The full runway
This is where StagePay pulls the curtain back: what each plan unlocks, where we save measurable time every week and why desk-first invoicing apps will always feel sideways for gigs. Nothing here contradicts local pricing in the app. Bundles are anchored to how the product ships today.
Figures below are illustrative lenses. Your mileage varies with diary density, geography and accountant setup. StagePay helps you organise the evidence so deductions you are already entitled to are not lost to shoeboxes, blurry photos and spreadsheets you meant to reconcile in April.
~10-35 min reclaimed
Chasing promoters, rewriting the same reminders and hopping between invoicing PDFs, notes apps and spreadsheets is the hidden tax between gigs. Automation templates and follow-up cadences exist so repetition does not chew into creative time before doors.
Receipts lodged & OCR’d
Every unsubmitted mileage leg, petrol slip and rider meal you forget to classify is money left on stage, or stress at Self Assessment. One-tap OCR plus venue-linked expense history keeps totals legible months later.
Cleaner PDFs & fewer rejects
Amateur paperwork slows approvals. Structured invoices, promoter lines and reminders that fire without embarrassment improve how buyers treat your fee, without you living in overdue admin every Monday.
Freelancer-grade tools excel at SaaS freelancers; spreadsheets are limitless and messy. StagePay optimises one axis: performers and crews juggling venues, promoters, receipts and repeats.
| Capability | StagePay | Desk-first invoicing apps | Spreadsheets & inbox chaos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gigs, venues & promoters in one thread | Gig-first model | Often generic line items only | You wire it yourself forever |
| Receipt OCR + gig-night capture | Designed in | Sometimes add-ons / fragmented | Camera roll purgatory |
| Local-first performer privacy default | Encrypted device storage | Typically cloud-centric | Offline-ish but anarchic |
| Optional cloud sync + automation queue | Pro+ opt-in layer | Varies by vendor | You build Zapier spaghetti |
| Regional tax language (UK / US / EU) | Regional presets | Often strong for generalists | Right only if you research |
Pro lifts intelligence, branded PDFs and the serious workflow. Pro+ unlocks Firebase-backed sync, the automation desk and payloads that persist across phones, billed separately in-region on the Stores.
| What you unlock | Free | Pro | Pro+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice finalize · brief Free-tier moment (helps fund StagePay) | Yes (interstitial rhythm) | Skipped | Skipped |
| Premium PDF themes & launcher icon treatment | Core themes only | Yes | Yes |
| StagePay Intelligence analytics & venue insight panels | Peek / locked where noted | Yes | Yes |
| Online StagePay account (non-anonymous recovery) | Requires paid tier | Yes | Yes |
| Firebase cloud sync, automation queue payloads & recurring schedule sync across devices | No | No | Yes (sign-in + opt-in sync) |
Product reality always wins over marketing shorthand. See pricing for live regional bundles. Open pricing ladder →
Those tools barely talk to each other. Move the pointer — only tiles near the cursor lean away; hover for a soft glow. Tap StagePay to pull the stack into one place: the real product is when venues, receipts, reminders and exports share one backstage brain instead of four silent subscriptions.
StagePay treats PDFs as three independent choices you can combine: your invoice template (worksheet fields and formulas — comedy gig, tour dates, promoter settlement), your PDF theme (palette and accent bands), and your PDF page layout (masthead, panels and where totals sit). Mix any palette with any layout; Appearance accent still blends into totals.
Three modular layers
PDF themes
Free includes eight curated palettes. Pro unlocks six signature finishes.
PDF page layouts
9 masthead & block presets — geometry only, independent of palette.
Tap any tile. The grid is an honest map of what StagePay is built to do. Under the hood stays local-first, with Pro+ bringing cloud-backed sync where you opt in.
These bundles map to workflows we ship intentionally, not gimmick lists. They are pitched at automation efficiency and quiet recovery cycles between runs.
Deeper dashboards, forecasting inputs and templated horsepower without shipping your rehearsal schedule to spreadsheets first.
Turn repeated mental load into repeatable flows that survive device swaps. When you sign in after purchase, sync activates.
Slide back to the homepage feature snapshot or reserve a beta wave when you are ready to live without invoice panic.
