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Step 6 of the setup checklist. The step completes when your clinic is on a paid plan that is active or trialing — so starting the free trial ticks it.

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Start the free trial

Most new clinics meet this first as the page reading Let’s get your clinic set up — “You’ve got full access for 7 days — no card needed” — with a single Start for free button and No credit card required under it.
1

Select Start for free

The button reads Setting up… while it works. You land on Get Started with “You’re in! 🎉 Full access for 7 days — let’s set up your clinic.”
2

Or start it from the plans page

If you are already past that screen, open the plans page and use Start 7-Day Free Trial in the Try ClinikEHR Free for 7 Days block — “Full access to all features”, “Unlimited patients”, “Priority support”, “No setup fees”.
The trial is once per clinic. Once it is used you see Trial Already Used — “This clinic has already used its free trial period.” — and the only route onward is a paid plan.

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Compare and choose a paid plan

Select Or compare plans from the welcome screen, or open the plan step from the checklist. The page is headed Choose Your Plan (or Manage Your Subscription if you already have one).
1

Choose the billing period

The Monthly / Yearly toggle sits above the cards, with the yearly discount badge next to it. The cards restate it — “Billed annually at {total}/yr” or “Billed monthly • Cancel anytime”.
2

Compare the three paid plans

Starter, Essential and Team are on the page; Essential carries the Most Popular badge. Your current plan’s card shows the Current Plan badge and its button is disabled.The differences that matter most day to day are how many client records you may hold, how many staff seats you may fill, and whether the AI features are included. Full breakdown in Plans overview.
3

Select the plan

The button reads Upgrade to {Plan} if you are on the free plan, or Select {Plan} otherwise, then Processing… while the payment session opens.
4

Pay

You are handed to the payment provider — “Redirecting to Payment / Setting up secure payment…”. Complete it there and you return to your clinic.
Activating a paid plan while a trial is running ends the trial immediately: “Your trial will end immediately after payment.” If you want the full seven days, wait.

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What happens when the trial ends

Nothing is deleted. Your clinic moves to the free plan, which holds a limited number of records and drops the premium features — AI-assisted notes among them. Upgrading at any point restores everything, including the records you created during the trial.

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Check it worked

  • The banner at the top of the plans page reads Active {Plan} Plan with an Active or Trial badge, and either Next billing: {date} or Trial active until {date}.
  • The Get Started checklist ticks Choose a paid subscription plan, and the step’s own line changes to “You are currently on the {Plan} plan” — with (Trial Mode) appended while the trial runs.
  • The hero on Get Started no longer offers Try Essential free for 7 days.

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If something goes wrong

Payments are not configured for the environment you are on. This is on our side, not yours — contact support.
Payment confirmations arrive within a minute or two. Reload the plans page once; if the banner still shows the old plan after five minutes, contact support with the time of payment.
A renewal payment failed, and staff capacity is restricted until it clears. Use Fix Payment to update the card — “Your subscription payment is past due.”
Seats are capped by plan, and each billable seat is charged monthly. Some roles — supervisor, biller and scheduler — neither count toward the cap nor cost anything. See Staff seats.
Only the owner can change the plan. A manager sees the plans page but not a working checkout.
Full plan comparison, downgrades and cancellation live in Plans overview and Change your plan.