Pricing and Payment Questions
What is included in the monthly licensing fee?
The monthly fee covers everything you will need to host your community online; including the community creation wizard, email or website distribution and tools for analyzing your ideas automatically in real-time.
How do I upgrade my trial account?
When you are logged in as a community administrator, go to your Profile settings from the upper-right hand drop-down. From the Plans, Billing, & Invoices area of the left sidebar menu, click into your license. Here, you will see the option to "Upgrade Plan". On the Upgrade Plan page, your current plan will show on the left hand side of the page. From the right hand side, shoose the plan to which you'd like to upgrade. If your credit card is on file, simply agree to the Terms of Use and click "Change Plan".
If I upgrade, will I lose my data?
Of course not! You can upgrade your IdeaScale account at anytime and won't lose any of your ideas, comments, or users.
Are there any account setup fees? Cancelation Fees etc?
No, there are no sign-up, set-up, or cancelation fees with IdeaScale licenses. You can cancel your account anytime.
What is the minimum number of months one must subscribe?
There is no minimum! Use the service as long as you want, and simply cancel your account when you are done. Don't forget to export out any data before you go.
How does recurring billing work?
Our monthly billing plans keep your credit card securely on file. The card is billed each month on the day of the month that the billing began. Recurring billing remains active until it is canceled.
What determines the billing cycle or the date on which my card is charged?
Your billing cycle is considered the day you create a premium account to the same day the next month (or next year in the case of Annual licensing). For example: if you upgrade on the 25th of September, your billing cycle runs from the 25th of September to the 25th of October.
Can I change the day of the month that my credit card is charged for my monthly billings?
Customers older than 6 months may change their billing date.
Will I be charged the monthly fee even if I do not have "Active" communities?
Yes. The monthly service charge includes hosting of your community and access to idea reports and data download. You will have access to all of the tools as long as your account is active. For compliance reasons, if you choose to cancel your account, your communities and related data will be removed from our servers.
Our credit card has been charged for XX months, but since we haven't been using IdeaScale, can we have our money back?
Per our Terms of Use, IdeaScale does not issue refunds for the reason of limited/no use. WE CANNOT OFFER REFUNDS IF YOU FORGET TO CANCEL THE ACCOUNT.
Who do I email if I want to close my account?
For security reasons, we can not accept email requests to cancel accounts. Please open a support ticket at http://support.ideascale.com or call 1 (800) 549-9198 to speak to an account representative.
How does the 30 day guarantee work?
Sign up today, and in 30 days you aren't completely happy, we'll refund your money completely.
What types of payment do you accept?
We accept all major credit cards (Amex, Visa and MasterCard) for our Lite, Monthly and Annual licenses. We also accept check or bank transfer for Annual licenses and other specialty licenses (Government, University, Enterprise).
How long do I have to wait before my license upgrade kicks in?
License upgrades are instant! As soon as your credit card is charged, the license change is made automatically.
How do I cancel my license?
You may cancel your account at any time by going to the Plans, Billing, & Invoices area of your Profile.
Note: You will no longer have access to any of the communities or results. We recommend exporting data before cancelling your account.
Can I have a pro-rated refund for the XX unused months of my Annual license?
Sorry, but we do not issue pro-rated refunds for cancellations. There is a 30 day money back guarantee available to any user who is not satisfied with the software or services. The guarantee is valid 30 days from the initial upgrade of the account.
How do I export out my ideas before I cancel?
All your idea, vote, and user data can be exported out to a simple Excel spreadsheet or CSV file at any point in time. Search this knowlegebase for "reports" for a breadth of info on how to get your data out of IdeaScale.
Are there discounts for government agencies?
Yes! IdeaScale provides a free "Civic Engagement License" to all government agencies. Click here to learn more:
What happens when I upgrade from one annual license to another one annual license?
When you upgrade your account from one annual license to another, you are billed for the next billing cycle immediately. The license will be immediately upgraded and you will be charged a pro-rated fee that takes into consideration the remaining value of the license from which you upgraded.
Is my credit card information secure and private?
All your data is stored in our secure data center and is owned only by you - we never share your private information.
Can I add additional communities to my existing account?
Yes. You can add communities to your account, but only at the same license level of your original community. Additional Lite license communities are $15/month per community. Additional Monthly license communities are $99/month per community.
Do you provide free licenses for non-profits?
At this time we do not offer free licenses to non-profit entities. We consider non-profit discounts on a case-by-case basis and are happy to do our best to support well-recognized humanitarian and disaster relief projects.
I am not based in the United States -- How does the pricing change for different countries?
The pricing does not change. Your card will be charged in US Dollars, and depending upon your credit card company's agreement, you will be charged in your currency. The exchange rate will be determined by your credit card company.