Step 1: Track Trial Start in Stripe

• When a user signs up for a trial:

  • Create a customer in Stripe

  • Attach them to a trial subscription plan

  • Stripe handles trial_end timestamp automatically

Step 2: Stripe Automatic Billing

• Stripe automatically handles trial expiry for subscriptions:
  • When trial_end is reached, Stripe tries to charge the user’s saved payment method.
  • You can configure billing behavior in Stripe:
    • default_incomplete → subscription remains incomplete if payment fails
    • allow_incomplete → allows retries
    • send_invoice → send invoice for manual payment

Step 3: Optional: Webhook Notification

• Stripe Webhook: invoice.payment_succeeded or invoice.payment_failed
• Triggered when trial ends and payment is processed.
• Allows you to send notifications or update your database.

Step 4: Optional: Notify User via Email

Gmail / SMTP / Make / Zapier:

• Email template when trial ends:

Subject: Your Trial Has Ended

Hi {{Customer Name}},

Your trial has ended, and your subscription has been activated.
Amount charged: {{Amount}}

Thank you for continuing with us!
[Your SaaS Team]

Step 5: Optional: Update Database

• Log the payment status in Notion / Airtable / Firebase:
  • Customer Name
  • Email
  • Subscription ID
  • Amount charged
  • Payment Status