Trial Policy & Anti-Abuse
14-day free trial terms, anti-abuse protections, trial expiry behavior, and recovery clawback policy.
LostChurn offers a 14-day free trial on all fixed-rate plans. This page covers the trial terms, what happens at expiry, and the anti-abuse measures that protect the trial program.
Trial Overview
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Duration | 14 days from account creation |
| Credit card required | No (Engine plan), Yes (Recovery+ plans) |
| Feature access | Full access to all features at your selected tier |
| Recovery fees | None during trial -- recovered revenue is yours to keep |
| Data retention | All data preserved after trial ends |
Credit Card Requirements
The credit card requirement depends on the plan tier:
| Plan | Credit Card at Signup |
|---|---|
| Recovery Engine ($149/mo) | Not required |
| Revenue Recovery System ($499/mo) | Required |
| Revenue Command ($1,499/mo) | Required |
| Enterprise (custom) | Not required (contract-based) |
Plans that require a credit card at signup convert automatically at the end of the trial unless canceled. Plans without a credit card requirement downgrade to a limited free state after the trial expires.
What Happens During the Trial
During the 14-day trial period, your account has full access to all features at your selected plan tier:
- Payment failure webhooks are received and processed
- AI-powered retry logic classifies and retries failed payments
- Dunning campaigns send recovery emails and SMS messages
- Analytics track recovery rates, revenue, and campaign performance
- API access is fully enabled with test and live keys
All revenue recovered during the trial is yours. LostChurn does not charge recovery fees during the trial period, regardless of your pricing model selection. However, the amount recovered during the trial is tracked (see Recovery Clawback below).
Trial Expiry
When the 14-day trial ends without a paid subscription:
Hard Stop on All Recovery Operations
| Operation | Behavior After Expiry |
|---|---|
| Payment retries | Immediately paused -- no new retries are submitted to your PSP |
| Recovery emails | Blocked -- no new dunning emails are sent |
| SMS messages | Blocked -- no new SMS messages are delivered |
| Webhook reception | Continues -- events are received and stored but not acted upon |
| Dashboard access | Read-only -- you can view historical data but cannot modify settings |
| API access | Read-only -- write endpoints return 403 Forbidden |
The hard stop is immediate. Any in-progress recovery campaigns are paused mid-sequence. If a customer was about to receive their third dunning email, it will not be sent until you upgrade. Upgrade before your trial expires to avoid interrupting active recoveries.
Data Preservation
Your data is not deleted when the trial expires:
- Payment history, customer records, and campaign data are preserved for 90 days
- Analytics and recovery metrics remain accessible in read-only mode
- API keys remain valid for read-only operations
- Webhook endpoints stay configured but inactive
If you upgrade within 90 days, all data is immediately available and recovery operations resume. After 90 days, data is permanently deleted in accordance with the data retention policy.
Trial Expiry Email Sequence
LostChurn sends a series of emails as your trial progresses to ensure you have time to evaluate and decide:
| Day | Content | |
|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | Welcome recap | Summary of what was set up, tips for getting the most from the trial |
| Day 7 | Mid-trial check-in | Recovery metrics so far, features you have not tried yet |
| Day 12 | Expiry warning | 2 days remaining, preview of what stops at expiry, upgrade CTA |
| Day 14 | Trial expired | Confirmation that the trial has ended, instructions to upgrade, data retention notice |
All trial emails can be unsubscribed from without affecting your account or recovery operations.
Recovery Clawback
LostChurn tracks the total amount of revenue recovered during your trial period in the recovered_during_trial_cents field on your merchant record.
How It Works
- Every successful recovery during the trial is logged with its amount
- The cumulative total is visible at Settings > Billing > Trial Summary
- If you upgrade to a performance pricing plan, the trial recovery amount is factored into your first invoice as a one-time recovery fee
Example
| Scenario | Trial Recovery | First Invoice Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Upgrade to fixed-rate plan | $8,500 recovered | No impact -- fixed rate applies from upgrade date |
| Upgrade to performance pricing (3%) | $8,500 recovered | $255 one-time charge on first invoice for trial recoveries |
| No upgrade | $8,500 recovered | No charge -- you keep the recovered revenue |
Recovery clawback only applies to performance pricing plans. If you choose fixed-rate pricing, trial recoveries are free regardless of the amount recovered.
Anti-Abuse Protections
LostChurn implements several measures to prevent trial abuse. These protections are automated and do not require manual review.
Stripe Account Fingerprinting
When you connect a Stripe account during trial signup, LostChurn records the Stripe account identifier (acct_xxx). If the same Stripe account is used to create a new LostChurn trial:
- The second trial signup is blocked
- An error message explains that a trial has already been used with this payment processor account
- The user is directed to upgrade their existing account or contact support
This prevents creating multiple LostChurn accounts to chain free trials while using the same underlying Stripe account.
Domain Fingerprinting
LostChurn monitors signup email domains to detect potential trial abuse patterns:
- If multiple accounts are created with the same email domain within a 14-day window, a flag is raised
- Flagged signups are not blocked but are marked for review
- Common email providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) are excluded from domain fingerprinting
What Triggers a Flag
| Signal | Action |
|---|---|
Same acct_xxx on new trial | Signup blocked |
| Same email domain, 2+ signups in 14 days | Flagged for review (not blocked) |
| Same email domain, 3+ signups in 14 days | Signup requires email verification + manual approval |
| Known disposable email domain | Signup blocked |
Domain fingerprinting is designed to catch abuse patterns, not legitimate teams. If your company has multiple teams that each need their own LostChurn workspace, contact support@lostchurn.com to have your domain allowlisted.
Performance Pricing and Trials
If you select performance pricing (pay a percentage of recovered revenue), there is no free trial. Instead, you start paying from day one -- but only on successfully recovered revenue:
| Plan | Performance Rate | Trial |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery Engine | 5% of recovered | No trial needed -- $0 if no recoveries |
| Revenue Recovery System | 3% of recovered | No trial needed |
| Revenue Command | 2% of recovered | No trial needed |
| Enterprise | Custom (1-2%) | No trial needed |
Performance pricing eliminates the need for a trial because there is no upfront cost. You only pay when LostChurn successfully recovers revenue for you.
Upgrading During the Trial
You can upgrade to a paid plan at any time during the trial:
- Navigate to Settings > Billing > Plan.
- Click Upgrade Now.
- Select your plan and pricing model (fixed rate or performance).
- Complete payment via Stripe Checkout.
- Your paid subscription starts immediately. The remaining trial days are not credited.
Mid-Trial Plan Changes
You can also change your plan tier during the trial without restarting the trial clock:
- Upgrading from Engine to Recovery+ keeps your existing trial end date
- Features of the new tier are available immediately
- If the new tier requires a credit card and you have not provided one, you will be prompted to add it
Next Steps
- Plans & Pricing -- compare plan tiers and pricing models
- Usage Limits -- understand what counts toward your plan limits
- Managing Your Subscription -- upgrade, downgrade, and billing management
- Onboarding Features -- guided onboarding experience and trial countdown banner