Firm activation and payment routing
How seat-subscription payments work when a firm activates — billing-contact links, payment methods, access policy, and how subscription charges differ from usage fees.
What you'll do
This page explains the one-time seat-subscription activation payment that starts a new firm on Kalivar — who pays it, how the link gets to them, what payment methods are accepted, and how it differs from the ongoing per-action usage fees.
Background: two separate billing streams
A Kalivar law firm has two independent billing streams. Understanding the difference upfront prevents confusion:
| Stream | What it is | Who pays | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat subscription | Pre-paid monthly subscription that keeps the firm workspace active | Typically paid by accounts payable / billing contact | At activation, then auto-renews monthly |
| Usage fees | Per-action charges for opening cases, receiving opinions, and requesting introductions | Billed against the firm's payment method | At the time of each action (card) or end-of-month invoice (Enterprise) |
These are billed separately and independently. Adding a payment method for the seat subscription does not change how usage fees are collected.
The activation flow
When a firm workspace is provisioned by the Kalivar team, it starts in pending activation state. No firm-context actions are available until the seat subscription is paid and the firm activates.
Step 1 — the activation link
An activation link is generated at provision time. It is durable and login-free: the recipient does not need a Kalivar account to open it.
The link is sent to the billing contact at provisioning. To request a new link, contact your account team.
The firm owner can also copy the link from the activation screen inside the firm context and forward it to their accounts team themselves — this is the self-service path when the owner knows who handles AP.
The link is single-use per session, not per person
The activation link is scoped to the firm, not to an individual email address. Anyone who has the link can open the payment page. Share it only with the person authorized to enter a payment method on the firm's behalf.
Step 2 — the payment page
The link opens a secure, branded payment page. From there the billing contact:
- Reviews the subscription amount and billing period.
- Chooses from the payment methods the organization has enabled — card and/or bank debit (ACH). The available methods reflect what was configured for the firm at provision.
- Completes payment. The chosen method is saved and becomes the firm's payment method for future subscription auto-renewals.
No Kalivar account, login, or password is required on this page.
Step 3 — activation
Once payment is submitted, the firm activates once a payment method is successfully added or once the first payment clears, depending on the firm's agreement. A scheduled go-live date can also be arranged with your account team.
Deactivation terms
If a seat-subscription payment becomes overdue, the firm may be restricted or locked out after a grace period, depending on the terms in the firm's agreement. Contact your account team if a subscription payment is overdue or you have questions about your firm's access status.
Adding members after the owner
Activation seats the firm owner — they accept the owner invitation and claim the workspace (see the activation flow above). Everyone added after the owner depends on the firm's plan.
Enterprise — Kalivar seats them (white-glove)
Enterprise seat assignment is handled by the Kalivar account team — contact your account manager to add a member. They create the invitation on your behalf, and the teammate receives the standard onboarding email and joins through the normal flow.
The Enterprise owner's Settings → Members page shows a "managed by your account team" notice next to the roster — they can still view members, change roles, and remove, but not invite. The firm-side view is documented in Managing a law firm → Inviting members.
Pro — the owner self-serves
Pro firms are self-serve. Once the owner has the workspace, they invite teammates themselves from Settings → Members (one at a time or in a batch), and billing adjusts to the member count automatically. See Managing a law firm → Inviting members.
The owner comes first
The owner is seated by accepting the owner invitation created at provisioning. This section covers every member added after the owner.
Notifications
- Firm owners receive a confirmation when the firm activates and the workspace becomes available.
Collection methods
Each billing stream has its own collection mode, and the two are independent — a firm can pay its seat subscription one way and its usage fees a completely different way.
For Enterprise firms, the subscription and usage streams each have their own collection mode (Immediate vs Invoice), set independently at provisioning — a firm can auto-charge its subscription while invoicing usage, or any other combination. Both streams share one billing contact and one Stripe customer, so every invoice — subscription and usage alike — goes to the same place; see Who receives invoices. PRO firms use a single immediate payment method for both subscription and usage — one collection mode and one contact across both streams.
Accepted payment methods
All three methods below are available across both billing streams (subject to what is configured for the firm):
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Card | Credit or debit card; charged automatically or via a Stripe-hosted invoice page |
| ACH bank debit | Bank account; charged automatically or via a Stripe-hosted invoice page |
| Cheque | Firm mails a cheque; cheque payments are reconciled by your account team |
Seat subscription — Auto-charge vs Invoice
| Mode | How the firm is billed |
|---|---|
| Auto-charge | The saved card or ACH account captured at activation is charged automatically on each renewal date. This is the default for most firms and is what the activation-link checkout sets up. |
| Invoice | Stripe emails the firm a subscription invoice on each renewal date. The billing contact pays by card or ACH on the Stripe-hosted invoice page, or sends a cheque; cheque payments are reconciled by your account team. A net-days due window (default 30 days) applies — the firm has that many days to pay before the subscription lapses. |
To change how your firm's subscription is billed — for example, switching from Auto-charge to Invoice — contact your account team.
Usage fees — immediate charge or itemized invoice
Usage fees (cases, opinions, introductions) are always billed separately from the seat subscription. Two collection options are available:
| Option | How it works |
|---|---|
| Immediate card charge | Each action is charged to the firm's card or ACH account at the time it occurs. |
| Itemized net-terms invoice | Usage is accumulated and invoiced at the end of the billing period as line items per matter. The firm pays by card, ACH, or cheque on the agreed net-terms due date; cheque payments are reconciled by your account team. |
Invoiced usage needs no payment method
A firm whose usage is on the itemized net-terms invoice does not need a card or ACH account on file for usage at all — invoices are paid by card, ACH, or cheque on the Stripe-hosted invoice page on the agreed due date. A stored payment method is only required for a stream set to immediate charge. A firm can therefore run entirely on invoices — subscription and usage — with no payment method on file.
The two streams are fully independent
A firm can pay its seat subscription by cheque (Invoice mode) while paying usage fees by card — or any other combination. Changing the collection mode on one stream does not affect the other. Card, ACH, and cheque remain available for both streams regardless of which combination a firm uses.
Adding a usage card when the subscription is invoiced
One combination needs a little extra setup: a firm whose subscription is on Invoice (paid by cheque or net-terms) but whose usage is on immediate charge. The subscription is paid by invoice, so the activation checkout never captures a card — yet immediate usage still needs a card or ACH account on file to charge each action against.
For this combination, Kalivar sends the billing contact a usage payment-method setup link at provisioning. It opens the same secure, login-free page as the activation link, but framed around usage:
- The page explains that the subscription is invoiced separately and the card being added covers only per-action usage — cases, opinions, and introductions.
- Nothing is charged when the card is added — it is saved for future usage charges only.
- Once saved, the card becomes the firm's usage payment method, and immediate usage charges succeed against it.
The usage-setup link is how this card gets added
For an Invoice-subscription firm with immediate usage, this setup link is the way the usage card is collected. If the billing contact misplaces it, contact your account team to have it resent.
Who receives invoices
Each firm has one Stripe customer and one billing contact. Every invoice we generate — seat subscription and usage alike — goes to that contact. There is no separate usage contact: a single customer of record keeps all of a firm's billing in one consistent place.
The primary billing contact
The billing contact email set at provisioning is the customer of record in Stripe and receives every invoice directly. The field accepts multiple comma-separated addresses:
- The first address is the primary contact — the Stripe customer of record. It receives the activation/payment link (for Auto-charge firms) and every invoice.
- Any additional addresses receive a copy of each invoice.
Leave the field blank to use the firm owner's email as the primary contact.
Invoice copies
Invoice copies can be sent to additional recipients. The firm owner can be set to receive a copy of every invoice even when they are not the billing contact — this can be arranged with your account team.
A copy is a secure link to the Stripe-hosted invoice, where the recipient can view the itemized charges and pay if needed. Copies are sent automatically as each invoice is finalized and cover both subscription and usage invoices.
One customer, many recipients
Adding copy recipients does not create extra Stripe customers or split the billing — there is still one customer and one set of invoices per firm. Copies simply forward the invoice link to additional recipients in addition to the billing contact.
After activation — ongoing billing
Once active, the seat subscription renews automatically (Auto-charge mode) or via invoice (Invoice mode) on each renewal date using the payment method and collection mode set at provisioning. No further action is needed from the billing contact unless:
- The payment method expires or is declined (the firm may enter a dormant state — see Managing a law firm).
- The firm owner or admin updates the payment method from Settings → Billing inside the firm context.
Usage fees are separate. Opening cases, receiving expert opinions, and requesting introductions generate usage charges billed at the moment of the action (card/ACH) or on a net-terms invoice at period end. These do not go through the activation link — they use the firm's payment method and usage collection mode on file.
Enterprise invoiced firms
Enterprise firms on net-terms invoicing still use the activation link for the seat subscription payment. Their per-action usage charges, however, are invoiced on their agreed net-day terms as itemized line items — not charged to a card at the time of each action.
Tips
- If a billing contact reports the link expired or is not working, contact your account team to have it resent.
- The activation link does not require the billing contact to be a Kalivar user or member of the firm.
- Seat subscription auto-renewal uses the payment method saved during activation; update it from firm Settings → Billing if it changes.
- Seating members after the owner: on Enterprise, contact your account manager to add members; on Pro, the owner invites their own members from Settings → Members. See Adding members after the owner.
- A firm's subscription collection mode (Auto-charge vs Invoice/cheque) and usage collection mode are set independently — changing one does not affect the other. To change how your firm is billed, contact your account team.
- For Invoice-mode subscriptions, a net-days due window applies; cheque payments are reconciled by your account team.
- The billing contact field takes multiple comma-separated emails — the first is the Stripe customer of record; the rest receive invoice copies. Leave it blank to use the owner's email.
- A firm with invoiced usage does not need any payment method on file for usage — only an immediate-charge stream requires a stored card or ACH account.