Choose and change your SamBooks subscription plan

Compare the four SamBooks plans, subscribe to the right one, upgrade in one click, or move to a lower plan from the payment portal.

What this is for

SamBooks runs on a subscription: every company has a plan that sets how many electronic invoices it can book each period and how much it can use Sam every day. This guide covers the four available plans, how to subscribe for the first time, how to upgrade, why moving to a lower plan isn't a self-service action, and how to read your current usage.

Everything lives under Settings → Company settings → Subscription, the card labeled "Plan, usage and billing for your company." The same page is also reachable from the Subscription entry in the left-hand menu — it's the same screen.

The four plans

Prices always exclude VAT and are per company; journal entries and bookkeeping lines stay unlimited on every plan.

• Forfettari ("Mini" for short) — €29.90/month or €299/year. Reserved for companies on the Italian flat-rate regime (RF19, "forfettario"): if your tax regime is different, the card doesn't even appear and the checkout is rejected. Includes 50 SDI e-invoices per month (600/year), quotes and proformas, projects and timesheets, Sam AI Mini, bank and transaction reconciliation, F24 and deadlines, and free collaboration with your accountant. It does not include standard double-entry bookkeeping, VAT management, or financial statements — those depend on your tax regime, not your plan: to get them you need to change regime, not just switch plans.
• Starter — €99.90/month or €999/year. Includes 200 SDI e-invoices per month (2,400/year), complete double-entry bookkeeping (chart of accounts, journal, ledger), projects and timesheets, Sam AI, unlimited users, the Finance area (bank, due dates, F24), filings (VAT, settlements, CEE financial statements), and a mailbox connected to Outlook or Gmail.
• Pro — €199.90/month or €1,999/year. Everything in Starter, plus: 500 SDI e-invoices per month (6,000/year), extended Sam AI usage, priority support, API and third-party integrations, automated workflows, and the Logistics and warehouse module (items, stock, orders, delivery notes, shipments).
• Tailored ("Unlimited" for short) — tailored pricing, "Talk to us" CTA. Everything in Pro, plus: tailored SDI e-invoice volume, tailored Sam AI usage, tailored integrations with your business systems (CRM, WMS, ERP), bespoke customizations by industry or business need, and a dedicated account manager with white-glove onboarding.

Switching to annual billing means paying 12 months upfront and saving roughly 2 months compared to the monthly price (the Monthly/Annual toggle carries a "−17%" badge, and on each card the annual price is flanked by "2 months free").

The 7-day free trial

Every new company starts with a 7-day free trial with full Pro-level access: you'll see the "Free trial · N days left" badge next to the page title and a dedicated note ("You have full Pro-level access during the trial. Subscribe to continue without interruptions.").

During the trial you can create, fill in, and save electronic invoices as drafts, but you cannot transmit them to the Italian Exchange System (SDI): sending to SDI is an irreversible tax act and only unlocks once you subscribe. During the trial the send button is disabled and reads "Sending to SDI is available with a subscription.", with a "See plans" link. Asking Sam gives the same outcome: the invoice stays a draft until you subscribe.

If the trial expires without a subscription, the company moves straight to a locked state — there's no free fallback tier. The guide "Reactivate access to SamBooks when your subscription has expired or is locked" explains exactly what happens at that point and how to get out of it.

Subscribing for the first time, step by step

1. Open the Subscription page

Left-hand menu → Subscription (or Settings → Company settings → Subscription).

2. Choose a plan and a billing cycle

In the "Plans" section, use the Monthly / Annual toggle at the top, then compare the cards. Only companies on the flat-rate regime also see the Mini card, to the left of the other three.

3. Click the subscribe button

On every purchasable plan — while in trial or with no active subscription — the button reads "Subscribe to {plan}" (for example "Subscribe to Pro"). The Unlimited plan instead shows "Talk to us": it opens a pre-filled email to the sales team, not a direct payment.

4. Complete the payment

You're redirected to the secure payment portal (Stripe Checkout), where you choose card or SEPA direct debit and pay the full price of the plan you picked. VAT is calculated automatically based on your company's country.

5. Back on SamBooks

Once payment completes, you land back on the Subscription page with the confirmation "Payment received. We're activating your subscription and issuing the invoice: everything will update shortly." Every successful payment automatically generates the electronic invoice for your SamBooks subscription (TD01), which you'll then receive through SDI. If you cancel checkout without paying, no charge is made.

Upgrading if you're already a paying subscriber

If you already have an active subscription (not in trial, not locked), the button on plans above your current one becomes "Upgrade to {plan}". Clicking it opens a dialog showing:

• the new recurring price of the destination plan;
• the amount due now, VAT included — the proration Stripe calculates for the remaining days of your current cycle, with a net + VAT breakdown and the reference period;
• a notice that confirming will charge the difference immediately to your saved card, while the full new price kicks in from the next renewal.

You confirm with "Confirm switch to {plan}". If the automatic charge fails — for example because your bank requires additional authentication (SCA) — the plan doesn't change, and you're offered "Open the management portal" to complete payment from there. At any point you can also choose "Or manage from the payment portal" instead of confirming in-app. The plan you're already on shows a "Current plan" badge with a disabled button.

Downgrading isn't self-service

Moving to a lower-priced plan can't be done from the Subscription page: if you try, the system replies that "Switching to a lower-priced plan is handled from the subscription management portal." To actually do it, go to the "Manage subscription" section at the bottom of the page and click "Manage payment & invoices": this opens Stripe's customer portal, where you can pick a lower plan, change your payment method, and see your Stripe receipts. From there you can also cancel your subscription, with the same effect as the button described below.

Reading your current usage

In the "Usage this period" section, near the top of the page, you'll find two indicators:

• E-invoices: how many you've booked out of how many you have available this period ("of {quota} this period"). If you exceed the quota, an "Exceeded quota" badge appears along with a notice: SDI transmission keeps working without interruption, but booking of the extra invoices stays paused until you upgrade.
• Sam AI usage: the percentage of Sam you've used today — not a token count. SamBooks never shows raw usage, only the percentage against your plan's daily cap. The counter resets every day. Once the limit is reached, a "Limit reached" badge appears and Sam stops responding until the next day, unless you switch to a plan with a higher cap (Pro has extended AI usage compared to Starter).

If you exceed your invoice quota, a popup notice tells you right away ("Invoice quota exceeded — You've booked {N} e-invoices out of {quota} this period. SDI transmission continues, but bookkeeping of the extra invoices is paused. Upgrade to a higher plan to re-enable it."), with a "View plans" CTA.

If you're on the Mini plan and your tax regime changes

The Mini plan stays tied to the flat-rate regime: if your company stops being on RF19 (crossing a threshold, or by choice) while still on Mini, access locks exactly like an inactive subscription — the same "Subscription not active" screen on domain pages — until you either return to the flat-rate regime or move to a higher plan from the Subscription page (always reachable). It's not automatic — nothing switches your plan for you.

Canceling and undoing a cancellation

At the bottom of the page, under "Manage subscription," you'll find "Cancel subscription." It's not an immediate block: your subscription stays fully active until the end of the period you've already paid for, then it closes on its own. As long as the period hasn't ended, the page shows the end date and an "Undo cancellation" button, which restores automatic renewal. This is different from reactivating an already-expired subscription: here the subscription is still technically active, it just won't renew on its own. Once the period genuinely ends, the only way back is subscribing again — the guide "Reactivate access to SamBooks when your subscription has expired or is locked" covers that case.

Ask Sam

You can ask Sam for your current plan, your usage this period, your subscription status, and the history of your SamBooks subscription invoices (this history isn't shown on the Subscription page yet, so asking Sam is currently the only way to see it without going through the Stripe portal). Changing the subscription — subscribing, switching plan, cancelling, undoing a cancellation — stays a manual action on the Subscription page: Sam doesn't perform it.

What Sam can't do is start a payment: there's no way to subscribe to a plan or make a paid upgrade from chat. Payment always stays a manual action, either on the Subscription page or in the Stripe portal.

If something goes wrong

• "This company is already on this plan": you clicked "Upgrade to" on the plan you're already using — nothing to do.
• The downgrade is rejected: that's expected — it's handled from the management portal (see above), not from the Subscription page.
• The proration charge fails during an in-app upgrade: the plan doesn't change; complete payment from the portal ("Open the management portal").
• "We can't start the payment right now. Please try again in a moment." / "We can't open the management portal right now. Please try again in a moment.": a temporary connection issue with the payment system.
• You don't see the Mini card: only companies on the flat-rate regime (RF19) see it — that's expected, not a bug.

Frequently asked questions

How much does SamBooks cost? From €29.90/month for flat-rate businesses (Mini plan) to €199.90/month for the Pro plan, VAT excluded; the Unlimited plan has tailored pricing. Every plan can also be paid annually with roughly 2 months' discount.

What plans does SamBooks have? Four: Mini (flat-rate only), Starter, Pro, and Unlimited. See "The four plans" above for the full comparison.

How do I change my subscription plan? For a higher plan, click "Upgrade to {plan}" on the Subscription page and confirm the proration charge. For a lower plan, use "Manage payment & invoices" to go to the Stripe portal.

How long does the free trial last? Seven days, with full Pro-level access (except sending invoices to SDI).

How do I upgrade to Pro? From the Subscription page, click "Upgrade to Pro" on the Pro plan card and confirm the proration shown.

I want to move to a lower plan, how do I do it? Not from the Subscription page: click "Manage payment & invoices" and choose the lower plan from the Stripe portal.

Is the Mini plan only for flat-rate businesses? Yes — it's only visible and purchasable by companies on the flat-rate regime (RF19); if you change regime you'll need to move to a higher plan or return to flat-rate.

How many invoices can I issue on the Starter plan? 200 SDI e-invoices per month, or 2,400 in the annual pool if you pay on an annual cycle.

What happens if I exceed my plan's invoice quota? SDI transmission never stops; only booking of the extra invoices pauses, until you upgrade to a higher plan.

How do I see how much AI I've used this month? The Subscription page only shows Sam's usage for today, as a percentage of the daily cap — there's no monthly summary and no token count.

Can I pay annually instead of monthly? Yes, with the Monthly/Annual toggle on the Subscription page: you pay 12 months upfront and save roughly 2 months compared to the monthly price.

How do I talk to someone about the Unlimited plan? Click "Talk to us" on the Unlimited card: it opens a pre-filled email to the sales team.

Related guides

• Reactivate access to SamBooks when your subscription has expired or is locked — what happens when the period genuinely ends without renewal.
• Connect Stripe to SamBooks — note, this is a different topic: that guide covers Stripe as the system you use to collect payments from your own customers, not the subscription you pay SamBooks described here.