What Stage subscriptions are
Stage subscriptions are optional monthly add-on plans available exclusively to Free Forever partners. Subscribing to a Stage increases the number of customers you can manage and can unlock additional AI agent types or One-Click Experiences.
If you are already on a paid partner plan, the Stage system does not apply to your account — your limits are governed by your plan directly.
Why your customer limit is enforced
Free Forever accounts include a fixed maximum number of customer slots. When you try to onboard a new customer after reaching that limit, the Partner Portal blocks the action and shows:
Customer limit reached — you have hit your current maximum. Subscribe to a Stage to add more customers.
Subscribing to a Stage immediately raises your customer cap so you can continue onboarding.
Where to find Stage subscriptions
Stage subscriptions are only for Free Forever partners. If you’re on a paid plan, you won’t see this section — your limits come from your plan directly. If you’re on the free tier and don’t see it, contact Knotie support to confirm the Stage system is active on your account before following these steps.
- Open the Partner Portal.
- Go to Settings.
- Look for a Stage Subscriptions card (or Upgrade Plan button) in the Settings page.
What a Stage includes
Each available Stage displays the following information:
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Name | Stage identifier (e.g., Starter, Growth) |
| Customer slots | Maximum number of customers you can manage |
| Monthly price | Billed monthly through Stripe |
| Agent limits | Optional increases to per-provider agent quotas (Vapi, Retell, ElevenLabs, GHL, Knova, Ultravox, BYO) |
| Experiences | One-Click Experiences unlocked (e.g., AI Business Audit) |
How to subscribe to a Stage
- Open Settings → Stage Subscriptions.
- Review the available Stages and click Subscribe on the one that fits your needs.
- You are redirected to a Stripe Checkout page — enter your payment details and confirm.
- After successful payment you are returned to the Partner Portal. Your new customer limit is applied immediately.
Upgrading to a higher Stage
If you outgrow your current Stage:
- Open Settings → Stage Subscriptions.
- Click Upgrade next to the higher Stage you want.
- Complete the Stripe Checkout flow.
Your subscription switches to the new Stage and your customer limit updates immediately after payment is confirmed.
Cancelling your Stage subscription
- Open Settings → Stage Subscriptions.
- Click Cancel subscription.
- Confirm the cancellation in the dialog.
Your Stage subscription remains active until the end of the current billing period. After that, your customer limit reverts to the Free Forever default. Any customers you already have are not deleted, but you will be unable to add new ones beyond the base limit.
What happens when you hit the customer limit
If a customer creation attempt is blocked, you will see an error in the Partner Portal with your current customer count and your current limit. To resolve it:
- Subscribe to a Stage (if you have no active Stage) to expand your limit, or
- Upgrade to a higher Stage if your current Stage limit is already reached, or
- Contact support if you believe the limit is incorrect.
Common issues
| Situation | Cause | Resolution |
|---|
| Customer limit reached when creating a customer | You’ve reached the maximum for your Free Forever base or current Stage | Subscribe to or upgrade a Stage |
| Stage upgrades are only available for free tier partners error | You’re on a paid partner plan, which doesn’t use the Stage system | Manage your subscription via Settings → Subscription & Billing |
| Stage cards don’t appear | No Stages have been activated by admins yet | Contact support |
| Checkout redirects to an error page | Stripe configuration issue | Contact support with the Stripe session ID shown in the URL |
