Team, workspaces & billing
Third-party accounts and costs
Which plan features and add-ons need your own account with Twilio, an AI provider, Meta or an e-mail provider, what NextCRM includes, who bills which usage, and how to see whether an add-on is ready to use.
4 min read Updated October 19, 2026
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Some NextCRM features run entirely on services that NextCRM provides. Others connect NextCRM to your own account with another company, for example Twilio for SMS or your own AI provider key. For those, you need the account yourself, and the provider bills its usage directly to you - in addition to your NextCRM subscription. NextCRM shows this everywhere you can buy something, so there are no surprises.
Where you see the requirements
- Add-ons tab (Plan & billing > Add-ons): every add-on card shows Needs your own ... account when it depends on an external account. Open an add-on to see the full Requirements block: what you need, what NextCRM includes, a link to the setup guide and to the provider's website. See Add-ons.
- Plan Upgrade tab: in the plan comparison, features that need an external account carry a small marker. Click it for the details. See Plan Upgrade.
- Before you buy: the purchase dialog repeats the requirements. For add-ons that need your own account you must tick I understand that this purchase needs my own ... account ... before the purchase button becomes active. NextCRM stores this confirmation (who, when, which requirements) with the order; it is shown in the order details.
- After you buy: Billing shows a setup status for each requirement of your add-ons and a Set up now button that opens the matching Configuration step (or AI Config).
What NextCRM includes and what you bring
| Feature or add-on | What you need | Who bills the usage |
|---|---|---|
| AI credits (managed AI, AI credit packs) | Nothing - included by NextCRM | Your plan's AI credits |
| Bring Your Own AI Provider | Your own API key from Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude) or xAI Grok | The AI provider bills tokens directly to you |
| Managed Voice packs (Lora voice) | Nothing - NextCRM's Google Gemini account is included | Your voice pack's voice tokens |
| Lora voice with your own Gemini key | The Google Gemini key of Bring Your Own AI - no voice add-on needed | Google bills the voice tokens directly to you |
| SMS messaging and SMS campaigns | Your own Twilio account and your own phone number or Messaging Service | Twilio bills messages and number rental directly to you |
| Social Inbox and WhatsApp campaigns | Your own WhatsApp Business (Meta), Facebook/Instagram, Telegram, TikTok or LinkedIn app or account | Meta bills WhatsApp conversation fees directly to you |
| E-mail sending, Email Inbox and e-mail campaigns | Your own e-mail account or e-mail service (SMTP, Gmail, SendGrid, Mailgun, Amazon SES) | Your e-mail provider's own plan applies |
| Lead Intelligence (OSINT) | Nothing - included by NextCRM | Your monthly OSINT runs |
| Extra seats, funnels and active leads | Nothing | Only your NextCRM subscription |
Phone calls through NextCRM use your own Twilio account, and Twilio bills call minutes, numbers and recordings directly to you (see Calling with Twilio). Call logging on a lead records calls you made elsewhere. Payments for NextCRM itself are processed by Stripe - you never need a Stripe account.
Note: Third-party prices are set by the providers and can change. Check the provider's website for current prices before you start.
Setup status of your add-ons
For every add-on you own (bought, included in your plan or granted by NextCRM), the Billing and Add-ons tabs show one status per requirement:
- Not connected - nothing is set up yet. Click Set up now.
- Connected but not verified - settings are saved, but the provider has not confirmed them yet, or a test mode is active. Run the connection test in the matching Configuration step.
- Ready - the provider confirmed your account and the add-on can be used.
As long as a requirement is missing, the add-on shows Purchased - setup required, and Workspace Admins see a notice on the dashboard. Add-ons granted by NextCRM show the same requirements and status, without a purchase confirmation.
Where to set things up:
- Twilio: Configuration > SMS - see SMS setup.
- AI provider keys (the Gemini key also covers Lora voice): Settings > AI Config - see AI configuration.
- WhatsApp and social networks: Configuration > Social - see WhatsApp Business setup and Social connections overview.
- E-mail: Configuration > Email - see Email setup.
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- Inviting your team How to invite colleagues by email, choose their roles, resend or revoke invitations, how team seats are counted, what the invited person sees and how invitations work for people who already use NextCRM in another workspace. 6 min read
- Working with multiple workspaces One login for several workspaces: choosing one at sign-in, switching, creating a workspace for another company, invitations, roles per workspace and leaving. 3 min read