Complete Customer Checkout
What This Is
Customer checkout is the screen where a customer workspace starts the subscription that its agency assigned. Checkout has three steps: Plan, Discount, and Payment.
The customer reviews the plan, checks the discount, and enters payment details. Payment is collected securely by Stripe. Franmantra does not store the card details.
When To Use It
Use this guide when:
- A customer signs in and is asked to complete checkout.
- An agency invited the customer as Billed.
- An agency assigned Require checkout now to an existing workspace.
- A customer's free access ended and checkout is now required.
- A payment failed and the customer needs to retry.
Before You Start
- You must be signed in as the customer administrator, or as a customer user with permission to manage billing.
- The agency must have assigned a published plan, or at least one published plan must be available for the customer to choose.
- The agency must have connected Stripe.
- Have an approved payment card ready.
- Complete the workspace business address before checkout. Open Settings > Business Settings and enter the street, city, postal code, and two-letter country code, such as
US. Checkout uses the saved workspace address.
If the business address is incomplete, Franmantra asks you to complete it in Business Settings before the subscription can start. Checkout does not have a separate address form.
Steps
1. Open checkout
When checkout is required, the checkout screen opens automatically after sign-in. The screen does not offer a close action; complete the steps to continue.
The screen shows Activate your workspace plan and the message that the agency requires this workspace to have its own customer subscription. The progress control shows Plan, Discount, and Payment.
If the screen cannot load the plan or subscription data, it shows Customer billing needs attention with a Try again action. If the agency has not connected payments, it shows Payment connection unavailable and asks you to contact the agency administrator.
2. Review the plan
- On the Plan step, review the selected plan name, price, billing frequency, trial, user-seat limit, and contact limit.
- If the agency assigned a plan, confirm the message Plan selected by your agency. The plan is locked and cannot be changed at checkout.
- If the agency did not assign a plan, select one of the published plans shown.
- Select Continue to Discount.
Only published plans from the agency are available. A plan assigned by the agency stays locked to that plan, even when other published plans exist.
3. Review the discount
- On the Discount step, review the price summary:
- Plan price
- Coupon discount
- Due each month, quarterly, or yearly, depending on the plan
- If the agency attached a coupon, confirm that the coupon code is shown and marked as applied. An agency-assigned coupon cannot be replaced at checkout.
- If no coupon is attached and you have an eligible code, enter it in Coupon code (optional) and select Apply coupon.
- Check that the discount and total update for the code.
- Select Continue to Payment.
A coupon is accepted only when it is active, not expired, within its redemption limit, and eligible for the selected plan and customer workspace. If a code is rejected, the total stays at the previous amount.
If the plan includes a free trial, the step also shows the trial length. The trial starts according to the plan, and the first charge happens after the trial ends.
4. Enter payment details
- On the Payment step, review the final plan summary and total.
- In Cardholder name, enter the name shown on the card.
- Enter the card details in the secure payment field.
- Confirm that the summary shows the correct plan, price, and coupon.
- Select Start subscription.
The card is collected by Stripe. If the plan starts with a trial, Franmantra may ask Stripe to verify the card so it can charge it when the trial ends. Follow the verification step if it appears.
5. Confirm the result
- Wait for the confirmation message.
- A successful checkout shows Customer subscription started.
- Open Settings > Billing.
- Review the Customer subscription card. It shows the plan, status, renewal date or trial end date, price, limits, and any coupon.
- Refresh the page and sign in again if you need to confirm the saved result.
If the screen says the payment is still being checked, wait and refresh. The agency payment provider may still be confirming the subscription. Do not assume the subscription is active while the screen reports it as pending.
Result
The customer workspace now has a subscription. When the subscription is active or in a valid trial, the customer can use the CRM within the plan limits.
- A paid subscription shows the renewal date in Settings > Billing.
- A trial shows the trial end date and changes to a paid state when the trial ends.
- A free access grant shows Free access and does not require checkout until the end date.
- A pending payment shows Processing until the provider confirms it.
The agency sees the same subscription in Settings > Customer Billing > Sub Accounts, including its status, current plan, access date, and scheduled changes.
Verification needed: Add current screenshots of the three checkout steps and the Customer subscription card after the final labels are confirmed.
Checkout Rules to Expect
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| The agency assigned a plan in the invitation. | The plan is locked to the assigned plan. |
| The agency assigned a plan with no coupon. | The customer can enter an eligible coupon at checkout. |
| The agency attached a coupon. | The coupon is applied automatically and cannot be replaced. |
| The plan has a free trial. | The trial is applied, and payment is collected for the subscription. |
| The customer has valid dated free access. | Checkout is not required until the free access end date. |
| Free access ended. | Checkout is required. No card was charged automatically. |
| The payment is declined. | Franmantra shows a payment error and paid CRM access stays blocked. |
| The customer retries after a failure. | Use the same checkout screen and a valid payment method. A retry should not create a duplicate visible subscription. |
| The assigned plan is no longer available. | Checkout shows that the assigned plan is unavailable. The agency must assign another published plan. |
Payment Error Messages
When a card cannot be used, checkout shows the reason and does not grant paid access.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Your card was declined. Please use a different card or contact your bank. | Use another card or ask the card issuer about the decline. |
| Your card number is invalid. Please check it and try again. | Re-enter the card number. |
| Your card security code is incorrect. Please check it and try again. | Re-enter the CVC. |
| Your card has expired. Please use a different card. | Use a card with a future expiry date. |
| Your card has insufficient funds. Please use a different card. | Use another card or add funds. |
| Your bank requires card verification. Please complete verification or use a different card. | Complete the bank verification step or use another card. |
A failed payment does not start a paid subscription. Correct the card detail or use another card, then submit the checkout again.
Notes and Troubleshooting
- The business address error appears: Complete Settings > Business Settings with street, city, postal code, and a two-letter country code, then return to checkout.
- The customer cannot change the plan: The agency assigned a plan. Ask the agency to change the assignment before checkout.
- The coupon code is rejected: Check that the coupon is active, unexpired, within its redemption limit, and eligible for the plan and workspace.
- The assigned coupon cannot be replaced: That is expected. Only the agency can change the assigned coupon.
- Payment is still processing: Wait, refresh, and check Settings > Billing. Do not submit the payment repeatedly while it is pending.
- The customer sees a payment error: Use a valid payment method or contact the card issuer. A declined initial payment does not grant paid access.
- The customer had a failed renewal: A banner says Your payment is overdue. CRM access continues until…. Select Review payment, then Recover payment. The 7-day grace period does not restart just because the page is refreshed.
- Checkout is not showing: The workspace may have valid free access, an active subscription, or no required billing. Open Settings > Billing to review the current state.