--- title: "Subscription Lifecycle — Trial to Paid" source: /gc-surge/billing/subscription-lifecycle-trial-to-paid locale: en updated: 2026-10-08 --- ## Summary This page covers the full journey from free trial to paid subscription: what the trial includes, how to subscribe, what happens at trial end, and how invoicing and reactivation work. For pricing details and per-device usage, see [My Subscription & Billing View](/billing/my-subscription-billing-view). Covers: The Free Trial, Subscribing — Subscription Entry, End-of-Trial Payment, Invoices, How Billing Is Metered. ## **The Free Trial** When you sign up, you start a **7-day free trial**. No credit card is required to begin — the platform states “No credit card · 7-day trial · Cancel anytime” — but a payment method must be on file before the trial expires to continue into paid service. Billing-relevant trial limits: - **Up to 10 devices** during the trial. - **NOVA99x is always active and has no separate charge** — it is included in the subscription from day one. No activation required. All alarm data and site configurations are retained when you upgrade — no re-onboarding is required. ## **Subscribing — Subscription Entry** You start a subscription from **My Subscription**, or from any in-product prompt warning that your evaluation window is ending. No setup fees. No commitments. No contracts. No minimums. Cancel anytime. The entry flow is: 1. Review the pricing. **Explore available tiers**, inside the Subscription details card, opens the **Available plans** dialog: €3 per device, per month for 0 to under 2,000 devices, or the Enterprise operations partnership above 2,000 devices. 2. Add a payment method. **Add payment method**, in the Payment method panel, opens the payment provider’s dialog; enter the card and finish with **Save Payment Method**. Every field in that dialog is listed on [**My Subscription & Billing View**](/billing/my-subscription-billing-view). ## **End-of-Trial Payment** The subscription statuses used by the platform are **Trialing**, **Active**, **Pending payment method**, **Past due**, **Unpaid**, **Canceled** and **Paused**. The current one is shown as a badge in the top-right corner of the Subscription details card, with a matching one-line message inside the card. Before the trial expires, the account owner receives in-product reminders and billing prompts. If the trial expires without a payment method on file: - **No card added** (trial expired without a payment card on file) — the account moves to a pending payment method status, and platform access and alarm processing are restricted until a payment method is added. See [Plans & Pricing](/getting-started/plans-pricing) for details on this scenario. ## **Invoices** Invoices appear in the **Recent Invoices** panel on My Subscription (“Your latest billing history”), which reads **No invoices found** until the first one is issued. Each entry carries an **Invoice #** and a **View invoice** action, and **Show all invoices** opens the full **All Invoices** list. ## **How Billing Is Metered** The paid subscription is billed at €3 per device, per month, at the same rate on both the Flat and Enterprise tiers. Alarm overage is charged at €0.03 per alarm above the 3,000-alarm monthly allowance per device. The billing period, rate, and billable device count are shown in [My Subscription & Billing View](/billing/my-subscription-billing-view). The **Subscription details** card shows **TRIAL PERIOD** (replaced by **INCLUDED ALARMS / DEVICE** once the trial ends), **PRICE PER DEVICE (EUR)**, **MIN. ALARMS (BILLABLE DEVICE)**, and **BILLABLE DEVICES**. **What counts toward billing** - **NOVA99x doesn’t change what’s billed.** NOVA99x is always active — every alarm is received, classified, and stored. - **Billable devices.** A device becomes billable once its alarm count for the month reaches the **MIN. ALARMS (BILLABLE DEVICE)** threshold shown on My Subscription (currently **5**). The Billable column shows which devices are actually counting toward this month’s bill. For a full breakdown of each cost column and invoice management, see [My Subscription & Billing View](/billing/my-subscription-billing-view).