Billing and Tier Changes

company admin

Last updated: 2026-05-19

This guide covers how ShieldMyLot™ billing works, how to change tiers, and what to expect during upgrades or downgrades.

Current billing model

ShieldMyLot is in an early operating phase. Billing is currently handled manually:

  • Invoices are sent monthly (or annually if you've chosen annual billing) via email to your billing contact
  • Payment methods are specified in your service agreement (check, ACH, wire transfer, etc.)
  • Automated billing through Stripe is in development. When that launches, you'll be prompted to enter a payment method and your billing will become automatic.

Until Stripe ships, manual billing is the norm. Invoices arrive on a predictable schedule; payment is due per your service agreement terms.

Annual vs monthly pricing

ShieldMyLot offers both monthly and annual billing options.

Monthly:

  • Pay each month for that month
  • More flexible — you can change tiers month-to-month
  • No commitment beyond the current month
  • Costs slightly more per month vs annual

Annual:

  • Pay for 12 months upfront, get 14 months of service (~17% savings — "pay 10, get 12" framing)
  • Locks you in for the annual period
  • Can upgrade mid-year (prorated) but cannot downgrade until renewal
  • Significant savings if you're committed to using the platform

For your specific pricing on either option, see your service agreement or contact support@shieldmylot.com.

Custom pricing arrangements

Some accounts have custom pricing arrangements with ShieldMyLot — different limits, different pricing, or both. These are negotiated directly and reflected in your service agreement.

If your account has any custom arrangements:

  • Your effective limits and feature set are shown on the Plan tab
  • You'll see your custom pricing on invoices, not the public-list pricing
  • Custom arrangements are not generally available through self-service

If you're not sure whether you have a custom arrangement, check your Plan tab against the standard tier limits. If anything looks different (higher property limit, different pricing, etc.), you have a custom arrangement.

Upgrading your tier

When you've outgrown your current tier (most commonly: hitting property or driver limits), upgrading is straightforward.

Step 1: Decide which tier you need

See Understanding Your Tier for tier comparison details. Common upgrade paths:

  • Starter → Growth — Need more properties, drivers, or access to advanced features
  • Growth → Legacy — Need unlimited capacity or premium features like the video tutorial library and priority support
  • Essential → Professional — Need more properties or higher visitor pass volumes
  • Professional → Enterprise — Need unlimited capacity or premium features

Step 2: Contact ShieldMyLot

Email support@shieldmylot.com with:

  • Your company name
  • Current tier
  • Desired tier
  • Effective date you'd like (immediate, next billing cycle, etc.)

We'll confirm the upgrade and update your account. For accounts on annual billing, we'll prorate the upgrade cost.

Step 3: New limits apply immediately

After confirmation, your new tier's limits and features are active. You can immediately:

  • Add properties up to the new limit
  • Add drivers up to the new limit
  • Use any new features that come with the higher tier

What changes immediately vs. gradually

Immediate:

  • Higher capacity limits (you can add more properties, drivers, etc.)
  • Newly-unlocked feature flags (advanced analytics, tow records CSV export, etc.)
  • Plan tab updates to show new tier

Gradual:

  • Your team needs to be trained on new features they couldn't access before
  • Operational workflows may shift to take advantage of new capabilities
  • Premium features may have setup associated with them (e.g., training your team on advanced analytics, wiring tow records CSV export into your back-office tools)

Downgrading your tier

Downgrading is less common but valid in some situations:

  • You closed properties and your operational size shrank
  • You don't use the higher-tier features you're paying for
  • You're consolidating with another platform

Before you downgrade — check the impact

Compare your current usage against the lower tier's limits. If you're currently exceeding what the lower tier allows, you'll need to reduce first.

Example: You're on Growth (15 property limit) with 12 active properties, and you want to downgrade to Starter (5 property limit). You'll need to deactivate 7 properties before the downgrade is possible.

The platform won't auto-deactivate to fit a downgrade. You decide which resources to keep and which to drop.

Step 1: Reduce usage to fit the lower tier

Deactivate (don't delete) any resources beyond the lower tier's limits:

  • Properties beyond the new property limit
  • Drivers beyond the new driver limit (Enforcement)
  • Any other capacity-constrained resources

Step 2: Contact ShieldMyLot

Email support@shieldmylot.com requesting the downgrade. We'll verify your usage is within the lower tier's limits and process the change.

Step 3: Downgrade takes effect at next billing cycle

Unlike upgrades, downgrades take effect at your next billing cycle, not immediately. This protects you from accidentally losing access mid-month.

Until the downgrade is effective, your old tier features remain available. After the downgrade is effective:

  • Previously-available features that aren't in the new tier disappear from your portal
  • Your billing reflects the new tier's pricing

30-day notice for price changes

If ShieldMyLot changes pricing for your tier (rare, but possible), you'll receive at least 30 days' notice before the new pricing takes effect.

For larger price increases, we may provide 60 days' notice.

Monthly customers also get a 90-day price lock — once you've been billed at a specific rate, that rate is locked for 90 days even if prices change. New pricing applies after the 90-day lock expires.

Annual customers are locked at their rate for the duration of the annual term. New pricing applies only at renewal.

14-day money-back guarantee

If you sign up for ShieldMyLot and decide within 14 days that it's not the right fit, you can request a full refund. Contact support@shieldmylot.com with:

  • Your company name
  • The reason for cancellation (helps us improve)
  • Confirmation that you'll stop using the platform

Refunds typically process within 5-10 business days through the original payment method.

After 14 days, the standard cancellation policy applies (see your service agreement).

Cancellation

If you decide to cancel ShieldMyLot:

  1. Contact support@shieldmylot.com with cancellation intent
  2. We'll confirm the cancellation effective date
  3. Your account stays active through the end of your current billing period (monthly or annual)
  4. After the cancellation effective date, your account is deactivated

Data retention after cancellation:

  • Your data is retained for 30 days after cancellation, in case you want to reactivate
  • During that 30 days, you can request a data export
  • After 30 days, data is purged from active systems but retained in compliance archives for Texas Chapter 2308 record retention requirements (typically 7 years)

If you need data export, request it before the 30-day window expires.

Invoice questions

If something on an invoice doesn't look right:

  1. Check your Plan tab to verify your current tier and any custom arrangements
  2. Compare the invoice to your service agreement
  3. If there's a discrepancy, email support@shieldmylot.com with the invoice number and your concern

We'll investigate and correct any errors. Common questions:

  • "Why is my invoice higher than last month?" — Could be tier upgrade mid-cycle (prorated)
  • "Why am I being billed for X drivers when I only have Y?" — Verify driver count on the Plan tab; some accounts have per-driver pricing
  • "I see a charge I don't recognize." — Likely an upgrade or service expansion; check the invoice description

Common questions

Can I pay by credit card? Currently no, while billing is manual. When Stripe integration ships, credit cards will be supported.

Can I get a quarterly billing option? Not currently. Monthly and annual are the two options.

What if my company changes name or business structure? Contact support@shieldmylot.com. We can update the billing entity but it requires verification (we don't want to accidentally transfer your account to someone unrelated to your business).

Can I have multiple billing contacts? You can have one primary billing contact for invoices. CC'ing additional people on billing emails is possible — set this up in Account Setup.

What if I miss a payment? We'll send a reminder. If payment isn't received within the grace period specified in your service agreement, your account may be suspended. Reactivation after suspension may require catching up on missed payments plus a reactivation fee.

How do tier changes affect existing data? Tier changes affect capacity and feature access, never existing data. Properties, drivers, residents, violations, etc. all stay intact through tier changes.

Next steps

Questions about billing? Email support@shieldmylot.com.

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