How to Track Usage Credits
Usage credits are the unit eCourtDate uses to measure your agency's messaging. Every text message, voice call, email, push notification, portal reply, and chat message your agency sends or receives draws from your credit balance, so knowing how credits are counted helps you plan and avoid surprises.
Overview
- What: A guide to how usage credits are counted and where to check your balance, your credit grants, your usage history, and the credits on a single message
- Why: Tracking credits lets you see which messages use the most, buy more before your balance runs low, and use grants before they expire
- Who: Billing contacts who manage your agency's credit balance, and staff who build messages and templates
- Expected outcomes: A clear picture of your available credits, what consumed them, and which messages cost more than one credit
Prerequisites
- An active eCourtDate user account
- Your email address listed as a contact on your agency's customer profile, to use the Billing Portal steps
- Access to Dashboard > Messages in your eCourtDate agency, to check the credits on a single message
How-To Steps
Step 1: Check Your Credit Balance
- Sign in to the Billing Portal with your eCourtDate login.
- Review the Credits Overview card at the top of the Dashboard.
The card shows three figures:
- Available Credits is your activated credits minus the credits you have used. The figure turns red when the balance is negative.
- Activated Credits is the total credited to your account.
- Remaining Balance is a gauge of the percentage still available. It turns orange below 50 percent and red below 20 percent.
An orange warning appears on the card when a credit grant expires within 90 days.
Step 2: See How Your Credits Were Used
- Scroll to the Usage Credits section of the Dashboard.
- Read Usage Credits Used, which is the figure taken from your balance.
- Read the two counts under it: text & voice and email & push.
The email & push count is the raw number of messages. It includes emails, push notifications, portal replies, and chat messages. Every 10 of them count as one usage credit, so this count is larger than the credits it uses.
Step 3: Check Your Credit Grants and Expiry Dates
- Click Credits in the top navigation bar.
- Review Total Activated at the top of the screen.
- Review the Quantity, Status, Activated, and Expires columns for each grant.
- Look for orange dates in the Expires column. These grants expire within 90 days.
A grant marked with an expired badge has passed its expiry date. Click PDF or the CSV button to export your credit history.
Step 4: Run a Usage Report
- Click Usage Reports on the Dashboard.
- Set the From Date and To Date.
- Select an Interval of month or year.
- Filter by Region, Send Mode, or Agencies if you need a narrower view.
- Review the Usage Credits column in the totals table and in the Usage by Agency table.
- Click Download PDF or the CSV button to export the report.
Step 5: Check the Credits on a Single Message
- Log in to your eCourtDate agency.
- Go to Dashboard > Messages.
- Click a message to open it.
- Read the Credits line in the message details.
A High badge appears next to any message that uses 3 or more credits. A scheduled message shows Estimated next to its credits until it is sent, because the final count depends on delivery.
How Usage Credits Are Counted
Messages your agency receives count the same way as messages you send.
| Message | Credits used |
|---|---|
| Text message (SMS) | 1 credit per segment. A long message splits into several segments, and each segment counts. |
| Picture message (MMS) | 1 credit per segment, plus 1 extra credit for the attachment. |
| Voice call | 1 credit per minute. A partial minute counts as a full minute, so a 61-second call uses 2 credits. |
| Every 10 emails count as 1 credit. | |
| Push notification | Every 10 push notifications count as 1 credit. |
| Portal reply or chat message | Every 10 portal replies or chat messages count as 1 credit. |
| Message not sent because the client opted out | No credits. |
Texts and calls to phone numbers outside the United States and Canada use more credits. eCourtDate multiplies the credits for the message by a rate for the destination country, then rounds up to a whole number.
Emails, push notifications, portal replies, and chat messages are added together and converted once per calendar month, and the result is rounded up. For example, 25 emails in one month use 3 credits. Because each month rounds on its own, a report row that covers only part of a month can make the rows add up to slightly more than the total.
How Expiry Works
- Purchased credit grants expire 24 months after activation, unless your contract sets a different term.
- Credits billed as invoice line items expire 24 months after the invoice issue date.
- Your usage draws from your oldest grant first.
- Only credits that are still unused on the expiry date are forfeited. Credits you used before that date stay used.
- A grant with a dash in the Expires column has no expiry date.
What to Expect
Your balance updates as messages are sent and as invoices are paid. The credits on a scheduled message are an estimate until the message goes out, and the final figure appears on the message after delivery. eCourtDate emails a Monthly Usage Report to your billing contacts at the start of each month.
Best Practices
- Preview each template before it goes live, so you know how many segments it uses. See How to Preview Messages.
- Open a sample of messages from each template under Dashboard > Messages and check for the High badge, so a template that uses more credits than you planned does not go unnoticed.
- Review your usage report each month and compare it with your Available Credits, so you can buy more credits before your balance runs low.
- Check the Expires column on the Credits screen each quarter, so no grant reaches its expiry date with credits you planned to use.
- Plan for inbound messages. Client replies and incoming calls use credits the same way as the messages you send.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do messages my agency receives use credits?
Yes. Inbound text messages and calls count the same way as outbound ones, by segment for texts and by minute for calls.
Why did one text message use more than 1 credit?
The message split into more than one segment, it included a picture, or it went to a phone number outside the United States and Canada. Open the message under Dashboard > Messages and read its Credits line.
What happens if my agency runs out of credits?
Your messaging is not shut off. Your Available Credits figure goes negative, and eCourtDate bills the overage according to your contract.
Do I lose credits I already used when a grant expires?
No. Only the unused part of a grant is forfeited on its expiry date. Your usage draws from the oldest grant first, so prompt use protects your credits.
Why does the email & push count look so high compared to my credits?
The email & push figure counts messages, not credits. It includes emails, push notifications, portal replies, and chat messages, and every 10 of them count as 1 usage credit.
Do test messages in the staging region use credits?
No. Outbound credits in the staging region are simulated, and the message details mark them Simulated.
Troubleshooting
Credits used are higher than the number of messages sent.
Symptoms: The Usage Credits Used figure is larger than your count of text messages.
Solution:
- Go to Dashboard > Messages in your eCourtDate agency.
- Open messages with a High badge and read their Credits line.
- Check those templates for length, attachments, and non-GSM characters.
- Check whether your agency sends to phone numbers outside the United States and Canada.
- Remember that inbound texts and calls also use credits.
A usage report total does not match the sum of its rows.
Symptoms: Adding the rows of a report gives a slightly larger number than the total.
Solution:
- Check the From Date and To Date of the report.
- Set the From Date to the first day of a month.
- Set the To Date to the last day of a month.
- Run the report again. When every row covers whole months, the rows add up to the total.
Available Credits dropped without new usage.
Symptoms: Your balance went down but your messaging did not change.
Solution:
- Click Credits in the Billing Portal.
- Look for a grant with an expired badge. Its unused credits were forfeited on the expiry date.
- Email billing@ecourtdate.com with your agency name if no grant expired.