Guides /Billing /Billing & Plans

💼 Billing & Plans

⏱ 12 min read 📋 9 steps 🎯 Beginner 👥 B2B Admins & Owners

Understand the Africa Conglomerate plan tiers, manage your subscription, upgrade to unlock advanced features, and — if you are on a commission-based plan — set up your Stripe Connect account to receive payouts directly to your bank.

Before you begin

Your company account must be approved (see Account Setup)
Only users with an Admin or Owner role can manage billing
A valid payment method (credit/debit card) is required for paid plan upgrades

Part 1 — Understanding Your Plan

Africa Conglomerate offers three plan tiers designed for businesses at different stages of growth. Your plan controls which features are visible in your navigation and which usage limits apply.

View Your Current Plan

Go to Billing → My Plan. The overview page shows:

Current plan name and billing model (Commission or Subscription)
Status — Active, Trial, or Expired
Renewal date — next billing date for subscription plans
Usage meters — live counters for companies, users, products, and monthly orders against your plan limits

📸 Screenshot: Billing Overview Shows the billing overview page with the plan name badge, status pill, renewal date, and four usage meter bars (companies, users, products, orders) showing current vs. limit. /static/guides/images/billing/01-billing-overview.png

Compare Plans

Click Billing → Upgrade Plan to open the plan comparison table. The three tiers are:

Starter (Free) — commission-based. No monthly fee; the platform takes a small commission on each transaction. Core ordering and catalog features included. Analytics, carrier integrations, report exports, and API access are not available.
Growth — subscription + optional commission. Monthly fee unlocks Analytics, Shipments/Carriers, Report Exports, and increased usage limits.
Enterprise — subscription-based. All features including REST API access, highest usage limits, and dedicated support.

📸 Screenshot: Plan Comparison Table Shows the three-column plan comparison table with feature rows (Analytics, Carriers, Reports, API, usage limits) and pricing per tier. The current plan column is highlighted. /static/guides/images/billing/02-plan-comparison.png

Free Trial Period All new organisations receive a free trial period (typically 90 days) during which every feature is accessible regardless of plan. This lets you explore the full platform before committing to a paid tier. When the trial ends, features revert to what your current plan includes.

Part 2 — Upgrade Your Plan

Start the Upgrade

On the plan comparison page, click Upgrade to Growth (or Upgrade to Enterprise). You will be redirected to a Stripe-hosted checkout page where you can enter your card details securely.

📸 Screenshot: Stripe Checkout Shows the Stripe checkout page with the plan name, monthly price, card input fields, and the Pay button. /static/guides/images/billing/03-stripe-checkout.png

Tip You can use a Starter plan indefinitely on a commission basis. Only upgrade when you need the locked features (Analytics, Shipments, Reports). There is no contract — you can cancel anytime from the Billing Portal.

Confirm and Return

After payment completes, Stripe redirects you back to Africa Conglomerate. A success banner confirms your plan has been upgraded and your new features are immediately unlocked — you will see the additional navigation items (Analytics, Shipments, Reports) appear in the sidebar right away.

Upgrade Complete Your plan is now active. Features are unlocked instantly — no need to log out and back in.

Manage Billing in the Stripe Portal

To update your payment method, view invoice history, or cancel your subscription, click Billing → Manage Billing. You will be redirected to the Stripe Customer Portal where you can:

Add or remove payment methods
Download past invoices (PDF)
Change billing email
Cancel or pause your subscription

📸 Screenshot: Stripe Billing Portal Shows the Stripe Customer Portal with the current plan summary, payment methods section, and invoice download links. /static/guides/images/billing/04-billing-portal.png

Part 3 — Stripe Connect Onboarding (Commission-Model Sellers)

If your organisation is on a Starter plan or any commission-based tier, you sell through Africa Conglomerate's marketplace and the platform collects payments on your behalf. To receive your earnings as direct payouts to your bank account, you must complete Stripe Connect Express onboarding.

Check Your Connect Status

Go to Billing → My Plan. If your plan uses the commission model, a Stripe Connect status banner appears near the top of the page. The banner shows one of three states:

Not Connected — you have not started onboarding yet
Pending — your application is under review by Stripe
Active — your Connect account is approved and payouts are enabled

📸 Screenshot: Connect Status Banner Shows the Billing overview page with a highlighted Stripe Connect banner showing "Not Connected" status and a "Start Onboarding" button. /static/guides/images/billing/05-connect-banner.png

Start Onboarding

Click Start Onboarding. You will be redirected to a Stripe-hosted Express onboarding form. Stripe will ask for:

Your business type (individual or company)
Legal business name and registered address
Tax identification number (TIN / company registration number)
Bank account details for payouts (account number and routing/sort code)
Identity verification — a government-issued ID for the account representative

📸 Screenshot: Stripe Express Onboarding Shows the Stripe Express onboarding form with business type selection, business name field, and bank account section. /static/guides/images/billing/06-stripe-onboarding.png

Tip Have your bank statement handy before starting — Stripe requires exact account details and they are validated immediately. Onboarding usually takes 5–10 minutes.

Complete and Return

After submitting all required information, Stripe redirects you back to Africa Conglomerate. The Connect status banner updates to Pending while Stripe verifies your details (typically a few minutes to a few hours for automated review, or up to 2 business days for manual review).

Once approved, the banner shows Active and you begin receiving payouts for marketplace sales automatically according to the platform's payout schedule.

Payout Schedule Payouts are processed on the settlement schedule defined by the platform (typically weekly or bi-weekly). Funds are held for a configurable number of days after payment to allow for dispute windows before being released. See the Settlements & Payouts guide for details.

Access Your Stripe Express Dashboard

Once your account is Active, click Stripe Dashboard from the billing overview to open your Stripe Express Dashboard in a new window. From there you can:

View your payout history and upcoming payouts
Update your bank account details
Review individual transactions and fees
Download tax documents (1099/W-9 for US accounts)

📸 Screenshot: Stripe Express Dashboard Shows the Stripe Express Dashboard with balance overview, recent payouts list, and bank account settings. /static/guides/images/billing/07-express-dashboard.png

Keep Your Details Up to Date If Stripe requires additional information (e.g. for compliance or to lift payout limits), they will email the address on your Connect account and the status banner on this page will change to Needs Attention. Click Resume Onboarding to supply the requested documents.

What's Next?

🏦 Settlements & Payouts 💳 Payments & Invoicing 📊 Analytics 👤 Account Setup