Add-ons, usage, and overage
Beyond your plan, Tarvent has a few ways to handle extra sending and larger audiences: transactional email and SMS add-ons, and, for accounts that use them, contact overage and auto-scaling. This guide explains each one, how it's billed, and where to track your usage.
In this guide, you'll find:
1 Transactional email credits
Transactional emails are one-to-one messages sent through the API, such as receipts, confirmations, and password resets. Your account includes a small allowance to get started, and you can add more by purchasing credit packs that scale from a few thousand up to millions of credits.
- Credits refresh with your billing cycle and don't roll over to the next one, so pick a pack that fits your typical monthly volume.
- An optional storage setting lets you keep transactional message data for longer, for an added percentage of the credit price.
2 SMS credits
SMS credits let you send text messages from Tarvent. A small starter allowance is included, and additional credits are bought in packs. SMS credits are a one-time top-up rather than a recurring charge, so you add more whenever you need them.
3 Contact overage
Overage is an optional setting that lets your audience grow past your plan's contact tier without immediately moving you to a higher plan. It isn't on for every account, so it applies only if your account has it enabled.
When overage is active:
- Contacts above your tier are billed at a set per-contact rate, shown in your plan view so you always know the cost.
- Overage is totaled after the billing period and charged separately, as a monthly true-up.
- There's a cap on how much overage can be added in a period, so your bill stays predictable rather than growing without limit.
- Overage doesn't apply during your account's first month of service.
4 Auto-scaling
Auto-scaling is a different optional setting. Instead of billing extra contacts at an overage rate, it moves your account to the plan tier that matches your actual usage, so you're always on the right-sized plan. Like overage, it's off unless your account has it enabled.
5 Tracking your usage
Go to Account > Overview to see where you stand:
- Your contact count against your tier, and any projected overage quantity and cost
- Transactional email credits used against what you've purchased
- Whether overage or auto-scaling is enabled on your account
Tip: If you regularly approach your contact tier, compare the cost of overage against simply moving up a tier. Your plan view shows both so you can choose what's cheaper for your volume.