Introduction
Your Rep AI subscription runs on a billing cycle — a fixed window of time that determines when you're charged and how many shopper sessions are included in your plan. This article explains where your billing dates come from, what your session allowance covers, and exactly what happens to both when you change plans in the middle of a billing period.
If you've ever wondered "why did my renewal date shift?" or "will I be charged twice if I upgrade mid-month?", this article answers it.
Where Your Billing Dates Come From
Rep AI does not run its own separate billing clock. Your billing period always follows whoever charges you.
If you're billed through Shopify
Shopify is the single source of truth for your billing dates. Shopify bills app subscriptions every 30 days, and Rep AI reads your period start and end directly from the charge Shopify created for you. Whatever renewal date you see in your Shopify admin is the date Rep AI uses.
This applies at every point in your subscription's life: when you first subscribe, when you change plans, when your subscription renews, and when a payment is retried.
If you're billed directly by card
Your billing period follows your Rep AI subscription's own cycle, which renews on the same calendar date each month or each year (for example, the 15th of every month). Rep AI reads your period start and end from that subscription.
Your Session Allowance
Every plan includes a set number of shopper sessions per billing period. You can see your current usage on the Billing page in your Rep AI Console, shown as your session count out of your plan's total allocation.
When you go past your plan's included sessions, the extra sessions are billed as an overage on top of your plan fee:
Extra sessions are billed in blocks of 1,000 sessions at $12 per block.
Overage is capped per billing period, so a single period can never add more than $1,000 in extra-session charges no matter how far past your allowance you go.
Your session count and your overage both reset when a new billing period begins.
What Happens When You Change Plans Mid-Cycle
This is where billing used to get confusing. Here's exactly what happens now.
The one rule that applies to everyone
Sessions you used on your old plan are settled against your old plan. Before your new plan takes effect, Rep AI calculates any extra-session charges you've built up under the old plan — using the old plan's session allowance and pricing — and bills them at that moment. Sessions you used before the switch are never re-priced against your new plan, and never charged twice.
If your usage was still inside your old plan's allowance, there's nothing to settle and nothing extra is billed.
If you're billed through Shopify
When you change plans, Shopify replaces your existing app charge with a new one and starts a fresh 30-day billing period from that moment.
Rep AI follows that exactly:
Your billing period restarts on the date Shopify begins charging you for the new plan.
Your session allowance starts fresh at zero for the new plan.
Sessions from your old plan stay with the old plan and do not count against your new allowance.
The practical effect: an upgrade or downgrade gives you a clean slate on the new plan, and your Rep AI renewal date always matches what Shopify shows you.
If you're billed directly by card
A mid-cycle plan change on the same billing interval (monthly to monthly, or annual to annual) works differently, because your card subscription keeps your existing billing period and simply prorates the price difference.
Your billing dates stay exactly as they were. Your renewal date does not move.
Your session count and any extra-session charges already billed carry forward through the rest of the current period. You do not receive a fresh session allowance in the middle of the period.
Your prorated credit or charge for the plan difference is handled on your card subscription and appears on your invoice history.
Your billing period and session allowance reset at your next normal renewal. They also reset immediately if you switch between monthly and annual billing, or if you restart a subscription after it lapsed — in those cases a genuinely new billing period begins.
Free Trials
If you start on a free trial, your trial period is exactly the trial length you were granted, and your first charge lands at the end of the trial — not later.
Sessions used during your trial are counted as trial usage. They are never carried into your first paid period or billed as extra sessions once you convert.
Add-Ons and Your Billing Period (Shopify Only)
If you're billed through Shopify, adding or removing an add-on to your subscription causes Shopify to replace your app charge with a new combined charge — and Shopify starts a fresh 30-day billing period for it.
Because Shopify is the source of truth for your dates, this means an add-on change also restarts your Rep AI billing month: your renewal date moves to match the new charge, your session allowance starts fresh, and any extra-session charges accrued before the change are settled at that moment.
This matches what Shopify actually bills you — you're paying for a fresh 30 days from that point.
Keeping Your Dates Accurate
Rep AI runs an automatic daily check that compares your stored billing dates against your actual charge dates and corrects any difference it finds. This runs quietly in the background, only adjusts dates, and never resets your session count or triggers a charge.
The result is that your Rep AI renewal date and your provider's renewal date stay matched over time, instead of slowly drifting apart across many renewals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I be charged twice if I upgrade mid-cycle?
No. Extra-session charges already billed in the current period are credited, so settlement only ever bills the portion you haven't paid yet.
Why did my renewal date change after I upgraded?
If you're billed through Shopify, a plan change starts a brand-new 30-day charge, so your renewal date moves to reflect it. This matches the renewal date in your Shopify admin.
Why didn't my renewal date change after I upgraded?
If you're billed directly by card, a mid-cycle change on the same billing interval keeps your existing period and prorates the difference instead. Your dates stay put by design.
I downgraded to a smaller plan. Will my old sessions push me over the new plan's limit?
No. Sessions used before the switch are settled against your old plan and do not count against your new plan's allowance.
Where do I see my invoices?
If you're billed through Shopify, use the "View invoices in Shopify" button on your Billing page, or go to Settings then Billing in your Shopify admin. If you're billed directly, your full billing history is on the Billing page in your Rep AI Console. See the article "Managing Your Subscription and AI Talents on the Billing Page" for a full walkthrough.
My billing dates still look wrong.
Contact Rep AI support through the help button in your Console with your store domain and the dates you're seeing. Support can compare your stored period against your provider's charge dates and correct it directly.
Next Steps
Review your current session usage on the Billing page so you know how much of your allowance you're using each period.
If you regularly exceed your allowance, compare the cost of your extra sessions against the next plan tier — upgrading is often cheaper than paying overage.
Check your renewal date before making a plan change so you know whether your period will restart or stay in place.