The eCourtDate Billing Portal is where your agency browses the catalog, orders new services, manages plans, tracks message credits, reviews usage, and pays invoices. This article walks through every screen available to you as a billing contact.

### Overview

- **What:** Manage your agency's billing profile, catalog orders, plans, credits, usage, invoices, contacts, and referrals through the eCourtDate Billing Portal
- **Why:** Staying on top of billing keeps your service uninterrupted, your credit balance accurate, and your procurement paperwork ready when your agency needs it
- **Who:** Authorized billing contacts with an active eCourtDate user account
- **Expected outcomes:** Full visibility into your billing status, the ability to order new services and upgrade plans yourself, and a clear record of credits, usage, and invoices

### Prerequisites

- You must have an active eCourtDate user account
- Your email address must be listed as a contact on your agency's customer profile in the Billing Portal
- Your Billing Portal login credentials are the same as your eCourtDate user account
- To submit an order that creates a plan, your agency needs at least one contact set to **all billing notices**
- If your account is managed by a reseller partner, plans and invoices are handled by that partner rather than in the portal

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Check Your Billing Profile

1. Log in to your [eCourtDate agency](https://app.ecourtdate.com).

![Login to Agency](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/01-Loging-to-Agency.png)

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the **Agency Setup** link.

![Scroll to bottom and click agency setup](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/02-Scroll-to-bottom-and-click-agency-setup.png)

3. Click the **Billing** tab to view your billing profile.

![Click billing tab](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/03-Click-Billing-Tab.png)

The following information is displayed:

- Customer Profile
- Billing Status
- Authorized Billing Contacts

![Contact information](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/04-Contact-Information.png)

#### Step 2: Sign In to the Billing Portal

1. Navigate to the [Billing Portal](https://billing.ecourtdate.com).
2. Enter the same login credentials you use for your eCourtDate user account.
3. Review the **Billing Dashboard** that opens after you sign in.

The top navigation bar gives you eight screens:

| Menu item | What it covers |
|-----------|----------------|
| **Dashboard** | Credit balance, usage credits, and service usage totals |
| **Catalog** | Plans, products, and services available to order |
| **Work Orders** | Your draft order and your past review requests |
| **Plans** | Your service plans, upgrades, and downgrade requests |
| **Credits** | Every credit grant on your account |
| **Invoices** | Your invoices and their PDFs |
| **Contacts** | Who at your agency receives billing notices |
| **Referrals** | Agencies you have referred to eCourtDate |

If your email is a contact for more than one customer profile, use the customer selector in the top navigation to switch between them. If your account is managed by a reseller partner, a banner reads "Your account is managed by" followed by the partner name.

#### Step 3: Read Your Billing Dashboard

The dashboard opens on a **Credits Overview** card:

- **Available Credits** is your activated credits minus the credits you have used. The figure turns red if the balance goes negative.
- **Activated Credits** is the total credited to your account. Click the number to open the **Credits** screen.
- **Remaining Balance** is a circular gauge showing the percentage of your credits still available. It turns orange below 50 percent and red below 20 percent.
- A warning in orange text appears when a credit grant expires within 90 days.

Below that, **Usage Credits** shows how your credits were consumed, split into text and voice, and email and push. Text and voice messages count one credit each. Every 10 emails or push messages count as one credit, rounded up each calendar month.

The **Service Usage Summary** tiles show counts for the add-on services on your account, such as agencies, phone numbers, web portals, and file storage. Click any tile to open its detailed report.

Click **Usage Reports** to open the full usage report, or **Print** to print the dashboard.

#### Step 4: Browse the Catalog

1. Click **Catalog** in the top navigation bar.
2. Review the three sections: **Plans**, **Products**, and **Services**.
3. Click a plan or product title to open its own page.

Each plan page lists a **What's included** ledger showing the quantity of every item bundled into the plan price, along with an **Included Value** total. Entries without a published price show **Priced on request**, and eCourtDate staff price them during review.

Catalog prices are confirmed on an executed Service Plan. The catalog itself is not a quote.

#### Step 5: Build and Submit a Work Order

You do not need to choose a customer profile before you start. Your order belongs to you until you attach it at the end.

1. Click **Add to Work Order** on any catalog entry.
2. Review the suggestions if you added a plan, then click **Review work order** or **Keep browsing**.
3. Click **Work Orders** in the top navigation bar to open your order, headed **Your order**.
4. Adjust quantities using the plus and minus steppers, or click **Remove** to delete a line.
5. Choose the customer profile under **Who is this order for?** and click the confirm button. If you only have one profile, a single confirmation button appears instead of a list.
6. Complete the **Add a billing contact to send this order** panel if it appears, then click **Add Billing Contact**.
7. Review the checklist in the **Send for review** panel. The button stays disabled until every item is satisfied.
8. Click **Send for Review**.

Click **Download PDF** at any point to produce a quote for your procurement file, or **Print quote** to print the order sheet.

#### Step 6: Review Your Plans

1. Click **Plans** in the top navigation bar.
2. Review the card for each plan, showing its status badge, description, start date, frequency, line items, and total.
3. Click **View PDF** to open the full Service Plan document, which includes billing frequency, usage credit rates, optional services, and the agreement terms.

To start a new plan yourself, click **Create** on the **Create Plan** card, choose a plan tier, and click **Create**. New plans are always created as pending review, with a start date 31 days out, and eCourtDate staff activate them.

#### Step 7: Upgrade a Plan

1. Click **See upgrade options** on the **Upgrade Plan** card for the plan you want to change.
2. Review your current plan and price at the top of the screen.
3. Choose either a larger plan under **Move to a bigger plan**, or an item under **Add to this plan**.
4. Enter a quantity if you are adding an item.
5. Click **Upgrade to** followed by the plan name, or **Add** followed by the item name.

Upgrades are billed prorated for the rest of your current billing period. If that prorated charge is at or under the threshold shown on the upgrade screen, the change applies immediately and a prorated invoice is issued. Anything larger is reviewed by eCourtDate staff first, and the confirmation reads "Upgrade submitted for review." Only larger plans are offered, so an upgrade never moves you to a smaller plan.

#### Step 8: Request a Downgrade or Cancellation

1. Complete the **What would you like to change?** field on the **Downgrade Plan** card.
2. Select a reason under **Why are you downgrading?**
3. Click **Downgrade**.

A downgrade is a request, not an immediate change. eCourtDate staff review it and confirm within two business days. Downgrading removes discounts and free products that are not part of the new plan, reprices products at the new plan's rates, and ends credit rollover.

Use the same form to request a cancellation, or email [billing@ecourtdate.com](mailto:billing@ecourtdate.com). After a plan is cancelled, your agencies are deactivated on the cancel date and can no longer send or receive messages, agency phone numbers are released three months after deactivation, and the agency record is deleted one year after the cancel date. You can reactivate any time before the deletion date.

#### Step 9: Check Your Credits

1. Click **Credits** in the top navigation bar.
2. Review **Total Activated** at the top of the screen.
3. Review each grant in the table: **Quantity**, **Description**, **Status**, **Activated**, and **Expires**.

![Navigate to credits](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/11-Navigate-to-Credits.png)

Credits carry a status of **activated** or **draft**. Unless your contract sets a different term, credits expire 24 months after activation, and the expiry date turns orange when it falls within 90 days. Credits that arrive as invoice line items do not expire and show a dash in the **Expires** column.

Click **PDF** or the CSV button to export your credit history.

#### Step 10: Run a Usage Report

1. Click **Usage Reports** on the dashboard.
2. Set the **From Date** and **To Date**, and select an **Interval** of month or year.
3. Filter by **Region**, **Send Mode**, or **Agencies** if you need a narrower view.
4. Review the totals table, then the **Usage by Agency** table underneath.
5. Click **Download PDF** or the CSV button to export the report.

![Usage details](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/12-Usage-Details.png)

The default range is the last three months. Usage credits are rounded once per calendar month, so a total can differ slightly from the sum of rows when a row is not a whole month.

eCourtDate also emails a Monthly Usage Report to your billing contacts at the start of each month. That report summarizes usage and is not an invoice.

#### Step 11: Review Add-On Usage

1. Click any tile in the **Service Usage Summary** on the dashboard.
2. Review the total and the per-agency breakdown.
3. Set the **Created From Date** and **Created To Date** and click **Filter** to narrow the range.
4. Click **View** on an agency row to see the individual records behind its figure.

Add-on reports cover the services you are billed for outside message usage, such as phone numbers, web portals, domains, API clients, and file storage. A per-agency view shows the 500 most recent records on screen. Export the CSV to get all of them.

#### Step 12: View and Pay Invoices

1. Click **Invoices** in the top navigation bar.
2. Review the table: **Invoice Number**, **Amount**, **Service Period**, **Issue Date**, **Due Date**, **Paid Date**, and **Status**.
3. Click the PDF icon to open an invoice.

Invoice statuses are **outstanding** (issued and unpaid), **draft** (still being prepared), **paid**, **uncollectible**, and **void**.

eCourtDate accepts ACH, wire, check, and card payments:

1. **Pay online:** Click **Pay Online** on the invoice to pay by card or bank account.
2. **Pay by ACH or wire:** Use the bank details printed on the invoice and include the invoice number in the payment details.
3. **Pay by check:** Mail a check to the address printed on the invoice, payable to eCourtDate, Inc.

Past due invoices trigger an automatic reminder at 90 days and a second notice at 180 days, each containing a payment link.

#### Step 13: Manage Billing Contacts

1. Click **Contacts** in the top navigation bar.

![Navigate to Contact](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/06-Navigate-to-Contact.png)

2. Complete the **Create Contact** form with **Name**, **Email**, **Mobile Phone**, and **Office Phone**.

![Fill Contact Form](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/6-Fill-Contact-Form.png)

3. Select an **Email Notifications** level.
4. Click **Create**.

![Click create button](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/7-Click-Create-Button.png)

5. Click a contact name to edit it, then click **Save**.

![Edit contact and save changes](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/8-Edit-Contact-and-Click-Save-Button.png)

6. Click **Delete** to remove a contact.

![You can delete contact](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/9-Delete-Contact-Button.png)

The **Email Notifications** level controls what each person receives:

| Level | Receives |
|-------|----------|
| **agency notices** | Monthly usage reports |
| **only invoices and quotes** | Invoice notices, including past due reminders |
| **all billing notices** | Invoices, monthly usage reports, credit activations, plan documents, and eSignature requests |

At least one contact must be set to **all billing notices** before you can submit a work order that creates a plan.

#### Step 14: Track Referrals

1. Click **Referrals** in the top navigation bar.
2. Review the referrals you have made and their status.
3. Click **Get Code** to open the referral screen in your eCourtDate agency, where referral codes are generated.

![Click referrals to track referrals](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/0cf33721-54e5-4c0e-ae86-06f9a2e5c74c/17-Referrals.png)

#### Step 15: Get eCourtDate Vendor Information

1. Click **Billing Info** at the bottom of any Billing Portal page.
2. Copy the vendor details your procurement team needs:
   - Legal name, billing email, website, and phone numbers
   - Mailing address
   - Employer Identification Number (EIN)
   - DUNS Number
   - SAM.gov Number
   - NAICS Code and description
3. Click **IRS W9 Form** or **Insurance Certificate** to open either document as a PDF.

Email [billing@ecourtdate.com](mailto:billing@ecourtdate.com) if your agency needs a document that is not listed, such as a certificate of good standing.

### What to Expect

Changes to contacts take effect immediately. Credit balances update as invoices are paid and messages are sent. Work orders create plans that sit in pending review until eCourtDate staff activate them, with one eSignature request per plan, so nothing activates the moment you submit. Plan upgrades at or under the threshold shown on the upgrade screen apply immediately, and larger ones are reviewed within two business days. Downgrade and cancellation requests are always confirmed by staff rather than applied automatically.

### Best Practices

- Review your usage reports monthly to track credit consumption and anticipate when to purchase more.
- Keep at least two contacts set to **all billing notices** so billing is not dependent on one person.
- Download your quote PDF from the work order before submitting, so your procurement file has the figures your agency approved.
- Download vendor documents in advance to streamline your agency's procurement process.
- Watch the **Remaining Balance** gauge on the dashboard and buy credits before it turns orange.
- Cite the work order reference (formatted WO followed by eight characters) on any purchase order so eCourtDate can match your paperwork to your order.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: How do I become an authorized billing contact?**

A: Ask one of your agency's existing billing contacts to add you through the **Contacts** screen of the Billing Portal.

**Q: Are my Billing Portal credentials different from my eCourtDate login?**

A: No. Your Billing Portal login credentials are the same as your eCourtDate user account.

**Q: What happens if my agency runs out of message credits?**

A: Your messaging is not shut off. Messages sent beyond your credit balance may be billed at a higher on-demand rate, depending on your contract. Review your agreement or email [billing@ecourtdate.com](mailto:billing@ecourtdate.com) to confirm your on-demand rate.

**Q: Does submitting a work order charge my agency or turn on the service?**

A: No. Submitting creates plans in pending review and sends an eSignature request for each one. Nothing activates until eCourtDate staff approve it, and plans can still be adjusted before activation.

**Q: When does a plan upgrade take effect?**

A: Immediately, if the prorated charge is at or under the amount shown on the upgrade screen. Larger upgrades go to eCourtDate staff for review, and the team follows up within two business days.

**Q: Why can I only see larger plans on the upgrade screen?**

A: The upgrade screen offers plan tiers above your current one. To move to a smaller plan, use the **Downgrade Plan** card on the **Plans** screen.

**Q: Can I set my own prices on a work order?**

A: No. Catalog pricing applies to your order, and eCourtDate staff price any item marked **Priced on request** during review.

**Q: Can I view billing information for multiple agencies?**

A: Yes. Usage reports display total usage across all your agencies as well as per-agency breakdowns, and you can switch between customer profiles from the top navigation.

**Q: Do credits expire?**

A: Purchased credit grants expire 24 months after activation unless your contract sets a different term. Credits billed as invoice line items do not expire. The dashboard warns you when a grant is within 90 days of expiring.

**Q: Who do I contact for billing questions not covered here?**

A: Email [billing@ecourtdate.com](mailto:billing@ecourtdate.com) for any additional billing-related questions.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** Cannot log in to the Billing Portal.

**Symptoms:** You receive an error message or are unable to access the Billing Portal at [billing.ecourtdate.com](https://billing.ecourtdate.com).

**Solution:**

1. Verify you are using the same email and password as your eCourtDate user account.
2. Reset your password using the **Can't login to your account?** link on the eCourtDate login page.
3. Confirm with your agency that your email is listed as a contact on your customer profile.

**Issue:** The **Send for Review** button is greyed out.

**Symptoms:** Your work order has items but the submit button will not click.

**Solution:**

1. Review the checklist in the **Send for review** panel. Every item must be satisfied first.
2. Choose a customer profile under **Who is this order for?** if that step is still open.
3. Add a contact set to **all billing notices** if the checklist asks for a billing contact.
4. Remove any line flagged **No longer in the catalog**, then submit again.

**Issue:** Credit balance does not match expectations.

**Symptoms:** The balance shown on the dashboard seems incorrect.

**Solution:**

1. Click **Credits** to review every grant, including its status and expiry date.
2. Click **Usage Reports** to see how many credits have been consumed, remembering that 10 emails or push messages count as one credit.
3. Check whether a grant has expired, which the **Credits** table marks with an expired badge.
4. If the balance still appears incorrect, email [billing@ecourtdate.com](mailto:billing@ecourtdate.com) with your agency name and details.

**Issue:** The invoice payment link does not open.

**Symptoms:** The link from an invoice email returns a page not found error.

**Solution:**

1. Confirm the invoice is still outstanding. Paid, void, and draft invoices do not open a payment page.
2. Check the invoice date. Payment links expire 30 days after the invoice is issued.
3. Email [billing@ecourtdate.com](mailto:billing@ecourtdate.com) to request a fresh payment link.

**Issue:** An invoice still shows as outstanding after you paid online.

**Symptoms:** The payment went through but the **Status** column has not changed.

**Solution:**

1. Allow a few business days for the payment to be recorded against your invoice.
2. Check the **Paid Date** column, which is populated once the payment is applied.
3. If the status has not changed after a week, email [billing@ecourtdate.com](mailto:billing@ecourtdate.com) with your payment reference.

**Issue:** Plans or invoices are not visible in the portal.

**Symptoms:** A message reads "Please contact your partner to view invoices" or a similar note on the **Plans** screen.

**Solution:**

1. Check the banner at the top of the page for the name of the partner managing your account.
2. Contact that partner for plan documents, invoices, and payment.
3. Email [billing@ecourtdate.com](mailto:billing@ecourtdate.com) if you are unsure who manages your account.

### Related Articles

- [How to Earn Credits Through Referrals](/how-to-earn-credits-through-referrals)
- [How to Manage Users](/how-to-manage-users)
- [How to Set Up a New Agency](/how-to-set-up-a-new-agency)
- [How to Run Console Tools](/how-to-run-console-tools)
- [How to Check the Audit Logs](/how-to-check-the-audit-logs)