> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://netpartners.marketing/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # HighLevel SaaS Mode Billing Explained: How Stripe, Plans and Rebilling Actually Work - URL: https://netpartners.marketing/highlevel-saas-mode-stripe-billing-rebilling/ - Published: 2026-10-26T17:09:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-26T18:57:29.000Z - Description: Follow the money through HighLevel's SaaS Mode, from the client's card to your Stripe account, and find where it leaks: plans, rebilling, failed payments and testing. - Author: Zoltan Juhasz - Tags: White Label and SaaS Mode The first month of SaaS Mode feels like magic. A client signs up on your pricing page, pays by card and gets a fresh sub-account with your snapshot already loaded. Three months later the questions start. Why did this client's texts stop? Why is that account still active when the card was declined in August? And why did your phone bill go up faster than your revenue? This post follows the money through HighLevel's SaaS Mode, from the client's card to your Stripe account, and shows where it leaks. It covers what you need, how plans and rebilling work, what happens when payments fail and how to test it all before a real client touches it. *Disclosure: I'm a HighLevel affiliate. Links to HighLevel in this post are affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. This isn't tax or legal advice.* ## TLDR - SaaS Mode comes with HighLevel's Agency Pro plan at $497 a month. - Clients pay you through your own Stripe account. Stripe's standard US fee is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge. - Plans are built in the SaaS Configurator: monthly or annual pricing, features, a snapshot, trials and usage billing. - Rebilling passes phone, email and AI usage on to clients. Adding a markup requires the $497 plan. - Turn on automatic suspension for failed subscriptions, or unpaid accounts can keep running. - Test the whole flow with Stripe test cards before you launch. 💳 **Try White-Label HighLevel Free for 30 Days** Set up your SaaS plans, Stripe connection and rebilling during the trial. [Start your free trial](https://www.gohighlevel.com/details-ai-agency-white-label?fp%5Fref=details) Prefer video? The same walkthrough on our [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@netpartnersmarketing). ## What SaaS Mode Requires SaaS Mode is part of HighLevel's top plan. According to [HighLevel's pricing page](https://www.gohighlevel.com/pricing?fp%5Fref=details), Agency Pro costs $497 a month or $4,970 a year, and SaaS Mode is among its features. The $97 Starter and $297 Unlimited plans don't include it. You'll also need: - **Agency Admin access** to the agency account. - **A payment connection.** HighLevel's [SaaS Configurator guide](https://help.gohighlevel.com/support/solutions/articles/155000008015?fp%5Fref=details) describes two setups: the original version connects a Stripe account at the agency level, and the newer version uses an agency sub-account with a supported payment provider. - **A snapshot** for each plan, so new clients start with your funnels, workflows and settings. Our post on [selling snapshots as a SaaS offer](https://netpartners.marketing/how-to-sell-gohighlevel-snapshots-as-a-saas-offer/) covers how to package them. If you're still deciding whether to resell at all, our [HighLevel white-label guide](https://netpartners.marketing/gohighlevel-white-label/) covers the bigger picture. ## Connecting Stripe In the original setup, the connection takes a few minutes: go to Agency View, then Settings, then Stripe, click "Connect with Stripe" and finish the flow. Then return to the SaaS Configurator. A few things to settle before you connect: - **Use a business Stripe account** in your agency's legal name, with the right bank account for payouts. Changing it later means moving every subscription. - **Know your fees.** [Stripe's pricing page](https://stripe.com/pricing) lists 2.9% + 30¢ for domestic US cards, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% if currency conversion is needed. On a $297 plan paid with a domestic card, that's about $8.91 a month. - **Set your statement descriptor** in Stripe so clients recognize the charge. An unfamiliar name on a card statement can lead to disputes. ## Building Plans in the SaaS Configurator In the SaaS Configurator you click "Add Your Plan" and set up each plan's pricing, features, snapshot, add-ons, trial and usage billing. Plans in the same category form an upgrade and downgrade path, and HighLevel's guide notes they should use the same currency. ### Tiers Three tiers is a common starting point: a basic plan with the CRM, inbox and booking, a middle plan that adds automations and reputation tools and a top plan with AI features and priority support. Price the plans by the outcome, not the feature list. Our guide on [pricing your first 10 HighLevel clients](https://netpartners.marketing/how-to-price-gohighlevel-retainer-clients/) walks through the numbers. ### Trials The configurator lets you set a trial and how complimentary credits behave. A short trial with your snapshot preloaded gives clients a quick win. A long trial with an empty account mostly gives them time to forget about it. ### Setup fees HighLevel's configurator guide doesn't describe a setup fee field, so check what your version offers. If it isn't there, send the setup fee as a separate invoice or payment link before you build the account. 📊 **Compare HighLevel's Plans** SaaS Mode and rebilling with markup are on the $497 Agency Pro plan. [See HighLevel's pricing](https://www.gohighlevel.com/pricing?fp%5Fref=details) ## Rebilling Phone, Email and AI Usage With a Markup This is where most of the leaks happen. Your clients' texts, calls, emails and AI usage cost money, and by default your agency pays for them. HighLevel's [rebilling wallets FAQ](https://help.gohighlevel.com/support/solutions/articles/155000002095?fp%5Fref=details) explains how it works: - **What can be rebilled:** usage-based services such as LC Phone, Email, AI and WhatsApp conversations. - **How the money moves:** with rebilling on, your Stripe account charges the client's card to preload their wallet. Usage comes out of your agency wallet and then the client's wallet. - **Markup:** rebilling without a markup is available on the $297 or $497 plan. Rebilling with a markup is available on the $497 plan only. - **Fixed monthly items** such as some subscriptions and hosting are charged directly to the card on file instead of the wallet. The leak to watch for: a client on a flat plan with heavy usage and no rebilling. A busy client sending thousands of texts or running Voice AI all day can eat the margin of the whole plan. Turn rebilling on from day one, and decide whether to include a usage allowance in each tier or bill all usage at cost plus markup. The same FAQ notes that LC services pause if a wallet goes negative and resume after a successful reload. Tell clients this up front so a paused phone number doesn't come as a surprise. ## Failed Payments and Dunning Cards expire, get replaced or hit their limit. What happens next depends on two systems: Stripe and HighLevel. ### Stripe's retries Stripe Billing can retry failed subscription payments automatically. [Stripe's Smart Retries](https://docs.stripe.com/billing/revenue-recovery/smart-retries) pick the best times to retry, and the recommended default is 8 tries within 2 weeks. You also choose what happens if every retry fails: cancel the subscription, mark it unpaid, leave it past due or pause it. Some declines, like a card reported lost or stolen, can't be retried until the client adds a new card. ### HighLevel's suspension setting HighLevel doesn't lock out unpaid clients unless you tell it to. In the SaaS Configurator, turn on "Suspend Sub-Accounts when their SAAS subscription fails." According to HighLevel's [pause and resume guide](https://help.gohighlevel.com/support/solutions/articles/48001230403?fp%5Fref=details), a subscription counts as failed when Stripe shows it as canceled, past due, incomplete or incomplete expired. When a SaaS sub-account is paused, the client sees a screen to reactivate, an admin can update the card and the account resumes automatically once payment goes through. One catch: pausing sets all of the account's workflows to draft, so check that they're republished after it resumes. ### The human follow-up - Send your own friendly "your card didn't go through" message on day one, before any suspension. - Call clients on higher tiers. A two-minute call keeps a good client. - Decide your grace period on purpose and write it into your terms. ## Testing Everything Without Real Cards Don't let your first real client be your test. Stripe has a test mode with published test card numbers for successful payments, declines and cards that need authentication. Our step-by-step guide to [testing Stripe payments in HighLevel without real cards](https://netpartners.marketing/how-to-test-stripe-payments-in-gohighlevel-without-using-real-credit-cards/) shows how to set it up. Before launch, run through this checklist: 1. Sign up for each plan from your pricing page and confirm the right snapshot loads. 2. Upgrade and downgrade between plans in the same category. 3. Use a declining test card and confirm the suspension, the reactivation screen and your own follow-up message. 4. Run usage in a test account and watch the wallet charge and reload. 5. Cancel a test subscription and confirm what the client sees. Our [complete HighLevel SaaS setup and sales playbook](https://netpartners.marketing/the-complete-highlevel-saas-setup-sales-playbook/) covers the rest of the launch, from offer to onboarding. ✅ **Launch Your Own SaaS** 30 days free to build your plans, connect Stripe and test billing end to end. [Get 30 days free](https://www.gohighlevel.com/details-ai-agency-white-label?fp%5Fref=details) ## More From NetPartners - [Email deliverability for HighLevel agencies](https://netpartners.marketing/email-deliverability-highlevel-dmarc-dkim-spf/): the other onboarding step that saves you support tickets. - [What Google's AI Overview gets right about white-label SaaS platforms](https://netpartnersmarketing.substack.com/p/what-googles-ai-overview-gets-right): our September edition on Substack. - [The tow company that answers at 2 AM gets the job](https://netpartners.beehiiv.com/p/the-tow-company-that-answers-at-2-am-gets-the-job): Saturday's edition on beehiiv, and a good example of why Voice AI usage needs rebilling. - [r/highlevelaffiliates](https://www.reddit.com/r/highlevelaffiliates/): our small community for HighLevel users and affiliates. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Which HighLevel plan includes SaaS Mode? The Agency Pro plan, at $497 a month or $4,970 a year. The Starter and Unlimited plans don't include it. ### How much does Stripe charge for SaaS Mode payments? Stripe's standard US pricing is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card charge, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% when currency conversion is needed. ### Can I mark up phone, email and AI usage? Yes, on the $497 plan. HighLevel's rebilling FAQ says rebilling without a markup is available on the $297 or $497 plan, while rebilling with a markup is on the $497 plan only. ### What happens when a SaaS client's payment fails? Stripe retries the payment based on your retry settings. If you've turned on "Suspend Sub-Accounts when their SAAS subscription fails," HighLevel pauses the account and shows the client a screen to reactivate. It resumes automatically once they pay. ### What happens if a client's wallet runs out? LC services like phone and email pause when the wallet goes negative and resume after a successful reload. Auto-reload with a card on file helps prevent this. ### How do I test SaaS billing without real cards? Use Stripe's test mode and its published test card numbers to run sign-ups, upgrades, declines and cancellations before any real client signs up.