Paid workflow direction

Is the current MVP enough for paid users?

Partially, and the case is stronger after official-source research and tariff change alerts. The product now includes saved scenarios, scenario duplication, broker-ready exports, shareable broker-review links, source snapshots, China → United States official-source research, tariff change monitors, and a SKU catalog, so it can support early Pro beta users who need workflow memory, source review, and structured broker handoff. It is still not enough for a broad paid launch until source parsing covers more edge cases, email notifications, billing, downgrade behavior, and team collaboration are stronger. Users will pay when TariffsChart reduces a repeated business risk: wrong margin, wrong classification assumption, surprise duty, lost broker context, or late tariff changes.

Who is most likely to pay first?

Start with users who repeat the same tariff decision many times:

• Cross-border sellers launching many SKUs
• Importers comparing supplier origins
• Sourcing teams updating quotes under volatile tariff rules
• Freight forwarders and brokers who need intake summaries from clients
• Finance and operations teams that need a repeatable landed-cost approval workflow

Paid feature ladder

1. Pro solo workspace

Live beta foundation:

• Save shipment scenarios
• Duplicate and compare scenarios
• Export CSV estimates
• Export broker-ready Markdown packets
• Create private broker-review links so an external broker or internal reviewer can mark a scenario confirmed or needs more information
• Maintain a SKU catalog with classification status
• Save source snapshots with URL, retrieval date, confidence label, route, and HS/HTS context
• Run China → United States official-source research with USITC HTS lookup, structured official-source checklist, and source snapshot drafts
• Monitor saved official source snapshots and create alerts when source fingerprints change or checks need attention

Next Pro gaps:

• CSV templates and bulk imports
• Stronger parsing for compound/specific rates and Chapter 99 references
• Email notifications for open change alerts
• Change log for rate and assumption updates
• Margin alert when landed cost exceeds a threshold

2. Data-backed tariff charts

• Country-pair tariff chart by HS code
• Official source snapshots and retrieval dates
• Base duty versus additional duty separation
• Source-monitor alerts for saved HS/origin/destination combinations
• Confidence labels: official, user-entered, inferred, broker-confirmed

3. Team and broker workflows

• Team workspace and roles
• Approval status for assumptions
• Broker-ready export with source links and notes
• Comment threads and audit trail
• Shared product catalog with HS-code assumptions

4. API and integrations

• Shopify or marketplace margin checks
• ERP/catalog imports
• Landed-cost API for pre-quote planning
• Webhooks for tariff-change alerts

Recommended pricing experiment

Saved scenarios, source snapshots, broker-review links, China → United States official-source research, and tariff change alerts are now live in beta, but paid checkout should still wait until billing/webhook/downgrade flows are reliable and source parsing is proven with real users. Use early access first:

• Free: calculator, share link, CSV export
• Pro beta: $19–$49/month for saved scenarios, comparison, exports, SKU catalog, official-source research, source snapshots, tariff change alerts, and broker-review links
• Team pilot: $199+/month for shared workspace, review workflow, and onboarding

The first paid promise should be operational: “never lose the assumptions behind a tariff estimate,” not “we guarantee final duties.”

Beta entitlement model now implemented

The current product uses a conservative entitlement model instead of public checkout:

• Free signed-in users can test the workspace with limited saved records.
• Pro beta and Team pilot access are granted manually through the existing subscription table.
• API routes enforce record limits for scenarios, SKU records, and source snapshots.
• Pricing remains an early-access request flow until billing, webhooks, downgrade behavior, source automation, team collaboration, and legal review are production-ready.

Manual grant example:

pnpm tariff:grant-plan -- --email=user@example.com --plan=pro-beta --expires-days=90

This lets the product collect real pilot usage without promising guaranteed duties or fully automated compliance decisions.