Stripe Checkout & Customer Portal
How billing works in SitePulse — the Stripe Checkout flow for upgrading, the Customer Portal for managing subscriptions, and webhook behavior.
SitePulse uses Stripe for subscription billing. All payment processing, invoicing, and subscription management is handled by Stripe — SitePulse does not store card numbers or payment details.
Upgrading to Agency
From the Billing page (Settings → Billing), click Upgrade to Agency.
This opens Stripe Checkout — Stripe's hosted payment page. Enter your payment details and confirm the subscription. After successful payment:
- Stripe sends a
checkout.session.completedwebhook to SitePulse - SitePulse activates the Agency plan on your organization
- You are redirected back to the Billing page showing your active subscription
Stripe Checkout supports major credit and debit cards, and regional payment methods depending on your location.
Managing your subscription
For subscription changes (update card, view invoices, change billing cycle, cancel), click Manage Billing on the Billing page.
This opens the Stripe Customer Portal — Stripe's hosted management interface. From the portal you can:
- Update payment method
- Download invoices
- Cancel subscription (takes effect at end of billing period)
- View upcoming charges
Changes in the Customer Portal sync back to SitePulse via webhooks.
Subscription states
| State | Meaning | Access |
|---|---|---|
active | Subscription current and paid | Full plan access |
past_due | Payment failed; retrying | Full access during retry window |
canceled | Subscription ended | Downgraded to Free at period end |
incomplete | Checkout started but not completed | Free plan access only |
SitePulse shows a banner when the subscription is past_due prompting you to update your payment method.
Cancellation
Cancellations take effect at the end of the current billing period. You retain full Agency access until the period ends, then the account downgrades to Free.
On the Billing page, canceled subscriptions show the date when Free plan begins.
Webhook events handled
SitePulse processes the following Stripe webhook events:
| Event | Action |
|---|---|
checkout.session.completed | Activates subscription, sets plan |
customer.subscription.updated | Updates plan tier, period dates |
customer.subscription.deleted | Downgrades to Free plan |
invoice.payment_failed | Sets status to past_due, sends alert email |
Webhook handlers are idempotent — duplicate events from Stripe are safely ignored.
Tax and VAT
Stripe handles tax collection based on your billing address. If you are in the EU and have a VAT number, enter it in the Stripe Customer Portal to have VAT removed from your invoices.
Related pages