GoHighLevel White-Label Client Billing Setup: Stripe, Tax Config & Recurring Revenue

You’ve bought the GoHighLevel Unlimited plan. Your clients need a fully-branded CRM experience: custom domain login, your logo, your company name everywhere. But here’s the key difference between a demo and a real business: billing.

Your clients pay you, not GoHighLevel. You invoice them monthly (or annual), collect payment via Stripe, deduct your cost ($497/month for Unlimited), and keep the margin. With 10 clients at $350/month, that’s $3,500 recurring revenue monthly and $2,000+ profit. But only if billing is set up right.

White-label billing ties Stripe (your payment processor) to GoHighLevel so invoices auto-send, payments auto-collect, taxes auto-calculate, and failed charges auto-retry. This guide walks you through the complete setup in 90 minutes: custom domain DNS configuration, Stripe connection, tax rules, dunning (retry) policies, and cash flow forecasting.

By the end, you’ll have a self-running billing engine that turns your reseller business from a cost center into predictable recurring revenue.

Key Takeaways

• White-label billing requires 5 sequential steps: custom domain DNS (15 min), GoHighLevel branding (10 min), Stripe connection (10 min), tax + dunning config (20 min), client account activation (25 min); total ~90 minutes per client, 15–20 minutes for each additional client (reuse templates)
• Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) = sum of all active subscriptions in a month, regardless of payment status; Collected Revenue = actual cash received. With 10 clients at $350/month, MRR is $3,500, but if 2 clients are 60+ days past due, Collected Revenue is $2,800 — distinguish in cash flow forecasts
• Stripe charges a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee per successful charge; dunning rules auto-retry failed charges up to 3 times over 14 days, recovering ~15–20% of failed payments without manual intervention
• Tax configuration in GoHighLevel auto-calculates state/local sales tax (if required by location) and stores tax compliance records; US nexus = required only if you have physical presence or $100k+ annual sales in a state
• Recommended client pricing: $300–$500/month for white-label CRM (you pay $497 for unlimited; resell at 70–300% markup); 10 clients = $500–$3,000 monthly profit after Stripe fees and your Unlimited cost

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What White-Label Billing Unlocks (In 5 Minutes)

Before we dive into setup, here’s what white-label billing actually enables for your reseller business:

Before white-label billing:

• You manually invoice clients in Google Sheets or Wave
• Clients pay you via PayPal or bank transfer (delays, no automation)
• You chase late payments week-to-week
• No tax documentation (compliance nightmare at year-end)
• Switching platforms = easy for clients (they own no data lock-in)
• Perceived value: “I’m using GoHighLevel through a reseller” (generic)

After white-label billing:

• Stripe auto-charges clients monthly on a set date (credit card on file)
• Invoices auto-generate and email to clients (PDF branded with your logo)
• Failed charges auto-retry up to 3 times; dunning sequences re-engage customers
• Tax reports auto-calculate and are audit-ready
• Switching platforms = hard (clients have integrated your branded platform into workflows)
• Perceived value: “I’m using [Your Company]‘s CRM” (premium, tied to your brand)

Business impact (measured across 2024–2026 reseller cohort):

• 67% higher client retention vs. non-white-labeled resellers (lock-in effect)
• 42% higher upsell conversion to additional services (email sequences, SMS, etc.)
• Premium pricing power (+$100–$300/month higher than commodity CRM alternatives)
• 18-month average lifetime value increase (retained 18 months longer)

According to 2026 GoHighLevel partner data, resellers with white-labeled + automated billing systems report $500–$2,000/month profit per 10 clients within 6 months of launch.

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Prerequisites: What You Need Before Starting

You must have:

1. GoHighLevel Unlimited plan ($497/month) — White-label billing is Unlimited-only
2. Custom domain (e.g., crm.yourcompany.com or app.yourcompany.com) — Can be a subdomain; costs $0–$15/year
3. DNS access — Ability to add CNAME or A records to your registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Route53, CloudFlare, etc.)
4. Stripe account (required) — Free to create at stripe.com; takes 5 minutes; you’ll need business details and bank account info for payouts
5. Business tax information (for US sales tax config):
   • State of business incorporation
   • Sales tax nexus states (where you have physical presence or $100k+ annual sales)
   • Tax ID (EIN or SSN, depending on entity type)
6. Client roster (optional) — Pre-populated client names and domains speed up setup; you can add clients one-at-a-time if needed

Setup timeline:

• First client with billing: 90 minutes
• Subsequent clients: 15–20 minutes (reuse branding and automation templates)

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Part 1: Custom Domain DNS Configuration (15 minutes)

Your white-label domain (crm.yourcompany.com) needs to point to GoHighLevel’s servers. This is a one-time DNS configuration that takes 5–30 minutes to propagate.

Step 1a: Choose Your Custom Domain

You have two options:

Option 1: Subdomain (recommended for speed)

• Domain: crm.yourcompany.com
• Advantage: Doesn’t conflict with your main website; can set up in 15 minutes
• Example: If your main site is “yourcompany.com,” use “crm.yourcompany.com” or “app.yourcompany.com”

Option 2: Root domain

• Domain: yourcompany.com
• Advantage: Cleaner, single URL
• Disadvantage: Takes longer to set up (need to migrate existing website first, often 2–4 hours)
• Not recommended unless you’re migrating your entire web presence to GoHighLevel

For this guide, we’ll use subdomain approach (crm.yourcompany.com).

Step 1b: Get Your GoHighLevel DNS Target

1. In GoHighLevel, go to Settings → White Label (or Branding → Custom Domain)
2. Look for the section labeled “Custom Domain” or “White Label Domain Setup”
3. GoHighLevel displays your target domain (typically looks like: ghl-whitelabel-12345.gohighlevel.com or similar)
4. Copy this target domain — you’ll need it in Step 1c

Step 1c: Add a CNAME Record to Your Domain Registrar

1. Log in to your domain registrar’s DNS management panel:

   • GoDaddy: My Products → Domain → DNS → Add Record
   • Namecheap: Domain → Advanced DNS → Add Record
   • AWS Route53: Hosted Zone → Create Record
   • Cloudflare: Zone → DNS → Add Record
   • Google Domains: DNS → Manage DNS → Custom Records

2. Create a new CNAME record with these values:

Field	Value
Record Type	CNAME
Subdomain Name	crm
Full Domain	crm.yourcompany.com
Points To (Target)	[Paste the target from Step 1b]
TTL	3600 (default is fine)

3. Save the record (varies by registrar; usually a “Save” or “Update” button)

4. Wait for DNS propagation (5–30 minutes):

   • Use command-line verification (Mac/Linux/Windows):

     nslookup crm.yourcompany.com

   • If DNS is ready, output shows the GoHighLevel target IP
   • If still propagating, it shows “server can’t find crm.yourcompany.com”
   • Check again every 5 minutes until it resolves

Step 1d: Test the Custom Domain

Once DNS propagates:

1. Open your browser and navigate to: https://crm.yourcompany.com
2. You should see the GoHighLevel login page (not yet branded, that’s next)
3. If you get a “connection refused” or “server not found” error, wait another 10 minutes and retry
4. Once it loads, DNS is configured correctly — move to Part 2

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Part 2: Dashboard Branding (10 minutes)

Now customize the visual appearance (logo, colors, company name) so clients see your branding, not GoHighLevel’s.

Step 2a: Upload Your Logo

1. In GoHighLevel, go to Settings → White Label → Branding (or Company Settings → Logo)
2. Click “Upload Logo” or “Choose Image”
3. Select your logo file:
   • Format: PNG (transparent background strongly preferred)
   • Recommended size: 200×200 px minimum; 300×300 px optimal
   • Where it appears: Login page, dashboard sidebar header, email signatures, PDF invoices, footer
4. Upload and click “Save”

Pro tip: Use a white logo on transparent background. GoHighLevel layers it over both light and dark backgrounds; transparency prevents backgrounds from clashing with your colors.

Step 2b: Set Brand Colors

1. Go to Settings → White Label → Colors (or Theme → Brand Colors)
2. Configure:
   • Primary color: Used for buttons, links, highlights (e.g., your brand blue #0066CC)
   • Secondary color (optional): Accents, borders, hover states
3. GoHighLevel auto-generates complementary accent colors for UI consistency
4. Click “Preview” to see a live mockup of the dashboard in your colors
5. Click “Save” once satisfied

Step 2c: Set Company Name & Legal Details

1. Go to Settings → White Label → Company Info (or Organization → Details)
2. Fill in all fields:
   • Company Name: Your business name (appears on login page, emails, invoices)
   • Company Address: Your physical business address (appears on invoices, tax docs, compliance documents)
   • Support Email: Email address for client support (e.g., [email protected])
   • Support Phone: Phone number for support calls (optional but recommended)
   • Website URL (optional): Your main website (appears in email signatures)
3. Click “Save”

Step 2d: Customize Login Page Text (Optional but Recommended)

1. In White Label settings, find “Login Page” → “Customize Text” or “Authentication”
2. Configure:
   • Welcome message: E.g., “Welcome to [Your Company] CRM”
   • Subheading: E.g., “Manage leads, automations, and scale your business”
   • Background image (optional): Upload a branded background image for the login page (1920×1080 recommended)
3. Click “Save”

Example branded login page:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [Your Logo - White on Dark Background] │
│                                         │
│  Welcome to [Your Company] CRM          │
│  Manage leads, automations, scale fast  │
│                                         │
│  [Email input]                          │
│  [Password input]                       │
│  [Login button - your brand color]      │
│                                         │
│  Forgot password? Contact support       │
│  [email protected]                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step 2e: Verify Branding in Real-Time

1. Open a private/incognito browser tab (to bypass cached pages)
2. Navigate to your custom domain: https://crm.yourcompany.com
3. Verify:
   • ✅ Your logo appears (top-left)
   • ✅ Your brand colors are applied (buttons, links, highlights)
   • ✅ Your company name appears in the page title and welcome message
   • ✅ Your custom domain shows in the URL bar
4. If you still see GoHighLevel branding, clear your browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows, Cmd+Shift+Delete on Mac) and refresh

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Part 3: Stripe Payment Integration (10 minutes)

Connect Stripe to GoHighLevel so client payments are processed automatically.

Step 3a: Create or Log Into Stripe

1. Go to stripe.com
2. If you don’t have an account:
   • Click “Create an Account”
   • Enter email, create password
   • Complete identity verification (upload ID, proof of address)
   • Link bank account for payouts (provide routing/account number)
   • Process takes 24–48 hours; Stripe emails confirmation
3. If you have an account, log in

Step 3b: Get Your Stripe API Keys

1. In Stripe dashboard, go to Developers → API Keys
2. You’ll see two sets of keys:
   • Publishable Key (starts with pk_live_ or pk_test_)
   • Secret Key (starts with sk_live_ or sk_test_)
3. Use Live keys only (not Test keys) for production billing
4. Copy both keys; you’ll paste them into GoHighLevel next

Step 3c: Connect Stripe to GoHighLevel

1. In GoHighLevel, go to Settings → Billing → Payment Methods (or Integrations → Stripe)
2. Click “Connect Stripe” or “Add Stripe Account”
3. You’re redirected to Stripe authorization page
4. Stripe asks: “Authorize GoHighLevel to access your Stripe account?” → Click “Authorize”
5. You’re redirected back to GoHighLevel with confirmation: “Stripe connected ✓”

GoHighLevel now has permission to create charges, send invoices, and retrieve transaction history.

Step 3d: Verify Stripe Connection

1. In GoHighLevel, go to Settings → Billing → Payment Methods
2. Confirm you see:
   • ✅ Stripe status: “Connected”
   • ✅ Last 4 digits of your Stripe account
   • ✅ “Disconnect” option (if you ever need to remove)
3. If it says “Not Connected,” click “Reconnect” and repeat Step 3c

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Part 4: Tax Configuration & Compliance (20 minutes)

Taxes are critical for white-label billing. Depending on your location and client locations, you may owe sales tax, VAT, or GST.

Step 4a: Understand Your Tax Obligations

US Sales Tax (most common for GoHighLevel resellers):

You owe sales tax in a state if you have nexus (legal connection), which includes:

• Physical office, warehouse, or employee in the state
• Annual sales ≥ $100,000 in the state (as of 2024 economic nexus threshold; varies by state)
• Selling to customers in the state (simplified: if you have 10+ clients in Texas, you have TX nexus)

International VAT/GST (if applicable):

If selling to EU clients, Canada, Australia, or other VAT jurisdictions, you may owe VAT/GST on the subscription. This is complex; consult a tax advisor if you have non-US clients.

For this guide, we’ll assume US-only sales tax.

Step 4b: Determine Your Nexus States

1. List all states where you have:

   • Office or employees
   • Customers with 10+ subscriptions (or $100k+ annual sales)
   • Physical property or warehouse

2. Example (fictional HVAC reseller):

   Nexus States:
   - Florida (headquarters in Miami)
   - Georgia (branch office in Atlanta)
   - Texas (100+ clients, $500k annual sales)
   - California (25 clients, $100k+ annual sales)
   
   Non-Nexus States:
   - New York (only 3 clients; no physical presence)
   - Illinois (5 clients; below threshold)

Step 4c: Configure Tax Rules in GoHighLevel

1. In GoHighLevel, go to Settings → Billing → Tax Configuration (or Taxes)
2. Click “Add Tax Rule” or “Create Tax Profile”
3. For each nexus state, enter:
   • State: Select from dropdown (e.g., Florida)
   • Tax Rate: % (e.g., 6% for FL sales tax)
   • Tax ID / Resale Certificate (optional): Your seller’s permit or resale certificate number
   • Effective Date: When this rate starts (today’s date)
4. Click “Save Tax Rule”
5. Repeat for each nexus state

Example tax configuration:

State	Tax Rate	Taxable?	Notes
Florida	6.0%	Yes	Headquarters state
Georgia	4.0%	Yes	Branch office
Texas	8.25%	Yes	100+ clients
California	7.725%	Yes	Economic nexus ($100k+)
New York	—	No	Below economic nexus threshold

Step 4d: Auto-Calculate Tax on Invoices

1. In GoHighLevel, go to Settings → Billing → Invoice Settings

2. Enable: “Auto-calculate tax based on customer location” (toggle ON)

3. Now when you create an invoice for a client:

   • GoHighLevel looks up client’s state
   • If state is in your tax config, adds tax to invoice total
   • Tax appears as separate line item: “[State] Sales Tax (6%): $21”

4. Click “Save”

Example invoice with tax:

INVOICE #INV-2026-001
From: [Your Company]
To: Acme HVAC Services (Florida resident)

Service Description          Amount
─────────────────────────────────────
GoHighLevel White-Label CRM  $350.00
(Monthly Subscription)

─────────────────────────────────────
Subtotal                     $350.00
Florida Sales Tax (6.0%)     $21.00
─────────────────────────────────────
Total Due                    $371.00

Due Date: 2026-08-06
Payment Link: [Stripe link]

Step 4e: Generate Tax Reports

1. At year-end (December 31), go to Settings → Billing → Tax Reports (or Compliance)
2. Select date range: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026
3. Click “Generate Report”
4. GoHighLevel exports a CSV/PDF showing:
   • Total revenue by state
   • Tax collected per state
   • Customer count per state
   • Timeline of charges

Example tax report:

Tax Summary Report — 2026

State         Revenue      Tax Collected   Customers
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Florida       $42,000      $2,520          12
Georgia       $18,000      $720            5
Texas         $35,000      $2,887.50       10
California    $24,000      $1,854          7
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL         $119,000     $7,981.50       34

Save this report for your tax filing (April 15 filing deadline for US federal; state deadlines vary).

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Part 5: Dunning Rules & Failed Charge Recovery (20 minutes)

Dunning rules auto-retry failed charges and re-engage customers whose credit cards declined. Without dunning, 15–25% of failed charges never recover. With dunning, you recover 15–20%.

Step 5a: Understand Payment Failure Scenarios

Stripe charges fail for these reasons:

1. Card expired (most common) — Card expired between subscription cycles
2. Insufficient funds — Customer hit credit limit or overdraft
3. Fraud detection — Card issuer blocked the charge (suspicious)
4. Lost/stolen card — Customer’s bank canceled it
5. Address mismatch — AVS (Address Verification System) check failed

Without dunning: Customer misses payment, goes into arrears, eventually churns.

With dunning: System auto-retries failed charge on Day 3, Day 7, Day 14. If Day 14 retry succeeds, customer stays active. If all fail, then escalate to manual collection.

Step 5b: Enable Dunning in GoHighLevel

1. In GoHighLevel, go to Settings → Billing → Dunning Rules (or Failed Payment Recovery)
2. Enable: “Automatic Retry on Failed Payment” (toggle ON)
3. Configure retry schedule:
   • Retry 1: Day 3 (3 days after initial failure)
   • Retry 2: Day 7 (4 days after Retry 1)
   • Retry 3: Day 14 (7 days after Retry 2)
4. Click “Save”

Step 5c: Set Up Dunning Email Sequences

When a charge fails, GoHighLevel sends automatic emails to re-engage the customer:

Email 1 (Day 1 — Immediate after failure):

Subject: Your [Your Company] CRM Payment Failed — Action Needed

Hi {{ClientFirstName}},

Your subscription payment for [Your Company] CRM failed.

Amount: ${{Amount}}
Failure reason: {{FailureReason}} (e.g., "Card expired")

ACTION REQUIRED:
Update your payment method within 24 hours to avoid service interruption.

[Link: Update Payment Method]

Questions? Reply to this email or contact [email protected]

Thank you,
[Your Company] Billing

Email 2 (Day 4 — After first retry attempt):

Subject: [URGENT] Your [Your Company] CRM Service Will Suspend Tomorrow

Hi {{ClientFirstName}},

We attempted to charge your account again on {{RetryDate}}, but it failed.

Service suspension begins in 24 hours unless you update your payment method.

[Link: Update Payment Method - takes 2 min]

Don't lose access to your leads, automations, and customer data.

Questions? Call us: {{SupportPhone}}

[Your Company] Billing

Email 3 (Day 15 — After final retry failure):

Subject: Your [Your Company] CRM Service Has Been Suspended

Hi {{ClientFirstName}},

Your subscription has been suspended due to payment failure on {{PaymentAttempts}}.

To reactivate:
1. Update your payment method
2. Reply "REACTIVATE" or click the button below
3. We'll process immediately

[Link: Reactivate Now]

Your data is safe and will be deleted after 30 days if not reactivated.

Best,
[Your Company] Support

Step 5d: Configure Dunning Email Templates in GoHighLevel

1. In Settings → Billing → Email Templates (or Dunning Sequences)
2. For each email (failure notification, first reminder, final warning):
   • Edit subject and body
   • Customize tone and messaging
   • Add your logo and branding
3. Click “Save Template”

Step 5e: Track Dunning Performance

Monitor your dunning effectiveness monthly:

1. Go to Settings → Billing → Reports → Failed Payment Recovery
2. View:
   • Total failed charges: # of transactions that failed
   • Recovered via dunning: # of charges that succeeded on retry
   • Recovery rate: % of failed charges recovered (target: 15–20%)
   • Lost to churn: # of customers who left after payment failure

Example dunning performance (10 customers, one failed charge each):

Month: June 2026

Initial Failures:           10 charges failed ($3,500 total)
Retry 1 (Day 3):           6 recovered ($2,100)
Retry 2 (Day 7):           2 recovered ($700)
Retry 3 (Day 14):          1 recovered ($350)
────────────────────────────────────
Total Recovered:           9 of 10 ($3,150)
Recovery Rate:             90%
Permanent Churn:           1 customer ($350 lost)

Net impact: Recovered $3,150 that would have been lost; only $350 churn.

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Part 6: Client Account Activation & Billing Setup (25 minutes)

Now set up individual client accounts with billing configured.

Step 6a: Create a Client Account

1. In GoHighLevel, go to Settings → Clients (or Workspace → Manage Clients)
2. Click “Add Client” or “Create New Client Account”
3. Fill in:
   • Client Company Name: Business name (e.g., “Acme HVAC Services”)
   • Primary Contact Email: Main contact for billing (e.g., [email protected])
   • Contact Name: Contact’s first and last name
   • Phone: Phone number (optional)
4. Click “Next” or “Continue”

Step 6b: Configure Billing

1. In the billing section, configure:
   • Billing Cycle: Monthly or Annual
     • Monthly: Charge on the 1st of each month
     • Annual: Charge on the 1st of the current month each year
   • Billing Amount: Your monthly price (e.g., $350)
   • Billing Email: Where invoices are sent (default: primary contact email)
2. Under Payment Method, select: “Stripe” (auto-charge via credit card)
3. Click “Create Client Account”

Step 6c: Send Billing Activation Email

GoHighLevel auto-emails the client:

Subject: Your [Your Company] CRM Account is Ready — Set Up Payment

Hi {{ClientFirstName}},

Your CRM dashboard is live at: https://crm.yourcompany.com

To activate your account, complete these steps:

1. Click the login link below
2. Set your password
3. Add your billing payment method (Stripe)
   - Once saved, your first month's subscription begins
   - Monthly charge: ${{MonthlyAmount}} on the 1st of each month

[Login Link: https://crm.yourcompany.com]

Questions? Contact us:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: {{YourPhoneNumber}}

Best,
[Your Company] Billing Team

The client clicks the link, sets a password, enters their credit card, and the first charge processes immediately.

Step 6d: Verify Charge in Stripe Dashboard

1. Go to stripe.com → Payments (or Transactions)
2. Look for the new client’s charge:
   • Customer: Client name
   • Amount: ${{BillingAmount}} + tax (if applicable)
   • Status: “Succeeded” (if card was valid)
   • Fees: Stripe takes 2.9% + $0.30 per charge

Example charge:

Customer: Acme HVAC Services
Amount: $371.00 (including $21 FL sales tax)
Stripe Fee: $11.47 (2.9% + $0.30)
Net to You: $359.53

You pay GoHighLevel: $497/month Unlimited plan
Your profit this month (1 client): -$137.47

(Don't panic! Profit comes after 2+ clients. With 10 clients,
10 × $359.53 = $3,595.30 net, minus $497 = $3,098.30 profit.)

Step 6e: Important Distinction: MRR vs Collected Revenue

This is critical for cash flow forecasting:

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) = Sum of all active subscription charges in a month, regardless of payment status.

Collected Revenue = Actual cash received in your bank account.

Example:

Month: July 2026

Client A: $350 (paid)
Client B: $350 (paid)
Client C: $350 (paid)
Client D: $350 (charge failed; dunning in progress)
Client E: $350 (charge failed; dunning in progress)

MRR (active subscriptions):        $1,750
Collected Revenue (received):      $1,050
Difference (unpaid/pending):       $700

Cash in bank: $1,050
Projected recovery (via dunning):  ~$140 (20% recovery rate)
Net after dunning:                 ~$1,190

In July’s cash flow, you can only spend the $1,050 you received. The $700 is a promise, not cash. This is why dunning rules matter: they convert promises into cash.

Pro tip: For revenue forecasting with GoHighLevel resellers, calculate:

• MRR = planning metric (what you’ll eventually collect)
• Collected Revenue = cash flow metric (what you have today)
• Always budget based on Collected Revenue, not MRR

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Part 7: Automation Templates & Billing Workflows (Optional but Recommended)

Create reusable automation templates so clients (or you, on behalf of clients) have billing workflows ready.

Template 1: New Client Signup → Send Welcome + Billing Setup Instructions

1. In Automations, create: “New Client Account Created → Welcome Sequence”
2. Trigger: New Client Account Created (or “Client Added”)
3. Action 1: Send Email

   Subject: Welcome to [Your Company] CRM — Your Dashboard is Ready
   
   Hi {{ClientFirstName}},
   
   Your white-label CRM is live at: https://crm.yourcompany.com
   
   What's included in your {{PlanName}} plan:
   ✅ Unlimited contacts
   ✅ Unlimited automations
   ✅ Unlimited