I am on the free trial period and I think I will want more time to build my store before launching. I’ve heard there is a Pause and Build plan but I don’t see the option in the “Store Status” section - all I see there is “CLOSE YOUR STORE”.
I will likely want to transition to the Pause and Build plan after my free trial ends. Is this no longer available?
Hi, @yooohon .
Welcome to Shopify Community and to our platform. My name is Olivia and I work here.
Thank you for sharing your question, I’d be glad to help guide you in the right direction with this today. You mentioned you have started your free trial, and it sounds like you might not have chosen a plan yet. As such, you cannot pause your store, because there is no plan to pause from.
First, choose a plan from Settings > Plans and Permissions. After you have chosen your plan, you will be able to proceed with pause options as normal.
You will not be charged for your plan during your trial period, so don’t worry about any unintended charges by choosing a plan.
Please let me know if any other questions come up,
I have a basic plan active yet, I don’t see the Pause and Build. I only see an option for Sell and Close. Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong.
Hi Leonie Trends,
I upgraded to the Basic plan and after that, I was able to switch to the Pause and Build plan. I got billed $30 after my two-week trial but after I switched, it saved $20 subscription credit to my account since Pause and Build is $9/mo.
Thanks @yooohon but I am already on the Basic Plan and still don’t see the option to Pause and Build. I was hoping @Olivia_2 could help.
Hi, @LeonieTrends !
I appreciate you connecting with me @LeonieTrends , and thank you so much to @yooohon for providing their assistance.
There have been some changes since the original post, and our Pause and Build plan is now available to merchants 60 days after their trial has ended. I’d be more than happy to look into your store with you to confirm when this alternative will become available to you.
You can also easily calculate this yourself - since our billing period is every 30 days, this option will be accessible to you on the day of your third subscription invoice.
To explain the why behind this decision, the pause and build plans were first introduced to new and existing merchants at the height of the Covid-19 crisis. As we return to this new normal, we have decided to keep the pause options for established merchants.
Don’t hesitate to connect with me if you have further questions.
Warm regards,
Thanks @Olivia_2 I understand now. I’ll check back after the third invoice for the feature.
Thanks, @LeonieTrends , we so appreciate that.
If any questions come up in the meantime, make sure to connect with me.
Warm regards,
Olivia,
I have payed two monthly fees of $29.00 after joining on October 19, 2020. I also get the “CLOSE YOUR STORE” message. I want to Pause my store please. Help!
Hey, @Rho358 !
I appreciate you reaching out for support. The pause option is available 60 days after the free trial ends so technically this would land on the day of your third subscription invoice. Therefore, this option will be available to you after your third subscription is triggered.
You mentioned you had paid two invoices, so it will be available on the third one.
Please let me know if anything is unclear and I’d love to chat further.
Warm regards,
Hello @Olivia_2
Same need here. As I selected a plan to be billed annually before the trial was over, now I can’t find the date at which the trial ended. On “billings” I can only find a billing period, not a precise date. Therefore I can not determine when the pause and built option will become available.
I am a member since sept 24, 2020, plan was selected on nov 9th 2020. Trial period is 14-days at the moment but I can only assumed it wasn’t the case back in september? Because otherwise it’s been 77 days (more than 14+60) so I would assume the option to be available by now… But it is not.
Bottom line, I need the “pause and built” option for my store but I have no way to calculate when it’ll be available 
Do you have a way to find that date?
Hi, @MMTUM !
Thanks for reaching out and connecting with me.
I can definitely help you figure this out. Trial periods are typically 14 days long, but there are scenarios where this can be longer. A great example is the Go Digital Canada initiative, or our Covid-19 response, both which offered an exclusive 90 day trial earlier this year.
Though both of these extended trial offers have come to an end, it sounds more than probable that you were able to take advantage of one. As such, the easiest way to calculate when the Pause and Build option will be available to you is by looking at the date of your first subscription invoice under Settings > Billing and adding 90 days. It sounds more than likely that you haven’t had your first invoice, and could very likely still be on trial.
I’ll look into your account to confirm this with you. I will send you an email shortly, please follow up with me there.
Warm regards,
Thanks for the email and clear reply 
I’m so glad I was able to help, @MMTUM .
I noticed you didn’t get back to me on email, so I wanted to double check and make sure you didn’t have any other questions.
Feel free to reach out if anything else comes up.
Warm regards,
I have the same problem. I’m already on the basic plan paying $29/month and all I see is close the store option with a Covid 19 notification. I don’t see any pause option.
Hey, @Redgoat !
Welcome to Shopify Community and thanks for commenting on our thread.
Are you still experiencing issues with this? Are you able to show me a screenshot of the options you see?
Thank you so much,
I have a year-old site that is not doing well, so I want to pause and rethink the direction. I only have the Close or Sell option, as well.
Hi, @papadeddie !
Thanks for reaching out.
We’d be happy to assist you with figuring out why pausing your store doesn’t appear to be an option. We are unable provide account-specific support in this topic since this is a publicly accessible discussion forum but we’d be happy to continue assisting you through an authenticated live chat, email, or callback.
Please visit our Help Center and log in to your account to create a support request. When contacting support reference this topic, and provide as much detail as possible so our team can assist.
For the benefit of others who may find this topic, if you need to review, or make changes to your account, billing etc, anything sensitive please contact us via the the Shopify Help Center, selecting the live chat, email, or callback options.
Warm regards,
