Billing

Written by Aashiq, Founder, AskVault · Reviewed by Aashiq

Last updated: May 15, 2026 · 4 min read

TL;DR

Manage subscription, payment, invoices, and usage. Razorpay (INR primary) and Stripe (international, configured but India-restricted). Plan changes apply immediately for upgrades; downgrades require canceling current cycle. Invoices retained 7 years. Account-owner-only access.

What the Billing page shows

Five sections:

1. Current plan. Free, Starter, Growth, Business, Enterprise. Includes quota usage.
2. Payment method. Card on file (last 4 digits visible).
3. Invoices. Past invoices with download links.
4. Usage. Current cycle's query count and storage usage.
5. Plan changes. Upgrade or cancel buttons.

Only Account Owner can view and edit billing. Account Admins can view but not modify.

Plan tiers

Single billing axis: indexed content (MB). Quota and feature scaling alongside.

Plan	Price (INR/mo)	Queries/mo	Content	Team	Workspaces
Free	₹0	100	5 MB	1	1
Starter	₹2,499	3,000	15 MB	1	2
Growth	₹4,999	15,000	40 MB	3	5
Business	₹8,499	50,000	100 MB	10	15
Enterprise	Custom	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited

INR is the primary currency. International customers contact sales for USD or EUR billing on Enterprise.

Upgrading

Plan upgrade applies immediately:

1. Open Billing > Change Plan.
2. Pick the target plan.
3. Review the proration. Charged today: difference between old and new plan, prorated for the days remaining in the cycle.
4. Confirm.

Within 30 seconds:

• Plan switches.
• New limits apply (more queries, more content, more team seats).
• Currently-paused features re-enable (e.g., WhatsApp if you upgraded to Growth).
• Razorpay charges the prorated amount on your saved payment method.

Some plan changes (UPI/eMandate subscriptions) require cancel and re-subscribe rather than in-place change. The dashboard detects this and walks you through.

Downgrading

Downgrades require canceling the current subscription:

1. Open Billing > Downgrade.
2. Pick the lower plan.
3. AskVault explains: current subscription cancels at end of cycle; new lower-tier subscription starts.
4. Confirm.

You keep current plan's features until the cycle ends. Then auto-downgrade to the new plan.

Common downgrade reasons:

• Trial ending and not converting. Auto-drops to Free.
• Switching from Business to Growth because Business features weren't needed.
• Pausing the team seasonally.

Cancellation

Full cancellation:

1. Billing > Cancel Subscription.
2. Pick reason (helps us improve).
3. Confirm.

Cancellation:

• Account stays active until end of cycle.
• No further charges.
• At cycle end, account drops to Free (100 queries per month, 5 MB cap, widget-only).
• Data preserved on Free until storage cap exceeded; then read-only.

To fully delete (not just cancel), see account deletion.

Payment methods

Two payment processors:

Razorpay (primary). Used for INR billing.

• Card. Visa, Mastercard, Amex.
• UPI. Most popular method in India.
• eMandate. Subscription-style auto-debit.
• Net banking. Major Indian banks.
• Wallets. Paytm, etc.

Stripe (configured but inactive). Stripe India is invite-only; we have Stripe configured for international processing. International customers contact sales for direct Stripe payment.

Update payment method under Billing > Payment Method.

Invoice retention

Per Indian GST law (and similar elsewhere):

• Invoices retained 7 years.
• Available via dashboard.
• Downloadable as PDF.
• Format compliant with GST invoicing rules for Indian customers.

International customers get tax-compliant invoices for their jurisdiction.

Usage monitoring

Track current cycle:

• Queries used / quota. Bar chart with daily breakdown.
• Storage used / cap. In MB, with per-source breakdown.
• Team seats used / cap.
• Days remaining in cycle.

When approaching quota:

• 80% used: dashboard banner shows.
• 90% used: email warning sent to account owner.
• 100% used: new queries return HTTP 429 "Plan quota exceeded".

Upgrade or wait for cycle reset.

Quota reset

Cycles run monthly aligned to your subscription start date:

• Sign up May 5: cycles run 5th to 4th each month.
• Usage resets to 0 at midnight UTC on the cycle start day.

Carryover: no rollover. Unused quota expires at cycle end.

Trial behavior

New accounts get a 14-day Growth trial:

• Day 1. All Growth features unlocked. 15,000 queries, 40 MB, all 13 channels.
• Day 7. Email reminder: "8 days left in trial".
• Day 12. Email reminder: "Trial ends in 2 days. Add payment to keep features."
• Day 14. Trial ends.
  • If payment method added: continues on Growth.
  • If no payment: drops to Free.

Trial doesn't count against your query quota; quota resets when the paid plan starts.

Promo codes and discounts

Three discount paths:

• Promo codes. Entered at checkout. Time-limited or first-month discounts.
• Annual prepay. Pay 12 months upfront for about 15 to 20% discount. Available on Growth and above.
• Non-profit and education. 30% discount with verified status. Apply via support.

Enterprise pricing is custom; ask sales.

Tax handling

For Indian customers:

• GST (Goods and Services Tax) at 18% on services.
• Invoice shows separate tax line.
• GSTIN can be added to your billing profile for compliance.

For international customers:

• VAT (EU), GST (Australia, Canada), HST (Canada) handled per jurisdiction.
• VAT reverse charge for B2B EU customers.

Refund policy

• First 14 days of paid subscription. Full refund, no questions.
• After 14 days, within 30 days. Prorated refund.
• After 30 days. Refund at AskVault's discretion (rare).
• Cancel for cause (outage, policy change): full refund or pro-rata.

Request refunds under Billing > Help > Request Refund. Processed within 5 to 7 business days.

API access for billing

For workspaces with finance automation:

curl https://api.askvault.co/v1/billing \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ak_xxx"

Returns current plan, usage, upcoming invoice. Useful for embedding billing info in your own dashboard.

Audit and compliance

Every billing action logs:

• Subscription creation, upgrade, downgrade, cancellation.
• Payment method updates.
• Invoice generation.
• Author (account owner).

Retained 7 years for tax compliance.

Planned features (on the roadmap)

Documented for accuracy:

• Multi-currency native billing. Today, INR primary. USD and EUR native billing on Stripe planned (pending Stripe India approval).
• Per-workspace billing. Today, account-level. Per-workspace cost allocation for multi-tenant resellers planned for Enterprise.
• Usage-based add-ons. Today, fixed-tier plans. Pay-per-query overage planned.
• Budget alerts. Today, automatic at 80% and 90%. Custom budget thresholds planned.

Limits

• Plan changes. Up to 3 per month (prevents rapid flapping).
• Payment methods per account. Up to 5.
• Invoice retention. 7 years.
• Refund window. 14 days full, 30 days prorated.

Common pitfalls

Charged but plan didn't upgrade. UPI/eMandate restriction. Cancel current sub, re-subscribe to new plan.

Trial ended without warning. Reminders went to spam. Add billing@askvault.co to safe senders.

GSTIN mismatch on invoice. Edit billing profile under Billing > Profile. Correct GSTIN; future invoices regenerate.

Quota exceeded mid-month. Upgrade plan or wait for cycle reset. Quota carryover is not available.

FAQ

Can I pay in USD?

Today, INR is the default. USD billing available on Enterprise contracts. Native USD on Stripe is pending Stripe India approval.

What happens if my card fails?

3 retry attempts over 7 days. Then account auto-drops to Free until payment recovers.

Can I switch payment methods mid-cycle?

Yes. Update under Billing > Payment Method. Future charges use the new method.

Do you bill annually?

Yes for Growth and above (15 to 20% discount).

Will my data delete if I cancel?

No. Account stays on Free with 5 MB cap. To fully delete data, use account deletion.

Related guides

• Pricing breakdown
• Refund policy
• Account deletion
• SLA per plan
• Workspace settings

Talk to our compliance team

We can sign DPA, support BAA, and configure SSO for Enterprise contracts.

Talk to sales → View pricing

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