When your chatbots use up the monthly allowance of message credits, they pause until the 1st of the next month. You can add credits at any moment in three ways:
- One-time package - extra credits for the current calendar month only, charged once.
- Monthly add-on - extra credits every month, billed with your subscription until you cancel it.
- Automatic top-up - ChatLab adds one-time packages for you when the credits run low, up to a monthly limit you set.
All three need an active paid subscription. One-time packages and automatic top-up are not available on the free plan, during a free trial or when your subscription is billed through Shopify. Automatic top-up is available as a premium feature - an upgrade prompt appears if your plan does not include it.
To see how many credits you have left, follow Checking your current credit usage.
Buy a one-time package
Use it when one month is busier than usual and you do not want a permanent add-on.
- Open Subscription from the main menu.
- In the add-ons section find the credit package, set the quantity and click Purchase Add-on.
- In the Confirm purchase window click Buy once, valid until followed by the date. The date is the last day of the current month.
If you have a saved payment method, it is charged right away and the credits are added within moments. Otherwise you are taken to the payment page and the credits are added as soon as the payment goes through.
What to know about a one-time package:
- It costs the same as one month of the add-on, whichever day of the month you buy it.
- It is valid until the last day of the calendar month and does not renew. There is nothing to cancel.
- Unused credits do not carry over to the next month.
- It does not change your subscription or your renewal date. You get a separate invoice for it.
- It works only next to a paid subscription. If your subscription ends before the month does, the package ends with it.
- A chatbot that paused because the credits ran out is reactivated once the credits are added.
Subscribe to extra credits every month
If you need more credits every month, choose Subscribe monthly in the same Confirm purchase window. The add-on renews with your subscription until you cancel it, and you can stack several packages.
When the higher volume is permanent, compare the cost with moving to a larger plan on the Subscription page.
Turn on automatic top-up
Automatic top-up buys one-time packages for you, so your chatbots do not pause when you are not watching the counter.
- Open Account Settings > Credit alerts.
- In the Automatic top-up section turn on Top up credits automatically.
- Set the options described below and click Save credit alert settings.
If the section shows See plans instead of the switch, your current plan does not include automatic top-up. You can still buy one-time packages by hand.
Turning the switch on authorises ChatLab to charge your saved payment method without asking each time, up to the monthly limit you set. You can turn it off at any moment; packages already added stay until the end of the month.
Options explained
- Top up when less than - the threshold that triggers a top-up. Choose Percent left (a share of your whole monthly allowance, including add-ons) or Credits left (an absolute number).
- Packages per top-up - how many packages are added each time the threshold is crossed.
- Monthly limit (packages) - a hard stop for the calendar month. It is required. When it is reached, no more packages are added automatically and you receive an e-mail. You can still buy a package by hand.
The section also shows the size and price of one package and how many were added automatically this month.
What happens when a top-up runs
- Remaining credits are checked every few minutes.
- Your saved payment method is charged right away and you get an invoice for each top-up.
- Each package is valid until the end of the current month and does not renew.
- Chatbots paused for lack of credits are reactivated.
If the payment fails
No credits are added, you receive an e-mail, and ChatLab does not try again that day. The next attempt is made the following day if the credits are still below the threshold. Update your payment method on the Subscription page to avoid a pause.
Credit alerts
On the same page you can get an e-mail before the credits run out. Turn on Send credit alerts, add one or more Alert thresholds and, if you want, other Recipients. Each threshold sends one e-mail per calendar month. Alerts work with or without automatic top-up.
Accounts billed by invoice
If your company pays by bank transfer on a monthly invoice, the Confirm purchase window gives you more choices for the credit package:
- Add once, valid until the end of the month - the package appears on your next invoice, one time.
- Add to monthly settlement (bank transfer) - the package is added to your invoice every month.
- Buy once by card, valid until the end of the month - you pay by card now and nothing is added to your invoice.
Automatic top-up works the same way, except that the packages appear on your next invoice instead of being charged to a card.