Platform Subscription

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Your MakerVera platform subscription determines which features your makerspace can access and how many users and members it supports. This is separate from the payments your makerspace collects from members through the store, gift cards, or donations (which flow through Stripe Connect).

Plan Tiers

MakerVera offers three platform tiers. Each tier builds on the one below it.

	Community	Foundational	Professional
User accounts	200	1,000	Unlimited
Members included	30	100	100
Member surcharges	Must upgrade	Yes (volume-based)	Yes (volume-based)
Volunteer tracking	—	Included	Included
Gift cards	—	Included	Included
Basic reports	—	Included	Included
Custom profile fields	—	—	Included
Group & family memberships	—	—	Included
Advanced reports	—	—	Included
Add-on modules	Available	Available	Available
Annual billing	N/A	Available (discounted)	Available (discounted)
Free trial	N/A	30 days	30 days

Community (Free)

A good starting point for small or new makerspaces. You get core platform functionality with a cap on user accounts and members. When you outgrow the limits or need features like volunteer tracking or gift cards, upgrade to a paid plan.

Foundational

Designed for growing makerspaces with active membership programs. Adds volunteer tracking, gift cards, basic reports and analytics, higher user account limits, and volume-based member surcharges for scaling beyond the included member count.

Professional

For established makerspaces with advanced needs. Everything in Foundational, plus custom profile fields, group and family memberships, and advanced reports. Unlimited user accounts.

Member Surcharges

Paid plans include a set number of members in the base price. If your active member count exceeds the included amount, graduated per-member surcharges apply. The surcharge rate decreases at higher volumes — larger makerspaces pay less per additional member.

Surcharges are seat-based and real-time. When a member is added or removed, the subscription updates immediately and Stripe prorates the charge automatically. You only pay for the days each member is active.

Tip: The included member count varies by plan. Check your Plan page in Settings for your current usage and thresholds.

Add-On Modules

Add-on modules provide optional functionality that can be subscribed to independently of your plan tier.

Door Access Integration

Sync MakerVera membership status with your access control hardware (badge readers, door locks). Members gain or lose physical access automatically as their membership status changes.

Flat monthly fee
14-day free trial

Classes & Workshops

Enhanced event management with per-transaction platform fees instead of a flat monthly charge.

No monthly fee — usage-based pricing via a small percentage on class/workshop transactions
14-day free trial

Add-ons can be managed from your Plan page under Settings.

Subscribing to an add-on

The Plan page splits add-ons into two sections:

Subscribed — the add-ons you currently have. Each shows the next renewal date (or trial-end date) and a Manage and Cancel action.
Available — add-ons compatible with your current plan tier. Each shows the price and trial length and a Subscribe action.

Clicking Subscribe opens a Stripe Checkout session. Once you confirm, you’ll return to the Plan page and the add-on will appear in the Subscribed list. Trials begin immediately and convert to paid at the end of the trial unless you cancel.

Cancelling an add-on

Cancelling an add-on takes effect at the end of the current billing period, not immediately. Until then you keep full access to the add-on’s features.

The Subscribed list shows “Cancelled — access until [date]” once you confirm cancellation.
Re-subscribing before the period ends restores normal status without a gap.
If you cancel during a trial, access ends at the trial-end date and you are not charged.

Complimentary access

Some makerspaces have add-on access granted directly by MakerVera (for trials, partnerships, or support cases). Complimentary add-ons:

Show a Complimentary badge in the Subscribed list.
Cannot be cancelled by the makerspace admin — they’re managed by MakerVera and end on a date set at grant time, or when MakerVera revokes them.
Behave identically to paid add-ons in terms of feature access.

If you have questions about a complimentary add-on on your account, contact MakerVera support.

Locked Pages and Upgrade Prompts

Some features in MakerVera are gated behind a specific plan tier or add-on. When you visit a feature your makerspace doesn’t have:

Admins see an upgrade prompt with a button that takes you to the Plan page where you can upgrade or subscribe.
Members see an “ask your administrator to enable this feature” message — members can’t change makerspace-level subscriptions on their own.
Locked nav items appear in the admin sidebar with a small lock icon next to the name. Clicking still navigates so you can see what the feature does and how to enable it.

If your makerspace’s billing is restricted or suspended due to a payment issue, you’ll see additional banners and some admin actions will be temporarily disabled — see “What Happens If a Payment Fails” below.

Free Trials

Paid plans (Foundational and Professional) offer a 30-day free trial. A credit card is required at sign-up. If you don’t cancel before the trial ends, billing begins automatically.

During the trial you have full access to all features included in the plan tier.

Upgrading and Downgrading

Upgrading

You can upgrade your plan at any time from the Plan page in Settings. Clicking “Upgrade” opens a Stripe Checkout session where you confirm the new plan. Changes take effect immediately.

If you’re upgrading mid-billing cycle, Stripe prorates the charge — you only pay the difference for the remainder of the current period.

Downgrading

Before a downgrade is processed, MakerVera checks whether your current usage fits within the lower plan’s limits:

User accounts — if you have more users than the target plan allows, you’ll need to reduce your user count first
Members — if you’re on the Community plan’s member cap and exceed it, you’ll need to reduce members
Features — features not available on the target plan (e.g., custom profile fields on Foundational) will become unavailable

The Plan page shows you exactly what’s blocking a downgrade before you confirm.

Billing Portal

Click Manage Billing on the Plan page to open the Stripe Billing Portal, where you can:

Update your payment method
View and download invoices
Switch between monthly and annual billing
Cancel your subscription

The billing portal is always accessible, even if your makerspace is in a restricted or suspended state due to a payment issue.

What Happens If a Payment Fails

MakerVera uses a graduated response when a subscription payment fails. Stripe retries the charge automatically over the first two weeks. If the payment isn’t resolved, access restrictions increase over time.

Grace Period (Day 0–14)

Full access — everything continues to work normally
Admin dashboard shows a billing warning banner
Email notifications are sent to billing contacts

Restricted (Day 15–29)

Admin actions are read-only — you can view data but cannot create or modify records (except on the billing page)
Members continue to have access and can manage their own subscriptions
Resolve the payment issue via the billing portal to restore full access immediately

Suspended (Day 30+)

Makerspace is locked — admins and members see a suspension banner
The billing page remains accessible so you can update your payment method and resolve the issue
Member self-service (viewing their own subscription, cancelling, updating payment method) is never blocked
Once payment is resolved, full access is restored automatically

Important: Your data is never deleted during suspension. Resolving the payment issue restores everything to its previous state.

Platform Admin Overrides

In some cases, the MakerVera team may override your plan assignment — for example, during a beta program, for issue resolution, or for development testing. When an override is active, you’ll see a notice on your Plan page indicating that your effective plan differs from your subscribed plan.

Overrides don’t affect your Stripe subscription. They only change which features and limits apply to your makerspace.

FAQ

Is the platform subscription the same as Stripe Connect? No. Your platform subscription is what your makerspace pays MakerVera for access to the platform. Stripe Connect is how your makerspace collects payments from your own members (store purchases, donations, gift cards). They are completely separate.

Can I use the store and accept donations on the free plan? Yes. Store, donations, and payment collection through Stripe Connect are available on all plans, including Community.

What counts as a “user account” vs. a “member”? A user account is anyone with a login in your makerspace. A member is a user with an active, paid membership. All members are users, but not all users are members.

Can I switch between monthly and annual billing? Yes, through the Stripe Billing Portal. Annual billing includes a discount.

What happens to my data if I downgrade? Your data is preserved. Features that aren’t available on the lower plan simply become inaccessible until you upgrade again. Nothing is deleted.