> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.get-hive.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Trial and payments

> How the 14-day Hive trial works, how to subscribe, manage payment details and invoices, and what happens if a payment fails or a subscription ends.

Every new Hive workspace starts with a free trial. This page covers the trial, subscribing, invoices and payment details, and exactly what Hive does if a payment fails.

<Note>
  Billing is managed by **Owners** and **Admins**. Other members see a restricted view and are asked to contact an admin when billing needs attention.
</Note>

## The free trial

| | |
| - | - |
| Length | **14 days** from when the workspace is created |
| Card required | **No** |
| AI credit | **£5 per active member**, to try chat, agents and workflows |
| What you can use | The full product, within the trial credit |

A trial cannot be extended. When it ends, Hive shows a full-screen notice:

> **Your trial has ended** — Your data is safe — subscribe to restore access.

Nothing you created during the trial is deleted. Owners and Admins see a **Subscribe** button; other members are asked to have an admin subscribe. Until a subscription starts, the product is paused except for billing itself.

## Subscribe

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Billing">
    Go to **Settings → Workspace → Billing**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose seats and layers">
    Pick seat tiers and quantities (minimum 5 seats) and any Execution or Orchestration layer. See [Billing and plans](/admin/billing-and-plans) for what each includes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the quote">
    Hive prices your configuration before anything is charged, showing the per-seat prices, discounts and total excluding VAT.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pay through secure checkout">
    New subscriptions complete in a hosted checkout from Hive's payment processor, Stripe. Hive never sees or stores your full card number. When you return, you see "Checkout complete — updating your plan…". If you leave checkout, nothing changes: "Checkout canceled — no changes made."
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Manage payment details

Update your card or billing details from the Billing page, which opens the payment processor's secure customer portal. Plan changes themselves are made on Hive's Billing page, not in the portal, so every change is quoted first.

## Invoices

The **Invoices & billing** tab lists every invoice with its date, amount, status and a PDF download. Open an invoice to see:

* its line items;
* a link to the hosted invoice page;
* the due date;
* for an unpaid invoice, the number of payment attempts, the next retry and when the grace period ends.

Enterprise contracts are invoiced monthly against an annual term, on Net-30 terms.

## If a payment fails

Hive gives you time to fix a failed payment before anything is restricted.

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
  A[Payment fails] --> B[Past due<br/>Hive retries the card]
  B -->|Card updated or retry succeeds| E[Payment recovered]
  B -->|7-day grace period ends| C[Billing actions restricted]
  C -->|Payment details updated| E
```

<Steps>
  <Step title="Past due">
    The Billing page shows **Payment past due** with "Update the payment method to keep Hive operating normally." Hive retries the payment method on file. Everything keeps working.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Grace period">
    You have **7 days** to update payment details. The notice shows the date the grace period ends.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Restricted">
    If the grace period ends unpaid, you see **Billing actions are restricted**: "The payment grace period ended. Update payment details to restore billable actions." Until payment details are updated, the product is paused apart from billing. The same applies if an invoice is marked uncollectible or a payment dispute is lost.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Recovered">
    As soon as payment succeeds, you see **Payment recovered** — "Billing is current and restricted actions are available again."
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Keep a second Owner or Admin who can update the card. Past-due notices are shown to people who can manage billing.
</Tip>

Occasionally Hive support needs to check a workspace's payment records. While that check runs, billing changes are locked and the notice says so, and the rest of the product is paused apart from billing until the check is finished.

## Cancelled subscriptions

If a subscription ends — because you cancelled it or because payment could not be recovered — the workspace shows "Your subscription ended". As with an expired trial, your data is kept, the product is paused apart from billing, and starting a new plan from the Billing page restores access.

## Frequently asked

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do I lose my data when the trial ends?">
    No. Your workspace, connections and history are kept. Subscribe to pick up where you left off.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are prices shown with VAT?">
    Prices are shown excluding VAT. Any tax due is shown on the checkout and on your invoices.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I get a refund for a removed seat?">
    Seats are not refunded part-way through a cycle. A removed member's seat is released at the next monthly reset, and re-adding them before then reuses it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Who receives billing notices?">
    In Hive, billing notices appear on the Billing page and in banners for Owners and Admins. Invoices and receipts are also available from the **Invoices & billing** tab.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Billing and plans" icon="credit-card" href="/admin/billing-and-plans">
    Seats, credits and layers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Team and workspace" icon="users" href="/admin/team-and-workspace">
    Members and seats.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Troubleshooting" icon="wrench" href="/help/troubleshooting">
    Fix common access problems.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Get support" icon="life-ring" href="/help/support">
    Talk to the Hive team.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>