---
title: "Plans and prerequisites"
description: "What each flow needs before it works, from a validated account to the plan features some flows require, with the error you get when one is missing."
canonical: https://www.charitips.com/docs/overview/plans
---

# Plans and prerequisites

> What each flow needs before it works, from a validated account to the plan features some flows require, with the error you get when one is missing.

Every flow needs the same three things on your account. A few flows need a feature of your plan, or a campaign set up a certain way. This page lists them, flow by flow, with the error the API returns when one is missing. Prices are on the [pricing page](https://www.charitips.com/api).

> **In short**
>
> - Every flow: a validated account, an active subscription (on the sandbox too) and, in production, a payment method.
> - Webhooks and API credentials: the API access feature.
> - Your users paying with their own money, or a receipt in their name: the B2C use case.
> - Accounts for your business customers: the account hierarchy feature.

## What every flow needs

### A validated account

Your account has finished its onboarding. Until then, no API token is issued: [create a token](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/create-token.md) answers `403 Account not active`. Creating or activating a campaign, creating or claiming a donation, and creating or casting a vote also check it, and answer `403 Account not validated`.

### An active subscription

Activating a campaign needs an active monthly subscription on the account that is billed for it: your own account, or a child account when they are billed directly. Without one, the activation answers `402 No active subscription found` (`NO_ACTIVE_SUBSCRIPTION`). The sandbox applies the same rule: if your test account has no subscription, ask us to add one.

### A payment method, in production

The account billed for the donations (again, the parent when the parent pays) needs a payment method, added in the [dashboard billing settings](https://app.charitips.com/settings/billing). Without one, creating a donation or a recurring donation, and activating a campaign with a fixed budget, answer `402 Missing payment method`.

On the sandbox, donations skip this check. Paying a fixed budget at activation still needs a payment method there: use the test card of the [Sandbox](https://www.charitips.com/docs/get-started/sandbox.md) page.

## What some flows need in addition

### API access, for webhooks and credentials

Creating API credentials in the dashboard and creating webhooks need the API access feature of your plan. Without it, [create a webhook](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/create-webhook.md) answers `402 Plan upgrade required`.

### The B2C use case, when your users pay

Your users pay for a donation with their own money, or get a tax receipt in their name. Charitips enables this use case on your account. Without it:

- sending `hasBeenCharged` or `withFiscalReceipt` when you [create a donation](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/create-donation.md) answers `403 Providing hasBeenCharged and withFiscalReceipt is only enabled for customers with a B2C use case.`;
- [donor widget tokens](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/create-donor-widget-token.md) and [a donor's fiscal receipt](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/create-donation-fiscal-receipt.md) answer `402 Plan upgrade required`.

### The account hierarchy feature, for your business customers

You create an account for each business customer, under yours. This needs the account hierarchy feature (`accountHierarchy` in [Get entitlements](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/get-entitlements.md)). Without it, [create a child account](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/create-child-account.md) answers `402 Plan upgrade required`. Read [Account hierarchy](https://www.charitips.com/docs/concepts/account-hierarchy.md) before you start.

By default, donations from your business customers are billed to you. If you want your business customers to be billed directly by Charitips, you'll need **Delegated billing**. Without it, the [shareable billing link](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/create-shareable-billing-link.md) answers `403 Billing delegation is not enabled for this account`. See [Bill your business customers](https://www.charitips.com/docs/guides/account-hierarchy-billing.md).

### Seats, for dashboard users

Your plan sets how many users each role can have. [Inviting](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/create-invitation.md) a user beyond that number answers `402 Plan upgrade required`.

## Flow by flow

Every flow below also needs the three basics: a validated account, an active subscription and, in production, a payment method.

- **[A donation with every order](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/donation-per-order.md), [Loyalty points](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/loyalty-points.md), [Unused gift card balance](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/gift-card-balance.md), [Card cashback](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/card-cashback.md), [A share of each subscription](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/subscription-share.md)**: nothing more.
- **[A donation for every referral](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/referral.md)**: nothing more. To have Charitips email the donation to the referrer, a campaign that sends by email, the referrer's `email` and `firstName` in `donor`, and a `sendingDate`.
- **[Round-up on every payment](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/round-up.md)**: nothing more when the receipt goes to your company. A receipt in the payer's name needs the B2C use case and the payer's name and address.
- **[Monthly giving by your users](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/recurring-donations.md)**: a recurring campaign, created with a `frequency`.
- **[Donation matching](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/donation-matching.md)**: the B2C use case, because the donation your company matches is one your user paid for.
- **[Customers vote on a budget](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/vote-on-a-budget.md)**: a fixed budget, usually invoiced at activation, on a campaign where people vote (`DISTRIBUTION`).
- **[Your users give their own money](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/b2c.md)**: the B2C use case.
- **[A campaign for a date](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/campaign-for-a-date.md)**: a time-limited campaign with an end date and a fixed budget, invoiced at activation.
- **[Donations for your business customers](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/account-hierarchy.md)**: the account hierarchy feature; delegated billing and custom domain if you need them.
- **[Employee giving](https://www.charitips.com/docs/use-cases/employee-giving.md)**: a call with our team first, to set it up for your software.
- **Webhooks, in any flow**: API access.

To know what your plan includes, or to enable a use case, [contact us](https://www.charitips.com/contact).

## Related

- [How Charitips works](https://www.charitips.com/docs.md#the-three-parties): who pays, who picks, who gets the receipt.
- [Billing and fiscal receipts](https://www.charitips.com/docs/concepts/billing-and-receipts.md): when each kind of campaign is invoiced.
- [Errors](https://www.charitips.com/docs/api-reference/errors.md): every error, by endpoint.