Upgrade or Downgrade Your MerchantFlow Plan

How to Upgrade or Downgrade Your MerchantFlow Plan

MerchantFlow plan changes let you switch between Starter, Pro, and Plus tiers and between monthly and annual cadences at any time. Plan changes are owner-managed and the process depends on whether your workspace uses Stripe or Shopify billing.

Available Plan Changes

You can change two things independently:

1. Tier - Starter ($49/mo), Pro ($89/mo), or Plus ($149/mo)
2. Cadence - monthly or annual (annual is 20% off)

Common transitions:

How to Change Plans on Stripe Workspaces

For standard web workspaces billed through Stripe:

1. Go to Settings > Billing
2. Click Change plan
3. Select the target tier and cadence
4. Confirm the change

How Prorations Work

If the workspace already has an active Stripe subscription, MerchantFlow updates the subscription in place. Upgrades and downgrades are handled differently:

Upgrades apply immediately and are charged immediately. An upgrade is any move to a higher tier, or a switch from monthly to annual on the same tier.

• Stripe prorates the unused portion of your current plan and invoices the difference right away
• The new features unlock as soon as the change lands
• Your renewal date does not move

Annual plans keep their annual term. If you are on an annual plan and choose a higher tier on monthly billing, the higher tier starts immediately on annual billing for the rest of your term, and you are charged the prorated difference. The switch to monthly is scheduled for your renewal date, and the billing page shows it as a pending change. Unused annual time is never converted into monthly credit. During a free trial nothing has been paid yet, so the plan you pick applies straight away.

Downgrades are deferred to the end of the current billing period with no proration. A downgrade is any move to a lower tier, or a switch from annual to monthly on the same tier.

• No credit or refund is issued for the remainder of the period you already paid for
• You keep your current tier and all of its features until the period ends
• The billing page shows the pending change and the date it takes effect
• The new, lower tier takes over automatically at the next renewal

Same tier and cadence - no change is made and no charge occurs.

If No Stripe Subscription Exists Yet

If the workspace does not have a completed Stripe subscription, MerchantFlow creates a Stripe checkout session instead of an in-place update. This is the same flow used during onboarding payment setup.

How to Change Plans on Shopify Workspaces

Shopify-backed workspaces handle plan changes through Shopify billing:

1. The owner initiates the plan change from Settings > Billing
2. MerchantFlow creates a new Shopify AppSubscription approval request for the chosen tier
3. Shopify displays the approval page
4. Approve the new plan in Shopify

If the app is embedded in Shopify admin, MerchantFlow opens the approval flow as top-level navigation so Shopify can complete the change.

What to Check Before Changing Plans

Before switching plans, verify:

• Billing provider - confirm whether your workspace uses Stripe or Shopify
• Workspace owner - only the owner can change plans
• Open billing flows - ensure no pending billing approval is still in progress
• Seat usage - if downgrading from Plus to Pro or Starter, confirm your team is within the new seat limit (10, 3, or 1)
• Feature dependencies - if downgrading, expect Flow AI, MCP access, and other tier-gated features to lock when the new period begins
• Connected stores - downgrading from Plus with more than one connected store starts a 30-day grace window in which you pick which store stays on the lower plan. Linked stores you do not pick are archived when the window expires; their data is not deleted

What Happens After the Change

After the billing provider accepts the change:

• The billing page updates with the new tier, status, and current period dates
• Plan-gated features unlock or lock to match the new tier
• If you changed plans during the trial or early billing window, allow a moment for the billing page to refresh after the provider callback completes

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose data if I downgrade?

No. Your historical sync data, COGS, expenses, and reports remain in your workspace. What changes is access to specific features (Flow AI, MCP server, scheduled reports, valuation, viability, etc.) tied to higher tiers.

How does proration work when switching plans?

Only upgrades are prorated. For Stripe workspaces, an upgrade credits the unused portion of your current plan and invoices the difference immediately. A downgrade is not prorated: no credit or refund is issued, and the lower plan simply starts at your next renewal. Shopify uses its own approval-based billing flow rather than proration.

If I downgrade, do I lose the higher-tier features straight away?

No. You keep your current tier and its features until the end of the period you have already paid for. The lower tier - and its feature locks - take effect at the next renewal.

Can I change plans during my trial?

Yes. You can switch tier or cadence during your 14-day trial. The plan change takes effect through the same billing provider flow. Note that the trial itself already runs on the Plus feature set, so the change you make determines what you are billed for - and what stays unlocked - when the trial ends.

Who can change the billing plan?

Only the workspace owner can change plans. Admins do not have billing:manage access.

How do I change plans on a Shopify workspace?

When you initiate a plan change from Settings > Billing, MerchantFlow creates a new Shopify approval flow for the target tier. You will be redirected to Shopify to approve the new plan.

Which plan unlocks Flow AI?

Pro and Plus. Flow AI is not available on Starter. Pro includes 500k tokens/month, Plus includes 2 million tokens/month.

Which plan unlocks the MCP server (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code)?

Only Plus. See the MCP Server guide.

Related Pages

• Billing Overview - understand your billing setup
• Pricing Plans - compare plan options and pricing
• Trial Period - 14-day free trial details
• Payment Methods - manage payment details
• Cancel Subscription - end your subscription

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Last updated: August 29, 2026