Client billing for your clients
When you show billing to a client, its billing contacts get a Billing page in their portal and the billing emails. Everything carries your brand: the page calls you “your provider”, never Voice AI Portal. This guide shows what they see, so you can set it up with confidence and answer their questions.
Who sees it
Section titled “Who sees it”A client user sees Billing in their menu, after Analytics, when:
- the client is on Track only or Track and enforce,
- Show billing to the client is on in the client’s Client settings, and
- the user’s Billing contact switch is on under Users with access.
Other client users see no billing. Any billing email addresses you add for the client (up to 3, for an accounts inbox) get the billing emails but cannot sign in. To check the page yourself, open the client and select View as client: you see the Billing page exactly as a billing contact does, read only. See Bill a client.
The Billing page, card by card
Section titled “The Billing page, card by card”The banner
Section titled “The banner”One message at the top of every client page, the most important one at the time. What billing contacts read:
| Banner | Message to the client |
|---|---|
| Calls are paused | Your provider has paused calls. Contact them to resume. |
| Calls have stopped: minutes used up | Contact your provider to add minutes. Calls resume within a minute. |
| Calls have stopped: payment overdue | Update your card to pay the overdue invoice. Calls resume within a minute of payment. |
| Card payment failed | Calls continue until the date shown. Update your card on the Billing page to keep calls running. |
| Payment of the amount is overdue | It was due on the date shown. |
| Payment of the amount due by the date | A reminder of a payment coming up. |
| The date calls pause on | Shown while an automatic pause for an overdue payment is scheduled. |
| All minutes used | Contact your provider to add minutes. (Track only, where calls continue.) |
| Using overflow minutes | How many overflow minutes are left. Calls stop when they run out. |
| The overflow minutes used | Calls continue. Overflow minutes are billed at renewal. (Unlimited overflow.) |
| The chat conversations used | Text replies are paused until the next period, or conversations continue and are counted (or billed at renewal), depending on your settings. |
| The share of plan minutes used | For example 80% of plan minutes used, with the minutes used this period. |
Your plan
Section titled “Your plan”The plan name, Renews with the date, and the overflow terms, for example “Overflow: 75 min at £0.20/min, billed at renewal”. When the plan has overflow, the card adds: “Overflow minutes are used only after your plan and pack minutes. When they run out, new calls stop until more minutes are added.” A client without a plan sees Minute packs.
Minutes this period
Section titled “Minutes this period”The same bar you see: Plan minutes used, Plan minutes left, Packs and extras left, Overflow used and Overflow left, with the date the minutes reset and any calls in progress. Plans with a chat allowance show Chat conversations used this period.
Payment method
Section titled “Payment method”Shown when the client pays through Stripe:
- Stripe invoices: “Your provider emails an invoice for each period.” with the invoicing status.
- Card (automatic): “Your plan is paid by card at each renewal.” Before a card is added, Add a card opens Stripe Checkout.
Update card and see invoices opens Stripe’s customer portal on your Stripe account, where the client can update their card and see their invoices. If you allow it in Clients can cancel their plan themselves, they can also cancel there, at the end of the period.
Clients on Manual payments don’t see this card; How to pay and their Payments list cover it.
How to pay
Section titled “How to pay”How to pay shows your payment instructions, such as your account name, sort code and account number or IBAN, with a copy button next to each detail. See Get paid without Stripe.
Need more minutes?
Section titled “Need more minutes?”Shown when the client can request packs and you offer packs they can use. Each pack shows its name, minutes, price and how long the minutes last, such as “£40.00 · use within 1 year”.
| Button | When it shows | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Request minutes | Your Stripe account is not taking payments | “Request a pack and your provider sends payment details. Minutes are added once they confirm payment.” The client sees Request sent to your provider. |
| Buy now | Your Stripe account is taking payments | “Buy a pack by card and the minutes are added as soon as the payment goes through.” The client pays in Stripe Checkout. |
Auto top-up
Section titled “Auto top-up”Shown when you offer packs for auto top-up and your Stripe account is taking payments: “Never run out: buy a pack automatically when your minutes run low.” The client chooses the Pack to buy and When minutes fall to, reads the terms, and selects Agree, buy now and turn on. Once it is on, the card shows the terms they agreed to and Turn off auto top-up. See Create minute packs.
Payments
Section titled “Payments”Payments due to you. Each payment shows what it is for, the amount, due date, status (Due, Overdue, Paid or Void) and its reference, with a link to your invoice when you add one.
Invoices
Section titled “Invoices”“Download any invoice or credit note as a PDF.” Stripe invoices and credit notes for clients who pay through Stripe, and the invoices and credit notes the portal issues for manual payments if you turn on portal invoices.
Statements
Section titled “Statements”The client’s monthly statements, one for each period, while you send statements.
The client’s billable minutes by day, agent and channel for This period, 30 days or 90 days, with Statement CSV to download them.
The payment page
Section titled “The payment page”Every email about a payment links to its own payment page, which opens without logging in, so an accounts team can pay straight from the email. It shows your agency name and logo, the client’s name, the amount, due date and reference, your payment instructions, the invoice PDF if you issue invoices from the portal, and an “I’ve paid” button. Once the payment is marked paid it shows the receipt, and once it is voided it says it is no longer due. When Stripe is open for your agency, it also offers “Pay by card”.
“I’ve paid” tells you the money is on its way: reminders and any automatic pause for that payment wait for 5 days, and your team is emailed. The minutes are added when you confirm the payment. See Get paid without Stripe.
Emails
Section titled “Emails”Billing emails go to the client’s billing contacts and billing email addresses while Billing emails to the client is on, and to your team while Billing emails to your team is on. Your team’s emails go to the address in Billing emails to your team go to (optional), or to your owners and admins. Each email is sent once per event.
| Client | Your team | |
|---|---|---|
| Usage warning (for example 80% of plan minutes) | Yes | Yes |
| Overflow started | Yes | Yes |
| Overflow running out | Yes | |
| Calls stopped, and calls resumed | Yes | Yes |
| Calls paused by you | Yes | Yes |
| Payment due, with your payment instructions and the payment page link | Yes | |
| Payment reminders, before and after the due date | Yes | |
| Payment overdue | Yes | Yes |
| Pause warning, 2 days before an automatic pause | Yes | Yes |
| Client reported paid | Yes | |
| Payment received, with the receipt if you issue portal invoices | Yes | |
| Monthly statement | Yes | |
| Renewal in 3 days | Yes | |
| Plan changed | Yes | Yes |
| Client requested minutes | Yes | |
| Usage can’t be read | Yes | |
| Auto top-up failed | Yes | Yes |
| Auto top-up needs bank confirmation | Yes | |
| Chat conversations used up | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited overflow alert | Yes | |
| Daily digest, if you switch it on | Yes |
With the daily digest on, client requests for minutes, overdue payments and reported payments reach your team in one morning email instead of one by one. While monthly statements are on, the payment raised at renewal is in the statement instead of a separate payment due email. If you issue invoices from the portal, payment due emails attach the invoice.
Billing emails are sent through your own email sender when you have one set up, with your branding. See Configure custom email.
Questions your clients may ask
Section titled “Questions your clients may ask”| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Why did my calls stop? | The plan, pack and overflow minutes are used up, or calls are paused. Add minutes or a pack, and calls resume within a minute. |
| Why was I billed for overflow? | The plan has an overflow price, and overflow minutes were used after the plan and pack minutes. Statement CSV lists every call. |
| Do chats use my minutes? | No. Chat, SMS and WhatsApp text conversations are counted, never charged as minutes. A plan can include a number of chat conversations each month. |
| Are missed calls billed? | No. Calls that never connected are free. |
| When do my minutes reset? | On the date shown next to Resets, each month on the day your plan started. |