Help & Documentation

What is Service Plan Pro?

Service Plan Pro lets ServiceM8 field service businesses sell recurring membership plans to their customers. You set up your plans once, and the platform handles billing automatically — either via Stripe for card-on-file customers, or via scheduled invoice emails for customers who prefer to pay by bank transfer or manually. It also sends digital service agreements and creates job cards in ServiceM8 when visits are due.

How to connect your ServiceM8 account

• ●Go to Settings in your dashboard and click "Connect ServiceM8".
• ●You'll be redirected to ServiceM8 to authorise the connection.
• ●Once authorised, you'll return to Service Plan Pro ready to go.
• ●You can disconnect or reconnect at any time from Settings.

How to create your first service plan

• ●Navigate to Plans in the dashboard and click "Create New Plan".
• ●Choose a plan type: Billing Only (auto-charge, no visits), Billing + Visits (auto-charge with scheduled job cards), or Recurring Invoice (send invoices on a schedule, no card required).
• ●Set your price, billing interval (monthly or yearly), and add member perks.
• ●Save the plan — it's now ready for customers to enrol.
• ●Use a template to get started quickly: the plan builder includes common HVAC, plumbing, and electrical plan templates.

Plan tiers overview

Plan Type A — Billing Only

Use this for plans where you charge a recurring fee but don't schedule periodic site visits. Examples include monitoring plans, warranty extensions, or priority call-out memberships. Stripe handles billing automatically. No job cards are created in ServiceM8 unless there's a customer-initiated service call.

Plan Type B — Billing + Visits

Use this for plans that include scheduled visits (e.g. annual HVAC service, quarterly pest control). You set the visit frequency when creating the plan. Service Plan Pro creates a job card in ServiceM8 automatically when each visit is due — you just dispatch it.

Plan Type C — Recurring Invoice

Use this for customers who prefer not to put a card on file — for example, customers who pay by bank transfer, direct debit, or cash. Instead of auto-charging via Stripe, Service Plan Pro sends a branded invoice email to the customer on a recurring schedule (monthly, quarterly, etc.).

Each invoice optionally includes a Stripe “Pay Now” link so customers can pay by card on that specific invoice if they choose — but they are never locked into automatic charges.

The business owner marks invoices as paid manually, or the system detects payment via the Stripe Payment Link. Overdue reminders are sent automatically based on your settings. Payment confirmations are still logged to the ServiceM8 client diary.

Use Recurring Invoice plans when:

• ●Customers have long-term relationships and pay by bank transfer
• ●You operate in markets where direct debit or cash is common (Australia, UK)
• ●You want to start managing recurring revenue without the Stripe conversation

How to create and edit plans

• ●Go to Plans → Create New Plan.
• ●Choose Type A, Type B, or Type C, set your price and billing interval.
• ●For Type B, specify the visit frequency (e.g. "every 6 months").
• ●Add member perks — these appear in the service agreement, customer portal, and SM8 job cards.
• ●To edit an existing plan, click the plan card and choose Edit. Changes apply to new enrollments; existing subscriptions keep their original plan details.

Member perks

Perks are the named benefits included in a plan (e.g. "Priority booking", "10% discount on parts"). You add them when creating or editing a plan. They are shown in:

• ●Digital service agreements — the perk list appears in the agreement the customer signs.
• ●Customer portal — members see their perks under "My Plan".
• ●ServiceM8 job cards — the job description includes the plan name and perks so your technicians know the customer is a member.

How Recurring Invoice plans work

• ●When a customer is enrolled in a Recurring Invoice plan, Service Plan Pro generates and emails a branded invoice on your chosen schedule (e.g. the 1st of each month).
• ●Each invoice includes the plan name, amount due, due date, and optionally a Stripe "Pay Now" link.
• ●If the invoice is unpaid after the number of days you set, an overdue reminder is sent automatically.
• ●You can send a second reminder if needed — configure this per plan under Plan Settings.
• ●When payment is received, mark the invoice as paid from Dashboard → Invoices, or it is marked automatically if the customer pays via the Stripe Payment Link.
• ●A payment confirmation note is logged to the customer's ServiceM8 client diary automatically.
• ●You can view all outstanding invoices, overdue invoices, and payment history from Dashboard → Invoices.

Plan templates

The plan builder includes starter templates for common trade plan types. Select a template to pre-fill the plan name, pricing, visit frequency, and default perks. You can customise everything before saving.

Manual enrollment

• ●Go to Customers and find the customer you want to enrol.
• ●Open their profile and click "Enrol in Plan".
• ●Select the plan and billing interval, then confirm.
• ●A digital service agreement is sent to the customer automatically.
• ●Stripe billing starts once the customer signs the agreement (or immediately, depending on your settings).

Bulk enrollment after import

If you've imported customers via CSV, Excel, or the ServiceM8 sync, you can enrol multiple customers at once:

• ●Go to Customers → Bulk Actions.
• ●Filter or select the customers you want to enrol.
• ●Choose a plan and billing interval, then confirm.
• ●Service agreements are queued and sent individually to each customer.

Shareable enrollment links (Growth & Pro)

You can generate a public enrollment link for any plan. Share it via email, SMS, or your website. Customers click the link, fill in their details, sign the agreement, and enter their payment method — all without you needing to do anything manually.

• ●Go to Plans and click "Share" on the plan you want to share.
• ●Copy the link or embed it on your website.
• ●Enrollments appear in your dashboard in real time.

How the digital service agreement works

• ●When a customer is enrolled, Service Plan Pro sends them an agreement email.
• ●The customer clicks the link, reads the agreement, and signs with a typed or drawn signature.
• ●A PDF copy is stored and emailed to both the customer and your business.
• ●Billing only starts after the agreement is signed (configurable).
• ●You can customise the agreement template under Settings → Agreements.

How job cards are auto-created for Type B plans

For Billing + Visits plans, Service Plan Pro calculates the next visit date based on the plan's visit frequency and the customer's enrollment date. When the visit date arrives, a job card is automatically created in ServiceM8 with:

• ●The customer's name and address from their profile.
• ●A job description that includes the plan name and member perks.
• ●Status set to "Work Order" so it appears in your dispatch board.

How payment notes are logged to the SM8 client diary

Every time a customer's subscription payment is successfully collected, Service Plan Pro adds a note to the client's diary in ServiceM8. The note includes the amount paid, the plan name, and the billing period. This keeps your ServiceM8 records up to date without any manual work.

What "unassigned job" means

Job cards created by Service Plan Pro are not assigned to a specific staff member — they appear as unassigned in ServiceM8. This is intentional: the business owner or dispatcher can assign the job to the right technician based on availability, just like any other job.

How to reconnect if the SM8 connection breaks

• ●Go to Settings in your dashboard.
• ●If ServiceM8 is showing as disconnected, click "Reconnect ServiceM8".
• ●You'll be taken through the ServiceM8 OAuth flow again.
• ●Your existing data is not affected — reconnecting just refreshes the access token.
• ●ServiceM8 tokens expire after a period of inactivity. Service Plan Pro automatically refreshes them in the background, but if something goes wrong, reconnecting manually always fixes it.

How Stripe processes customer payments

Service Plan Pro uses Stripe to handle recurring billing for Billing Only (Type A) and Billing + Visits (Type B) plans. When a customer on one of these plans enrolls and signs their agreement, a Stripe subscription is created. Stripe charges the customer's saved payment method on each renewal date and sends a receipt automatically.

For Recurring Invoice (Type C) plans, no Stripe subscription is created. Instead, Service Plan Pro sends invoice emails on a schedule. These invoices can optionally include a Stripe Pay Now link, but the customer is never automatically charged — payment is manual or via the one-off link.

What happens when a payment fails

• ●Stripe retries the charge automatically (typically 3 times over several days).
• ●The customer receives an email asking them to update their payment method via the customer portal.
• ●The subscription moves to "past due" status in your dashboard.
• ●If all retries fail, the subscription is cancelled and you are notified.
• ●You can view all past-due subscriptions in Dashboard → At-Risk Customers.

How to handle a cancelled subscription

• ●Go to Customers, find the customer, and open their subscription.
• ●Click "Cancel Subscription" — this stops future billing but keeps all history.
• ●The customer receives a cancellation confirmation email.
• ●Their data (plan history, agreements, visit records) is preserved indefinitely.
• ●You can re-enrol them in any plan at any time.

How to upgrade or downgrade your Service Plan Pro tier

• ●Go to Settings → Billing in your dashboard.
• ●Click "Change Plan" to see available tiers.
• ●Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades take effect at the next billing cycle.
• ●If you downgrade to a tier that has a lower subscription limit and you are over that limit, existing subscriptions are not affected — but you won't be able to add new ones until you're under the limit.