Bookboost invoices your subscription and your SMS and WhatsApp usage separately. They run on different cycles, so the invoices arrive at different times and cover different periods. That is expected.
The two charges
Subscription fee. A fixed recurring charge for access to the platform, agreed when you sign your contract. It is billed in advance on the billing cycle in your contract, for example monthly or quarterly. It does not change between billing periods unless your plan changes. Your tier determines which features and modules you have.
SMS and WhatsApp usage. Variable, based on the outbound WhatsApp Business and SMS messages you sent. Because volume moves with occupancy, campaigns, and guest activity, this figure is different every month.
Which period each invoice covers
Subscription invoice: the service period printed on the invoice.
SMS and WhatsApp invoice: the calendar month before the invoice was issued. The invoice you receive in September covers the messages sent in August.
One-off charges, such as onboarding, are invoiced once and are not tied to a billing period.
Usage is invoiced every month, even if your subscription is quarterly. One subscription period can therefore include several usage invoices, each covering a different month.
Why they arrive separately
The subscription invoice comes at the start of its period, because the amount is already known.
The usage invoice comes after the month ends, once your messaging has been recorded and counted. It cannot be issued sooner, because until the month closes the number does not exist.
What drives the usage charge
Channel, volume, and the guest's country all affect it. The detail is split across three articles:
How messaging costs work, for what is chargeable and why.
Estimating SMS costs, for the per-message rate and per-room bands.
Estimating WhatsApp costs, for template categories and market pricing.
What this does not do
Usage cannot be known in advance. The charge depends entirely on what you send during the month, so there is no forecast figure to check before the month closes.
There is no spending cap. Bookboost will not stop sending at a threshold. If you need to control the number, control the campaigns: review your active journeys and audience sizes before large Broadcasts.
The usage invoice cannot be automated by direct debit. Because the amount changes each month, direct debit and standing orders are not available for it. The subscription can be automated. See Payment methods.
What to do next
See View and pay your invoices for where invoices arrive and how to settle them.
Getting help
Open Help at the bottom of the left menu and choose Talk to Us, or email the Bookboost Finance team at [email protected]. Quote the invoice number if your question is about a specific charge.