What happens when a client sub-account runs out of funds, and why do my clients get a no funds email?

Billing is wallet based: we bill you, and you bill your clients. An account must have funds in its wallet to use a service. When a client account has no funds, it is automatically denied use of services, and the client sees a big red banner that says warning, no funds. This is different from systems that bill customers after they consume, which carries a risk of unpaid usage.

Charges stop for anything Votel can control. A few things cannot be refused, mainly inbound SMS and inbound email, because we still pay the cost when the message arrives, so there can be very small charges that take the balance slightly below zero.

A no funds or account paused email on a brand new sub-account almost always comes from the SaaS plan. If the plan starts every new user with $0 credit, each new sub-account is told it has no money. That is normal for a $0 start, but it is a bad experience for your client.

We recommend:

1. Open the SaaS plan and set the starting credit for new accounts to about $1 or $2, so new clients do not get an alarming no funds email or hit the banner right away.
2. Turn on auto recharge for your clients (for example add $10 when the balance drops below $10) so nothing is interrupted.