How do I create an account?
Anyone can sign up on the Standard tier at no monthly cost with email and password, Apple, or Google. You may need to confirm your email. After that you go straight into setup — add your business info and you can send your first invoice. If an invited account is still waiting on access, you will see that status when you sign in.
Is there really a Standard tier at $0?
Yes. Unlimited invoices and estimates, unlimited manual receipt uploads, and unlimited manual expense uploads. On Standard, 20 smart receipts per month when you use AI-assisted extraction through the Assistant or capture flows. Smart receipts read your uploads and pull out vendor, dates, and totals so you can confirm details instead of retyping everything. Document storage is capped (1 GB on Standard, 5 GB on Pro). Standard also includes linking bank accounts, auto-syncing transactions, manual pairing/reconciliation, and PDF/CSV report exports. Assistant included: up to 100 chats per month after your first sent invoice (small trial before that); the pre-invoice trial is 30 chats—no credit card required. Pro is $40/month or $400/year when billed annually on planbill.net, with a lower platform fee on paid invoices (0.25% vs 0.5%), On Pro: up to 60 messages per rolling hour and 300 per rolling day, unlimited smart receipt processing, team invites, scheduled report emails, time import in Data Hub, burn insights, AI Bookkeeper (monthly review, CPA summary, and CPA-ready packet), multi-business support, and the time clock add-on (rolling out). Additional businesses are billed as an add-on when you’re on Pro.
What is the difference between receipt uploads and smart receipts?
Unlimited receipt uploads: store or attach receipt files without a monthly upload cap. Smart receipts: Smart receipts read your uploads and pull out vendor, dates, and totals so you can confirm details instead of retyping everything. On Standard you can use that smart processing 20 times per month; on Pro it is unlimited. File uploads stay unlimited on both plans.
How do customer payments work?
You can accept card and other supported payment methods on invoices where you enable online pay. Card processing fees apply separately to online payments and are separate from PlanBill’s subscription and platform fees. You manage payout details in payment settings.
Can I import data from spreadsheets or other tools?
Yes. The import flow walks you through CSV uploads and column mapping for customers, invoices, payments, and expenses so you can migrate without retyping everything. For billable time, Pro includes time-sheet import from Google Sheets, CSV, Excel, and paste—with shortcuts to draft invoices and time entries.
Is smart invoice or smart estimate drafting a separate paid add-on?
We are evaluating richer assistant-led invoice and estimate drafting on top of normal document capture. It is not a separate live priced add-on today, and we are not promising a final bundle or price. We may try limited experiences with some Pro accounts while we learn what works; long-term packaging will depend on those results. Current plan and add-on pricing is always shown in Settings → Billing and on our public pricing section.
Can I connect my bank on Standard, or is banking only on Pro?
Standard and Pro both support linking bank accounts, seeing synced transactions, and manual pairing or reconciliation in PlanBill. Pro adds team invites, scheduled report emails, time import in Data Hub, higher assistant limits, burn insights, multi-business seats, and the time clock add-on—not “banking only on Pro.”
Does PlanBill send SMS or text messages to my customers?
Pro businesses can send transactional texts after an owner turns texting on under Settings → Texting and the customer opts in on an invoice, estimate, or customer profile. It is not available on Standard. Recipients can reply STOP to opt out or HELP for a short help message.
Does PlanBill include time tracking?
Pro includes billable time import from Google Sheets, CSV, Excel, and paste. A team time clock is a Pro-only paid add-on that is rolling out—availability can depend on your account and plan. Check Settings → Billing for the latest add-on status.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel through Settings → Billing (Customer Portal) or email support@planbill.net. Cancellation stops future charges. We don't refund amounts already paid for the current period.
Does PlanBill work on mobile?
Yes. It works the same on your phone or computer — in the browser, and you can add PlanBill to your iPhone home screen. The iPhone app is in App Store review preparation (same account as the web app). Capture receipt photos, send invoices, and check your dashboard from anywhere.
Is my data safe?
Your data is encrypted and stored securely. We use Supabase for infrastructure. We don't sell your data. You can export your data anytime.
Can PlanBill fit into the way my business already handles bookkeeping?
Yes. Many businesses use PlanBill for day-to-day invoices, expenses, and reporting, then share exports or summaries with internal teams or outside professionals when needed. PlanBill is not a substitute for professional tax, accounting, or legal advice.
What is AI Bookkeeper?
AI Bookkeeper is included with Pro. It reviews your month, suggests what to send your CPA, and prepares a CPA-ready PDF packet. It is tax guidance, not filing — it does not file taxes, schedule appointments, or email reports. Scheduled report emails stay a separate Pro feature. It does not replace your accountant.