Your Esqase subscription

Your Esqase subscription is how your firm pays Esqase for the platform. From one Billing page you can see your current plan and status, start a free trial, choose or change a plan, update your payment method, review past invoices, cancel, export a copy of your firm's data, and delete your firm. This is separate from the invoices and payments you send to your own clients.

Before you begin

A few things to know before you manage your subscription:

• You must be the firm owner. Only the firm owner can open the Billing page and make any subscription change (start a trial, choose a plan, change a plan, update the card, cancel, export firm data, or delete the firm). If you are not the owner, the page shows a "no access" message instead of the plan details. To find out who owns your firm or to transfer ownership, see Managing firm members and Roles and permissions.

• Every firm gets one 14-day free trial. Whether a card is needed to start it depends on your firm's country.

  • Firms in the Philippines: no credit card is required. You get 14 days of full access, and when the trial ends you add a card and choose a plan to continue.
  • Firms everywhere else: you enter a card and choose a plan during signup. You are still not charged for 14 days, and your plan begins automatically when the trial ends.

  Either way the trial is one per firm, ever, and it is a one-time offer for your account too: if a previous firm you created already used its trial and later lapsed, a new firm you create starts without a free trial. Once the trial is used, choosing a paid plan is how you continue.

• Payments are handled securely by Stripe. When a card is needed (to subscribe to a paid plan, or in cases where a card is required up front), Esqase sends you to Stripe's secure checkout to enter it. Esqase never stores your full card number.

How to open the Billing page

1. In the sidebar, click Settings.
2. Open the Billing settings page.

View your subscription and plan status

The Subscription section at the top of the Billing page summarizes your firm's plan at a glance. The current-plan card shows everything important on one row.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.
2. Read the current-plan card under the Subscription heading.

Here is what each part of the card tells you:

• Plan name. Names the tier and the interval together: Standard annual, Standard monthly, Professional annual, or Professional monthly. It reads 14-day free trial while you are trialing, or Subscription if a plan label is not available yet.

• Tier badge. Next to the plan name, a badge reads Standard or Professional. It is the quickest way to check whether personal injury is in your plan. See Standard and Professional.

• Price badge. When you are on a paid plan, a badge shows the rate you pay, which depends on both your tier and your billing interval. A monthly plan shows the monthly rate per user: $59 / user / month on Standard, $89 / user / month on Professional. An annual plan shows the full yearly rate you are actually charged: $588 / user / year on Standard (the $49 monthly-equivalent rate charged once a year) and $948 / user / year on Professional (the $79 rate). Firms registered in the Philippines are priced in pesos, for example ₱5988 / user / year on Standard annual. Current rates for every tier and interval are on the pricing page.

• Status badge. A colored badge shows your current state:

  • Trial while your free trial is active.
  • Active when you are on a paid, in-good-standing plan.
  • Trial ended when your trial has lapsed.
  • Canceled after you cancel and the period ends.
  • Past due if a payment failed and is awaiting retry.
  • Unpaid if payment could not be collected.
  • Incomplete if a checkout was started but not finished.

• Time line. Just below the plan name you will see either how much time is left in your trial (for example 9 days left, ends June 29, 2026) or, on a paid plan, your next renewal date (for example Renews on June 29, 2026). If your trial has already lapsed, it reads Trial ended on....

• Member count and cost. The card shows how many active members your firm has and the cost, for example 3 active members (~$1,764/yr for 3 members). Esqase prices per active member, so your subscription is the plan rate multiplied by your active-member count.

  Important: Billing tracks your active members automatically. When a member is added (an invite is accepted, or a member is restored), Esqase adds them to your subscription and issues a prorated charge right away for the rest of the billing period. When a member is removed or leaves, Esqase lowers your subscription and applies a prorated credit against your next invoice. To manage who counts as an active member, see Managing firm members. The figure shown here is the current basis for your bill; an individual invoice may differ slightly because of mid-period proration and the exact moment Stripe bills you.

  Note: If your billed seat count and your active-member count ever disagree, the card shows a short notice saying your billed seats are being updated. This normally settles within a few minutes on its own.

• Card on file. The card ends with the brand and last four digits of the payment method Stripe has saved, for example Visa ····4242, or No card on file if none is saved (which is normal for a cardless trial).

Common questions

• Why does my card say "No card on file"? If your firm started a cardless free trial, no card was collected. You will be prompted to add one when you choose a paid plan.
• Why does my invoice differ from the figure on the card? The card shows your current per-member basis. A given invoice can differ because member changes during the period are prorated (a partial charge when someone joins, a partial credit when someone leaves) and because of exactly when Stripe bills you.

Start your free trial

Every firm gets 14 days free. How the trial starts depends on where your firm is based.

Firms in the Philippines (no card needed)

No credit card is required to begin. The trial starts automatically during firm setup, so by the time you reach your dashboard it is already running.

If your firm does not have a subscription yet, you can also start it from the Billing page, where the Subscription section shows a Start your free trial card with a 14 days free badge.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.
2. In the Start your free trial card, click Start 14-day trial.
3. Wait while the button shows Starting.... When it finishes, a confirmation appears reading Your 14-day free trial has started, and Esqase takes you to your dashboard home.

When these 14 days end, your dashboard pauses until you add a card and choose a plan. Nothing is charged automatically, because Esqase has no card on file for you.

Firms outside the Philippines (card required up front)

You choose a plan and enter a card during signup, in the Subscription step of the setup wizard. You are not charged for 14 days. Your card is held securely by Stripe, and your plan begins automatically when the trial ends.

1. Complete the earlier steps of firm setup.
2. At the Subscription step, compare the Monthly plan and Annual plan and click the one you want.
3. Click the continue button. You are taken to Stripe's secure checkout.
4. Enter your card details and billing address, then confirm. Stripe returns you to Esqase and your 14-day trial begins.

Your firm stays on hold until this is finished, so a card and a plan are required to reach the dashboard. If you close the browser partway through, nothing is lost: your firm and everything you entered during setup are saved, and you can sign in later and pick up at the plan chooser.

Standard and Professional

Every subscription has two parts: a tier and a billing interval.

• Standard is the full practice management workspace: matters, contacts, documents, eSignature, time and billing, trust accounting, intake, and everything else in the product.
• Professional is everything in Standard plus the personal injury module.
• Monthly or annual sets how often you are billed. Annual costs less per user on both tiers and adds a Landing page website that monthly does not.

The plan chooser lists what Professional adds under a Professional adds heading:

• The Personal injury module (a firm registered in the Philippines sees it as Torts and Damages).
• A Business associate agreement, or a Data processing agreement for a firm registered in the Philippines.
• Required two-factor authentication.
• Content-free notification alerts.

The last three are not optional extras. They are the conditions the module comes with: your firm owner accepts the agreement once before any personal injury record can be saved, and accepting it locks two-factor authentication on for every member and takes case details out of push and email alerts. See Compliance agreements (BAA and DPA).

What each tier costs

Prices are per user, per month, and your firm's registered country decides the currency.

Annual plans are charged once a year, so the plan chooser and the current-plan card show the yearly figure, for example $588 / user / year. Annual saves the same amount on either tier, and the Standard card spells it out on the annual interval: Save $120/user/yr vs. monthly, or Save ₱1200/user/yr vs. monthly in pesos. The Professional card uses that line to name what the tier includes instead.

Which tier your free trial runs on

A cardless free trial (the Philippine path) runs on Professional, so you can try personal injury before deciding. The plan chooser marks the Professional card Your trial includes this. When the trial ends you pick the tier you want, and picking Standard is not a downgrade because there is nothing to schedule.

On the card-required path, the plan chooser opens on the tier you select at checkout, and Standard is the default.

Firms that were already using personal injury

If your firm was recording personal injury cases before Professional existed, Esqase moved you to Professional and kept you there at your existing Standard price. Nothing changes and nothing is charged extra until the day your firm chooses a different plan, at which point the plan you pick is the plan you pay for.

Your firm owner still has to accept the agreement before new personal injury records can be saved. See Compliance agreements (BAA and DPA).

Moving up to Professional takes effect right away. Moving back down to Standard takes effect at the end of the period you have already paid for, and nothing is deleted when it does. See Change your plan.

Choose a paid plan

When you are ready to subscribe, whether during your trial or after it has ended, you choose a plan and pay through Stripe. This is the path a Philippine firm takes when its cardless trial ends, and the path any firm takes to resubscribe after cancelling.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.

2. Click View plans (during a trial) or Choose a plan (once the trial has ended).

3. The Choose a plan dialog opens. Pick your billing interval at the top, Monthly or Annual, then pick a tier below it:

   • Standard, the full practice management workspace.
   • Professional, which shows Includes Personal injury and BAA. A firm registered in the Philippines sees the module under its Philippine name instead: Includes Torts and Damages and a data processing agreement.

   On the annual interval, the Standard card also shows how much you save against monthly billing, and annual adds a Landing page website that monthly does not. Review the What is included list to see the full feature set both tiers share, such as Matters, Contacts, Documents (unlimited storage), eSignature, IOLTA trust accounting (the trust account that holds client funds), and more.

4. Click a plan card to select it (the selected card is highlighted).

5. Click the button at the bottom. It reads Continue with and the name of the plan you picked.

6. The button changes to Opening Stripe... and you are taken to Stripe's secure checkout. Enter your card details and billing address there, then confirm.

7. When you finish, Stripe returns you to the Billing page in Esqase to activate your subscription (see the next section).

Confirm your checkout and activate your subscription

After you finish payment in Stripe, Stripe sends you back to the Billing page in Esqase. Esqase then confirms the checkout and turns on your subscription automatically. You do not need to do anything except wait for the confirmation.

1. After confirming in Stripe, you land back on the Billing page.
2. Esqase verifies the checkout in the background. A confirmation appears reading Payment confirmed. Welcome aboard!.
3. The page refreshes and the current-plan card updates to show your new status (for example Trial or Active), your plan, your renewal or trial-end date, and your saved card.

Change your plan

You can change your billing interval, move up to Professional, or move back down to Standard at any time. If you are already subscribed, the change happens on your existing subscription. You are not sent back through checkout and you do not re-enter your card.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.
2. On the current-plan card, click Change plan.
3. The Change plan dialog opens with the interval toggle at the top and both tiers below it. Your existing plan is marked Current.
4. Click the plan you want to move to. The selected card is highlighted.
5. Click the button at the bottom. Moving up reads Switch to Professional; changing only the billing interval reads Switch to and the plan name, for example Switch to Standard monthly. Moving down to Standard reads Continue and opens the confirmation described below.
6. Your plan is switched and the page refreshes with the new plan on the current-plan card.

What you are charged depends on where you are today:

• On a paid plan. The new plan starts immediately. Your card is charged for the new plan now, and the time you already paid for on the old plan is credited back on the same invoice, so you are not billed twice for the same days.
• On a free trial, or after your subscription was cancelled. There is no live subscription to switch, so Esqase takes you to Stripe's secure checkout to enter a card and start the new plan. This is the flow described in Choose a paid plan.

Moving from Professional back to Standard

This one is different, because you are giving up the personal injury module. Esqase asks you to confirm it and schedules it rather than doing it at once.

1. Open the Change plan dialog and pick Standard.
2. A Switch to Standard? dialog opens. It tells you the date the module stays available until, which is the end of the period you have already paid for, and reminds you that your matters lose the Medical, Damages, Claims and Settlement tabs after that date.
3. Export a copy of your personal injury data from the button in the dialog if you want one. You can also export it later, including after the change.
4. Type STANDARD in the confirmation box, then click Switch to Standard.

Until the date arrives, the module keeps working and the billing page shows the scheduled change with a Keep Professional button that cancels it. When the date arrives, your firm moves to Standard.

Nothing is deleted. Your personal injury records are kept, the module is hidden while you are on Standard, and everything comes back if you move to Professional again. Your firm owner can export a copy at any time from Settings then Billing.

Cancel your subscription or trial

You can cancel at any time. Esqase cancels at the end of your current period, so you keep access for what you have already paid for (or for the rest of your trial) and you are not charged early.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.
2. On the current-plan card, click Cancel plan.
3. A confirmation dialog opens. Its wording depends on your state:
   • On a trial: the title reads Cancel your free trial? and it explains that your trial keeps running until its end date and your card will not be charged.
   • On a paid plan: the title reads Cancel your subscription? and it explains that you keep access until the end of your current billing period, after which your subscription ends.
4. Click Cancel trial or Cancel subscription to confirm. (To keep your plan, just close the dialog.)
5. The button shows Cancelling... while it works. When done, you see Trial will not auto-renew or Subscription cancelled, and the page refreshes.

Once cancellation is scheduled, the Billing page makes it clear: a notice reads Your subscription is set to end, telling you the date you keep access until, and the Cancel plan button is replaced by a Resume button.

Change your mind (Resume)

If you cancel and then decide to stay, you do not need to re-enter your card or start a new checkout.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.
2. In the Your subscription is set to end notice, click Resume.
3. Your subscription continues on its normal renewal schedule and the notice disappears.

Update or view your payment method

Your saved card (brand and last four digits) appears on the current-plan card, for example Visa ····4242. Card details are managed in Stripe, not stored in Esqase, so you enter a new card on Stripe's secure form.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.
2. On the current-plan card, click Update card (it reads Add card if no card is saved yet).
3. Stripe's secure form opens. Enter the new card details and confirm.
4. Stripe returns you to the Billing page and a confirmation reads Your payment method has been updated. The new card appears on the current-plan card and becomes the card used for your renewals.

View and download past invoices

Esqase keeps a record of every invoice Stripe has issued for your subscription. You can open any one to view it or download a PDF.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.
2. Scroll to the Invoices section below the subscription card.
3. Review the table. Each row shows:
   • Invoice number.
   • Date the invoice was issued.
   • Amount charged.
   • Status, such as Paid, Open, Draft, Void, or Uncollectible.
4. To view or download an invoice, click Open on its row. The invoice opens in a new browser tab on Stripe, where you can view the details and download the PDF.

What happens when your trial or subscription lapses

What happens next depends on whether you were on a free trial or a paid subscription. In both cases your data is kept safe and is never deleted.

When your free trial ends

What happens depends on whether Esqase has a card on file for your firm.

• If you started a cardless trial (Philippines): the trial has no grace period. The moment it ends, the dashboard is paused and Esqase shows a dedicated screen until you add a card and choose a plan. Nothing is charged automatically. To avoid any interruption, choose a plan before the trial ends.
• If you entered a card at signup (outside the Philippines): nothing pauses. The plan you chose begins automatically and your card is charged for your active members. You keep working without interruption.

Either way, Esqase warns you first. Three days before your trial ends the firm owner receives an email and an in-app notification, and an amber banner appears across the dashboard. The message matches your situation: cardless firms are told to add a card and choose a plan, while firms with a card on file are told the exact amount and date of their first charge. Your data stays safe throughout.

When a paid subscription lapses

If you cancel a paid plan and the period passes, or a payment fails, your firm does not lose access immediately. Esqase follows a gradual wind-down, similar to other business tools.

Stage 1: Grace period (30 days of full access). As soon as your paid subscription lapses, your firm keeps full access to the dashboard for 30 days. The 30 days are counted from the end of the period you last paid for, so you always receive the full time you paid for plus the grace window on top.

During this time a red banner appears at the top of every page. The banner explains why (for example We could not process your latest payment or Your subscription has been canceled) and counts down the days left, for example Restore billing within 12 days to keep your firm active. The firm owner sees a Manage billing button in the banner; other members are reminded to ask their owner to resolve billing.

Esqase also emails and notifies the firm owner when a payment fails, again about a week before the grace period closes, and once more the day before it closes, so a lapse is never a surprise. You can adjust how you receive these under Settings, then Account, in your notification preferences.

Stage 2: Paused. If the 30 days pass without billing being resolved, the dashboard is paused and Esqase shows a dedicated screen instead (this is the same screen a firm sees when a free trial ends). Your data is retained, never deleted, and the screen says so plainly.

The screen opens with a Firm paused badge, then a headline that names exactly what happened:

• Your trial has ended when a free trial ran out.
• Your last payment didn't go through when a charge failed.
• There's an unpaid balance when a charge is still outstanding.
• Your subscription was canceled when the plan was cancelled and its period has passed.
• Your firm is not set up yet when the firm never chose a plan.
• Your subscription is not active in any other case.

Under the headline, a short paragraph explains the situation in plain language and what happens next. Below that:

• The firm owner sees two buttons side by side: Manage billing (to choose a plan and restore access) and Manage firm data (which opens a separate page for exporting or deleting the firm, so those controls are never mixed in with the everyday billing action).
• Other members see the badge, the headline, and an explanation asking them to reach out to the firm owner. They see no buttons, because only the owner can restore billing.
• Everyone sees a short details card listing only what applies to your firm: your Plan (the plan name, or Free trial if a trial ended), the date that matters (Trial ended, Canceled, or Paid through, shown in your firm's timezone), and your Team size. Any row with nothing to show is left out.
• Everyone also sees a closing line confirming that nothing has been deleted and that your matters, documents, contacts, and billing history are all where you left them.

Your firm name is not repeated in the middle of the screen. It sits in the top bar, which is where everything you can still do while the firm is paused now lives:

• On the left, the firm menu. It works just like the firm switcher at the top of the sidebar: your firm's logo (or its initial), its name, and its handle. Open it to see every firm you belong to and click another firm to switch to it. The menu also offers Add firm to start a new firm, and, if you are not the firm owner, Leave firm (with a confirmation first). See Switch between firms or add another firm and Leave a firm.
• On the right, your account menu. Open it to see your name and email address, and to Sign out.

While your firm is paused, your public-facing pages also pause: your booking page, your intake forms, and the client portal show visitors a short "currently unavailable" message instead of your firm's details. Two things keep working on purpose, so your clients are never blocked from finishing something they owe you or you owe them: payment links (clients can still pay your invoices) and eSignature links (signers can still complete documents already sent).

Restore access (owner)

1. Click Manage billing in the banner (during the grace period) or on the paused-access screen. You can also open Settings, then Billing, directly.
2. What to do next depends on why access lapsed:
   • A payment failed (status Past due or Unpaid). Click Update card and enter a working card. Stripe retries the outstanding charge on the new card, and your status returns to Active once it clears.
   • Your subscription was cancelled and the period ended. Click Change plan (or Start free trial if no subscription exists), choose a plan, and continue to Stripe to confirm payment.
3. Once payment is confirmed, your full dashboard unlocks again right away.

Your personal injury data

The Billing page carries a Personal injury data section (Torts and Damages data for a firm registered in the Philippines) so the module's records are never something you can only reach through the module. It is there whether your firm is on Professional or on Standard, and it works the same way in both.

It appears when your firm is on Professional, when you arrive from an upgrade prompt, or when your firm has any personal injury records at all. A firm that has never used the module does not see it. Like the rest of the Billing page, it is owner-only.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.
2. Scroll to Personal injury data.
3. Read the counts: Cases, Providers, Record requests, Medical bills, Liens, Settlements, and Deadlines.
4. Click Export in the Export personal injury data row.
5. The button reads Preparing export... while Esqase gathers the records. Your browser then downloads a file named like esqase-your-firm-personal-injury-2026-09-07.zip and a confirmation reads Your personal injury export has downloaded.

The ZIP holds one CSV per record type, a single JSON bundle of the same data, and a manifest.json naming your firm, the date of the export, the row counts, and the documents these records link to. The documents themselves are not in the ZIP: they stay in your Documents area, where they are not part of the personal injury plan and were never gated. See Documents overview.

On the Standard plan the section stays, and says so: your records are kept and are not visible in the app while you are on Standard. The Export button still works, and a Restore access row offers View plans to move back to Professional. Nothing has been deleted.

Export your firm data

You can download a copy of your firm's core records at any time, including while your firm is paused, so you are never locked away from your own data. The export is a single JSON file covering your firm profile, members, contacts, matters, and leads.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing.
2. Scroll to the Data and account section.
3. In the Export firm data row, click Export firm data.
4. The button shows Preparing export... while Esqase gathers your records. When it finishes, your browser downloads a file named like esqase-your-firm-export-2026-06-22.json and a confirmation reads Your firm data export has downloaded.

Delete your firm

If you no longer need your firm, the owner can permanently close it. This removes access for every member and cannot be undone. Your data is retained according to our retention policy and can no longer be opened from the app.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings, then open Billing (or, if your firm is paused, click Manage firm data on the paused-access screen).
2. Scroll to the Data and account section.
3. In the Delete firm row, click Delete firm.
4. A confirmation dialog opens. To make sure this is deliberate, type your firm's name in the box exactly as shown.
5. Click Delete firm to confirm. The button shows Deleting... while it works.
6. When it finishes, you see Your firm has been deleted. If you belong to another firm, Esqase moves you there; otherwise it returns you to firm setup so you can create a new firm.

Troubleshooting

• My status did not update after paying. Refresh the Billing page. Esqase confirms your checkout and updates from Stripe automatically, but it can take a moment. If it still does not update after a minute or two, try again or contact support.
• I closed the tab before Stripe sent me back. Your payment still counts. Stripe notifies Esqase directly, so your subscription is set up even if you never returned to the Billing page. Reopen Settings, then Billing, to see it.
• I do not see the Billing page or the plan controls. Only the firm owner can manage the subscription. If you are not the owner, you will see a no-access message. Ask your owner to make billing changes.
• The cancel button is missing. The Cancel plan button only appears when there is an active Stripe subscription to cancel. A cardless trial that has not been through Stripe will not show it.
• The Update card button is missing. It appears once your firm has a Stripe subscription. On a cardless trial, add a card by choosing a plan.
• My invoices list is empty. Invoices appear only after Stripe charges your firm. During a cardless or not-yet-charged trial, there will be no invoices yet.
• Esqase says my firm already has an active subscription. You tried to start a new checkout while a plan is already in place. Open Settings, then Billing, to review it: use Change plan to switch plans, or Update card if a payment failed. Starting a second checkout is blocked so your firm is never billed twice.

Who can manage the subscription

Managing the subscription is owner only. Only your firm owner can:

• Open the Billing page and see the plan, status, payment method, and invoices.
• Start a free trial (with or without a card).
• Choose or change a plan.
• Update the card on file through Stripe (Update card).
• Cancel the subscription or trial.
• Resubscribe to restore access after a lapse.
• Export the firm's data.
• Delete the firm.

Other members, regardless of role, do not see these controls. If a non-owner opens the Billing page, Esqase shows a no-access message instead of the subscription details. To learn how ownership and roles work, see Roles and permissions.

Related

• Your firm profile and details
• Managing firm members
• Roles and permissions
• Using the Setup Guide
• Creating and sending invoices
• Integrations overview