When you partner with Aloware, our dedicated sales team works closely with you to select the best plan duration—monthly, quarterly, or annual—that suits your needs. Unlike many SaaS companies that bind clients with strict contracts and pre-purchased licenses, we prioritize flexibility. You have the freedom to add or remove users at any time during your subscription. Some customers may have a minimum commitment, which is simply the minimum number of users they will be billed for each month.
In this article, we will discuss how proration affects your invoice when users are added or deleted from Aloware.
Your initial invoice
When you convert your trial to paid, we immediately charge you for the existing number of users in your account. Since our subscriptions start at the beginning of the month, your first invoice usually shows a prorated charge compared to your quote, and you will receive the full charges on your next invoice.
In this example, our client signed up for the uPro plan at $70/user/month. Since they converted on the 21st, we charge them a prorated amount of:
December 23rd to 31st --> 9 days out of 31 days in December
Plan Amount = $70 x 9 / 30 = $20.32
3 users at $20.32 = $60.96
This is charged on December 23rd.
Then, at the beginning of next month (January 1st), they will receive a full invoice of 3 x $70 = $210.
Invoiced Charges vs. Usage Charges
At Aloware, it's important to understand the difference between invoiced charges and usage charges.
Invoiced charges are any charges that appear on your monthly invoice. This includes user subscription charges, such as the monthly fee for the base software, as well as phone number rentals like toll-free numbers.
Usage charges, on the other hand, cover automated activities. Manual agent-initiated communication, including calls and text messages, are included in your subscription fee. However, automated calls and SMS messages, ringless voicemails, answering machine detection, and excess transcription minutes are billed separately. These charges are deducted from your Aloware credits, which automatically top up as needed.
In some cases, you might end up with a negative balance, which will be reflected on your invoice as previous debt.
Adding users to a monthly plan
When you add new users to an account, those additional users will be invoiced the next day, on a separate invoice at a prorated amount, as shown below:
In this example, the user was added on July 2nd and was billed the following day for the billing period from July 2nd to the 31st.
Adding users to a quarterly or annual plan
Quarterly and annual plans offer the same flexibility in adding users. However, we run a true-up process on the 1st day of every month to adjust your subscription user count to actuals. These will create an invoice (just like monthly), that is prorated according to your term, and is billed to your credit card on file.
The invoice will be charged on the first of January.
What about those pesky $100 invoices I receive?
Glad you asked :) those are usage charges, which are explained here. For more information, you can review our other articles in this space:
What Happens When You Delete a User in the Middle of the Billing Cycle?
When you delete a user in the middle of a billing cycle, the seat remains accessible until the next billing cycle starts. For example, if you have 10 users billed and delete 1 on the 22nd, you will not receive prorated credits, but the seat will still be available until the end of the month. If you add a new user, that new user will take over the deleted user's seat.
However, if you add a new user while still having the 10 existing users, the new user will be billed the following day. For example, if you have 10 users and add a new one in the middle of a billing cycle, the new user will be charged the next day.
If you add a user and delete another, charges will still apply for all 11 users. To avoid additional charges, it is recommended to delete a user first and then add a new one.
Do you have post-paid invoicing options?
Yes, Aloware offers post-paid invoicing and requires a contract. To utilize post-paid invoicing, please reach out to your sales representative or account manager.