Billing
This document explains how billing works in SipSop: when you're charged, what makes up your invoice, what happens if a payment fails, and how to manage your payment method and invoices.
Billing cycle overview
SipSop uses Stripe as its payment platform. The cycle is:
- You subscribe and pay the first month when completing checkout.
- Every month, on the 1st (or on your subscription anniversary), Stripe generates and charges automatically.
- You receive the invoice by email (directly from Stripe).
- In the portal you can see the current period breakdown and the history of past invoices.
No manual intervention needed. If the payment goes through, you don't have to do anything.
What's on your invoice
A SipSop invoice has these parts:
1. Base plan charge
The fixed monthly price of your plan:
- Essential: $49.00
- Business: $129.00
- Enterprise: per your quote
2. Extra extensions (add-ons)
If you have additional extensions beyond those included in your plan, they're billed monthly per extension:
- Essential: $8.00/ext/mo
- Business: $6.00/mo
If you have exactly the extensions included in your plan, this line item doesn't appear on your invoice.
3. Extra DIDs
If you have additional phone numbers beyond those included in your plan: $10.00/DID/mo.
4. International overage
Sum of the costs of all international calls in the period. If you made no international calls that month, this line item is $0.
5. Fees and taxes
Depending on your billing address (state), the following may apply:
- Regulatory fees (government passthroughs)
- State sales tax
These fees are calculated automatically based on your address and are itemized on your Stripe invoice.
💡 See FAQ — What is a regulatory fee? for more detail on each type of additional charge.
Sample invoice
Say you're on the Business plan, have 2 extra extensions, and made $4.50 in international calls this month:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Business — base charge | $129.00 |
| 2 extra extensions (×$6) | $12.00 |
| International overage | $4.50 |
| Subtotal | $145.50 |
| NJ Sales Tax (6.625%) | $9.64 |
| Total charged | $155.14 |
This is an illustrative example. Your actual invoice appears itemized in the Stripe portal and in the email you receive each month.
Viewing your current period
In the portal, the Billing section shows:
- Base charge: the plan price
- Next charge: estimated date and projected amount
- Minutes used / included: progress bar for domestic calls
- International overage accumulated: how much you've accrued in international calls this month
This information lets you anticipate your next invoice before it's generated.
Invoice history
In the same Billing section you see a table of past invoices with:
- Date
- Period it covers
- Total amount
- Status (paid / open / failed)
To download the PDF of any invoice, click the download button on that row or use the Stripe Customer Portal.
Managing your subscription (Stripe Customer Portal)
For payment-related actions, you use the Stripe Customer Portal. Access it from the SipSop portal → Billing → "Manage subscription" button.
From the Customer Portal you can:
- Update your credit card
- Change your plan (upgrade or downgrade, takes effect next cycle)
- Download invoices as PDF
- View the complete payment history
- Cancel your subscription (see section below)
⚠️ The Customer Portal is Stripe's — it's a secure page managed by Stripe, not Sopinf. You can enter your card details with confidence.
Payment method
SipSop accepts credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) processed by Stripe.
At this time there is no self-service support for ACH (bank transfer) or check payments. For alternative payment arrangements, contact support.
What happens if a payment fails?
If Stripe tries to charge and the card is declined, the following process is triggered:
flowchart TD
A[Payment failed] --> B[Status: past_due]
B --> C{Did they pay in the next few days?}
C -->|Yes| D[Status: active — all normal]
C -->|No| E[Account suspended]
E --> F[Access only to Billing to pay]
F --> G[Pays → Reactivation]Status past_due — grace period
When a payment fails:
- Your account enters past_due status
- You see a warning banner on all pages of the portal
- Your phone service continues working normally
- You have time to resolve the payment issue
⚠️ Action required: If you see the payment pending banner, update your payment method in the Stripe Customer Portal as soon as possible to avoid suspension.
Suspension
If the payment isn't resolved after the grace period, your account moves to suspended status:
- The portal shows a block screen
- You cannot access the dashboard, CDR, or team
- The only available section is Billing so you can pay
To reactivate your account, update your payment method in the Stripe Customer Portal from the suspension screen.
Reactivation
Once Stripe processes the payment successfully:
- Your account returns to active status automatically
- You can access the portal again
- No call history or billing history is lost
Canceling your subscription
To cancel, go to the Stripe Customer Portal (Billing → "Manage subscription") and choose the cancel option.
What happens when you cancel:
- The subscription is canceled at the end of the paid period (not immediately)
- No refunds are issued for the current period
- After the period expires, your account moves to cancelled status
- Your account data (CDR, invoices) is retained for a retention period before deletion
If you want to cancel but have questions about the process, contact support first.
Refund policy
SipSop does not issue refunds for periods already billed and charged. If you experienced a significant technical issue during a period (such as a service outage on our end), contact support to evaluate on a case-by-case basis.
⚠️ Do not file a chargeback directly with your bank without contacting us first. A chargeback closes your account automatically and makes it harder to resolve the issue. It's always better to talk to support first.
Monthly billing cycle
sequenceDiagram
participant C as Customer
participant S as SipSop Portal
participant St as Stripe
Note over S,St: On the 1st of each month
S->>St: Closes previous period, calculates overage
St->>St: Generates invoice automatically
St->>C: Charges the card on file
St-->>C: Invoice email (PDF attached)
St-->>S: Webhook invoice.paid → updates status
C->>S: Can view invoice in Billing