📋 Overview
If you recently upgraded to the annual Pro plan, you may have questions about when your plan starts, how your proration credit works, why your renewal date looks different than expected, and how many Google Ads accounts you can connect. This article answers each of those questions clearly.
📅 When Does My Annual Pro Plan Start?
Your annual Pro plan becomes active on the day you complete your upgrade. You do not need to wait for a future billing cycle — access to all Pro features is granted immediately upon checkout confirmation.
💰 Proration: How Your Credit Is Calculated
When you upgrade from a monthly plan (such as the $199/month plan) to an annual Pro plan mid-cycle, Search Atlas calculates a prorated credit for the unused portion of your current billing period. Here is how it works:
- Your old monthly plan is cancelled at the moment of upgrade.
- The unused days remaining in your current monthly billing cycle are calculated.
- A credit equal to the value of those unused days is applied to your account.
- That credit is automatically used to offset the cost of your new annual plan at checkout or on your next invoice.
You do not need to request this credit manually — it is applied automatically during the upgrade process. If you believe the credit amount is incorrect, please contact our support team using the chat widget described at the end of this article.
🗓️ Why Does My Renewal Date Show July 23, 2026 Instead of 2027?
This is a common point of confusion and is usually caused by one of the following scenarios:
- Billing system display lag: Immediately after upgrading, the renewal date shown in your dashboard may reflect a temporary or cached value. Allow up to 24 hours for your account page to display the correct date.
- Prorated start date: If a proration adjustment shifted your effective billing anchor, the renewal date is calculated from that adjusted anchor rather than the calendar date of your upgrade.
- Trial or legacy flag: In rare cases, an account may carry a trial flag or a legacy plan configuration that causes the renewal date to calculate incorrectly. Our engineering team has systems in place to detect and correct these automatically.
Your annual plan covers a full 12 months from your confirmed start date. If your renewal date does not reflect a date approximately one year from your upgrade, open the chat widget and our team will correct it for you right away.
📢 Google Ads Add-On: Account Connection Limits
The Google Ads add-on allows you to connect your Google Ads account to Search Atlas so you can manage and optimise campaigns alongside your SEO workflows. Please note the following limits and requirements:
- Included on every self-serve plan: Starter, Growth and Pro each include Google Ads (OTTO PPC / Smart Ads) for 1 connected Google Ads account and up to 10 campaigns.
- OTTO Google Ads add-on ($199/month): Raises your limits to effectively unlimited Google Ads account connections and up to 100 campaigns. It can be purchased on any plan from Billing without upgrading.
- Agency plans: The add-on is already included, so it cannot be purchased again.
- Connection issues: If you are unable to connect even one account, first ensure you are granting the correct Google permissions during the OAuth flow. If the problem persists, our team can verify whether the add-on is correctly provisioned on your account.
🔍 How to Check Your Current Plan and Billing Details
To review your active plan, renewal date, and add-ons:
- Log in to your Search Atlas account.
- Click your profile icon or account name in the top-right corner.
- Navigate to Billing or Subscription in your account settings.
- Your current plan, next renewal date, applied credits, and active add-ons are all listed here.
🛠️ Common Issues and Quick Fixes
- Renewal date still looks wrong after 24 hours: Contact support — a manual correction may be needed.
- Proration credit not visible on invoice: Credits may appear as a line-item discount rather than a separate credit note. Check the full invoice PDF for a complete breakdown.
- Google Ads add-on not detected: Log out and back in to refresh your account state. If the add-on still does not appear, our team can re-provision it.
- Upgraded but still seeing old plan limits: A page refresh or cache clear usually resolves this. If not, our team can force a plan sync on your account.
💬 Need More Help?
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.