's admins find their plan in **Settings → Plan**. They click **Subscribe** (1), pay on Stripe's own page, and come back to the platform. During a trial the first charge is taken when the trial ends, so subscribing early costs nothing extra.

<Frame caption="An agency admin's plan during the free trial: the banner at the top and Subscribe (1)">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/instaforge/UiXrq_nf5RAQq3j3/images/agency-plan.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=UiXrq_nf5RAQq3j3&q=85&s=39ef8d3822fc4ed5c60c8b4a43261033" alt="Settings, Plan" width="2600" height="1106" data-path="images/agency-plan.png" />
</Frame>

* From five days before the trial ends, and whenever a payment is due, admins see a banner at the top of every page. They also get an email three days before the trial ends and when a payment fails.
* Once subscribed, **Manage subscription** opens Stripe's customer portal to change the card, see invoices or cancel.
* Other people in the agency (managers, agents, business owners) never see the plan.

## When an agency doesn't pay

An agency is late when its trial ends without a subscription, a payment fails or the subscription is cancelled. It then gets the number of **Grace days** you set (3). You get an alert when a payment fails, a subscription is cancelled or paid, and when an agency is paused.

If **Pause agencies that don't pay** is on, the agency is paused when the grace days run out:

* its assistants stop answering and its public pages close,
* only its admins can sign in, and they see just their plan with a way to pay,
* nothing is deleted.

As soon as they pay, everything turns back on by itself. With auto-pause off, nothing is paused and you decide yourself.

<Note>
  A pause you made by hand on the Platform page stays until you resume the agency, even if the agency pays.
</Note>

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Who sees the card details?">
    Nobody on the platform. Agencies pay on Stripe's page, and InstaForge only receives Stripe's signed messages about the subscription.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I still pause an agency myself?">
    Yes, the pause and play buttons on the Platform page work as before.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can an AI agent manage plans?">
    Yes. Connected as the platform owner, an [AI agent](/running-the-agency/ai-agents) can list and save plans and put agencies on them.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.