Payment Method and Your Free First Form

Every business workspace requires a credit card on file before it’s fully activated. In return, the first form your workspace creates is on us.

Before you start

• Who can do it: only the workspace’s Owner can add, replace or remove the card. The Owner is whoever created the workspace.
• Business workspaces only: a personal workspace has no card on file.
• What you need: a credit card. You won’t be charged at signup.

Adding your card

1. Right after signup the workspace is in “pending payment” state. You’ll land on /workspaces/<id>/billing/setup, which renders a single Stripe Elements card form.
2. Enter your card details under Card details.
3. Click Save card. The workspace is activated.

If you close the tab before saving a card, your next login redirects you back to the same screen. You can’t access workspace settings, client intake creation, or submissions until a card is on file.

Why a card is required at signup

Two reasons:

1. It lets us verify a real billing identity behind your agency workspace, which keeps the platform safe for all users.
2. It’s how we comp your first form — when you add a card we grant a one-time complimentary credit to your workspace automatically.

You won’t be charged at signup. The only charge that happens during onboarding is the standard zero-dollar Stripe setup verification, and even that often appears as a temporary $0 authorization that resolves immediately.

The complimentary first form

Adding your first card to a workspace gives it one free form, on every billing plan. The next form the workspace creates uses it: a blank form, a copy, a Docketwise or CEAC import, or a member added to a group. A demo is free while it is still the fictional demo applicant; once you change its name, date of birth or passport number it becomes a real form, and uses the free form if it is still there.

Swapping cards later, for example when your old card expires, does not give a second free form. While your workspace has free forms left, Workspace Settings → Billing shows how many. DS160.io can also grant free forms, which are used the same way.

Invoices list free forms at $0, marked “First form, free” or “Free form from DS160.io”. If a form is made free after an invoice you already paid had billed it, the next invoice takes that amount off as a credit.

Managing the card later

Once your workspace is active, manage the card from Workspace Settings → Billing:

• View the saved card brand and last four digits
• Remove the card (puts the workspace back into pending state and blocks new submissions)
• Replace the card (clean swap; no free-form grant is re-applied)

How charging starts

Adding a card does not automatically subscribe you to a paid plan. Your dedicated success rep assigns a custom billing plan (tiered, fixed-monthly, or post-paid) once we understand your volume — see the agency quickstart for the broader onboarding flow.

If you have questions about billing, reach out via the contact options on the Agencies page.

Expected result

The workspace is active, and Workspace Settings → Billing shows the saved card’s brand and last four digits. Until the free form is used, it also shows Free forms left, and the next form your workspace creates is free.

Troubleshooting