Payment Method and Your Free First Form

How the payment method gate works at signup, where to manage your card later, and how the complimentary first form is granted.

Every business workspace requires a credit card on file before it’s fully activated. In return, your first DS-160 submission is on us.

Why a card is required at signup

Two reasons:

  1. It lets us verify a real billing identity behind your agency workspace, which keeps the platform safe for all users.
  2. It’s how we comp your first form — when you add a card we grant a one-time complimentary credit to your workspace automatically.

You won’t be charged at signup. The only charge that happens during onboarding is the standard zero-dollar Stripe setup verification, and even that often appears as a temporary $0 authorization that resolves immediately.

Adding your card

Right after signup the workspace is in “pending payment” state. You’ll land on /workspaces/<id>/billing/setup, which renders a single Stripe Elements card form. Enter your card details, save, and the workspace is activated.

If you close the tab before saving a card, your next login redirects you back to the same screen. You can’t access workspace settings, client intake creation, or submissions until a card is on file.

The complimentary first form

The free credit is granted the first time you successfully add a card to a workspace. Swapping cards later — for example, when your old card expires — does not grant a second free form. The credit is one-time per workspace.

Managing the card later

Once your workspace is active, manage the card from Workspace Settings → Billing:

  • View the saved card brand and last four digits
  • Remove the card (puts the workspace back into pending state and blocks new submissions)
  • Replace the card (clean swap; no free-form grant is re-applied)

How charging starts

Adding a card does not automatically subscribe you to a paid plan. Your dedicated success rep assigns a custom billing plan (tiered, fixed-monthly, or post-paid) once we understand your volume — see the agency quickstart for the broader onboarding flow.

If you have questions about billing, reach out via the contact options on the Agencies page.