Plans & Upgrading
Understand ScaanMe plans, read every feature flag (vCards, CRM, wallet, NFC, custom domain, AI credits), upgrade and check out safely, and learn exactly what happens to your cards and data when you switch plans.
What this guide covers
Your plan decides what your ScaanMe account can do, how many vCards and stores you can run, whether the CRM, wallet passes, NFC cards, custom domain and AI credits are unlocked, and how long your access lasts. This guide explains exactly where to find your plans, how to read every feature line on a plan card, how to upgrade and pay safely, and what happens to your cards and data the moment you switch. Read it before you upgrade so there are no surprises at checkout.
This is written for the account owner, the person who pays and decides which features the business needs. You do not need any technical knowledge: every action here is a few clicks inside your dashboard. Throughout, we deliberately avoid quoting prices, because amounts, billing cycles (monthly or annual) and any active discounts are set by your ScaanMe admin and are always shown live on the plan card itself.
Where to see your plans
Open the Plans page from the left sidebar of your dashboard, or go straight to /user/plans. From the dashboard you can also reach it via the Your Plan card, which carries a Manage plan link. This single page is where you compare every plan and start an upgrade, so it is the right starting point for everything in this guide.
At the very top sits your current plan summary. If you are on the free plan it reads FREE PLAN; on a paid plan it shows the plan name, and either Lifetime (for a lifetime plan), or your remaining days with an Expires on date. Knowing your remaining days matters because that is the deadline before your cards stop being public, so glance here first every time you visit.
Next to that summary you will see action buttons. Renew re-buys your current plan to extend the same access (it appears once you are on a paid plan), and a Plans / Upgrade button jumps you down to the full grid of plans below. If your plan has already lapsed, the summary shows Plan Expired! instead of a number, which is your cue to renew or upgrade right away.
Below the summary is the plans grid, one card per available plan. A plan marked Recommended is highlighted so it stands out, and an eligible plan shows a small trial badge (for example a 14-day trial). Note that only plans your admin has made public and active appear here, private or disabled plans are simply not listed, so what you see is always what you can actually buy.
Reading what a plan includes
Every plan card lists its features as a checklist. A green dot means the feature is included; a red dot means it is not. For features that are counts rather than yes/no, the card shows the number, and the word Unlimited appears when there is no cap. Read the whole list top to bottom before deciding, because the difference between two plans is often a single line, like CRM or wallet, that matters a lot to your workflow.
The vCard Features group covers the heart of your account: No. of vCards, Services, Products, Links, Payments, Galleries, Testimonials, plus on/off toggles for Business Hours, Appointments, Service Booking, Contact Form, Enquiries and Password Protected. If you run more than one brand or location, the No. of vCards line is the first number to check, it sets how many separate cards you can keep active at once.
AI Credits appear near the top with a small ? hint that reads 1 Credit = 1 AI Generation. Credits power AI features like generating copy or translating a card. A plan can show a number (for example 20 or 60), Unlimited, or none at all. If you lean on AI to write and translate, weigh this line heavily, and remember you can also top up credits separately later.
If a plan is a Store or Both type, a Store Features group appears with No. of Stores, Categories and Store Products. A plan typed VCARD has no store section at all, so if you intend to sell online, pick a plan whose type is Store or Both. This plan type is the cleanest way to tell at a glance whether a plan is for cards only, store only, or everything.
The Additional Features group is where the premium unlocks live: Custom Domain, Order NFC Card, storage limit, Advanced Settings, PWA (installable app), Personalized Link, Hide Branding, Free Setup and Free Support. Higher plans also unlock Google Wallet and Apple Wallet passes (with a wallet count), the CRM, and luxury wallet styling. These lines are usually the real reason to upgrade, so compare them carefully between your current plan and the one above it.
Finally, note the plan's validity, the billing cycle written into the price. A monthly plan renews about every 30 days, an annual plan about every 365, and a Lifetime plan (validity 9999) never expires. The free plan is also effectively lifetime but capped to a single vCard. Match the cycle to your commitment: annual usually costs less per month, while monthly keeps you flexible.
Upgrading and paying
On the plan you want, click its action button. The label adapts to your situation: Choose plan for a new or switched plan, Start 14 Days Trial if you are eligible for a trial, Subscribe now to pay immediately and skip the trial, Current Plan on the one you are already on, and Renew to re-buy your active plan. Pick Subscribe now rather than the trial button whenever you want to pay and lock in the plan straight away.
The first time you ever check out, ScaanMe sends you to the billing details form if it is empty. Fill in your billing name, address, city, state, zip code, country, phone, email and any VAT number, these appear on your invoice and are reused for every future purchase. Get them right once and you will breeze through checkout from then on.
On the checkout page you see a clear breakdown: the plan price (Subtotal), the tax added on top (the rate is set by your admin), and the Total you will actually pay. If you have a promo code, type it into the coupon box and click Apply, a valid code updates the total instantly and shows the discount line. An invalid, expired or already-used code is rejected with a message, and coupons cannot be combined.
Choose a payment method. ScaanMe offers two kinds: one-time gateways that charge you once for the cycle, and recurring gateways that auto-renew the subscription each cycle (recurring options only show on monthly/annual plans, not lifetime). One important rule shown on the page: coupon codes only work with one-time payment methods, not with recurring ones, so apply your code before choosing a recurring gateway, or pick a one-time gateway to use the discount.
Complete the payment with your chosen gateway. On success you are returned to the Plans page with a confirmation, your plan, validity and remaining days update immediately, and an invoice is recorded under Transactions. If you started a trial, the plan activates for the trial length (e.g. 14 days) and you will be billed/asked to subscribe when it ends. A genuinely free plan activates instantly with no gateway step at all.
What happens to your data on upgrade
Your content is never deleted by a plan change. Your vCards, stores, contacts, media, CRM data and settings all stay exactly where they are, only your limits and unlocked features change. Upgrading simply raises the ceiling, more vCards, more credits, and switches on whatever the new plan includes (CRM, wallet, custom domain, and so on).
There is one behaviour to plan for: when you switch to a different plan, ScaanMe sets all your cards to inactive so it can re-apply your new plan's limits cleanly. This is not data loss, your cards and everything on them are intact, they are just temporarily not public. Right after upgrading, go to Business Cards and re-activate the cards you want live.
You can re-activate cards up to your new plan's No. of vCards limit. If you try to activate more than the plan allows, ScaanMe shows The maximum limit has been exceeded. Please upgrade your plan. That is the system telling you the new plan's cap is reached, the fix is to either activate fewer cards or move to a higher plan. Unlimited plans (shown as 999/Unlimited) never hit this wall.
Downgrading is treated carefully. The free plan can only be claimed once, so after you have used it the button changes to a guarded Choose plan flow rather than a silent downgrade. If you move to a smaller paid plan, the same re-activation rule applies, you may need to deactivate cards or stores to fit under the lower limits, and premium features the old plan unlocked (like CRM or wallet) will switch off if the new plan does not include them.
Tips & best practices
Check remaining days before you let a plan lapse. If your plan expires, your public cards stop showing and you will see Your plan is over when you try to create or edit. Renewing a day or two early keeps everything live with zero downtime, and the Renew button re-buys the exact same plan in one step.
Buy for the feature line you actually need, not the biggest number. The cheapest upgrade is usually the one whose feature list flips a single red dot (CRM, wallet, custom domain) to green for you. Compare your current card against the one above it and let the green/red dots, not the price alone, decide.
Use Subscribe now if you are sure. The trial button is great for testing, but if you already know you want the plan, Subscribe now pays immediately and avoids the trial expiring on you mid-campaign. Apply any coupon first, and remember it only works with one-time payment methods.
Re-activate your cards immediately after any switch. Because every plan change sets cards inactive, make it a habit to open Business Cards right after checkout and toggle your important cards back to active, within your new limit. This prevents the surprise of a customer scanning a card that has quietly gone offline.
Keep your billing details accurate. They flow straight onto your invoices and into the Transactions history. Update your name, address and VAT number before a big purchase so the receipt is correct for your accounting, fixing an invoice after the fact is far more hassle.
FAQ
Will I lose my cards or data if I upgrade? No. Upgrading never deletes anything, your vCards, stores, contacts, media and settings all remain. The only change is that all cards are briefly set inactive so the new limits apply cleanly; just re-activate the ones you want live afterwards.
What's the difference between a trial and subscribing? A trial activates the plan free for a set period (for example 14 days) so you can test it; when it ends you pay to keep it. Subscribe now charges you immediately and gives you the plan straight away, skipping the trial entirely. You can only use a trial once.
Why didn't my coupon work? Coupons are rejected if the code is invalid, expired, or you have already used it up to its limit. The most common reason, shown right on the checkout page, is that coupons only apply to one-time payment methods, not recurring subscriptions. Apply the code and pick a one-time gateway.
What happens when my plan expires? Your public cards stop showing and the dashboard reads Plan Expired!; trying to create or edit shows Your plan is over. Nothing is deleted, simply renew or buy a new plan and your content comes back live. Renewing before the date avoids any interruption.
Can I switch to a smaller plan (downgrade)? Yes, but mind the limits: if the smaller plan allows fewer vCards or stores, or drops features like CRM or wallet, you may need to deactivate cards/stores to fit and those features will turn off. The free plan, specifically, can only be claimed once per account.
How do I cancel a recurring subscription? If you paid through a recurring gateway, an option to cancel appears on the Plans page. Cancelling stops future auto-renewals, you keep using your current plan until it expires, then it simply does not renew. One-time payments have nothing to cancel; they just run out at the end of the cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find and manage my plans? Open the Plans page from the left sidebar of your dashboard, or go straight to /user/plans. You can also reach it from the dashboard through the Your Plan card, which carries a Manage plan link. This single page is where your current plan summary sits at the top, where the full plans grid appears below, and where you start an upgrade or renewal.
What are AI Credits and can I add more? AI Credits power AI features like generating copy or translating a card, and the plan card shows a small hint that reads 1 Credit = 1 AI Generation. A plan can show a number (for example 20 or 60), show Unlimited, or include none at all. If you rely on AI to write and translate, weigh this line heavily, and note you can also top up credits separately later.
How do I tell whether a plan includes an online store? Check the plan's type. A plan typed Store or Both shows a Store Features group with No. of Stores, Categories and Store Products, while a plan typed VCARD has no store section at all. So if you intend to sell online, pick a plan whose type is Store or Both, since the type is the cleanest way to tell at a glance whether a plan is for cards only, store only, or everything.
Why can't I re-activate all my cards after switching plans? You can only re-activate cards up to your new plan's No. of vCards limit. If you try to activate more than the plan allows, ScaanMe shows The maximum limit has been exceeded. Please upgrade your plan. That means the new plan's cap is reached; the fix is to activate fewer cards or move to a higher plan. Unlimited plans, shown as 999/Unlimited, never hit this wall.