You will learn
Learn about manual billing (also called “contract billing”) with Klaviyo.
This article provides information on the most common contracts for manually billed customers; however, there may be exceptions. Contracts vary from company to company and not all information in this article may apply to your specific agreement.
Before you begin
Manual billing is not available to request from within Klaviyo. It is only available if:
- An Owner, Admin, or Manager contacts their success representative.
- Your Klaviyo plans total $10,000 or more per month.
Note that Klaviyo does not allow manual billing if you only need it for a temporary reason (e.g., waiting to receive a new credit card). There’s also no hybrid option with manual and automatic billing.
How manually billing worksHow manually billing works
When you are a manually billed customer, you have a contract that determines everything about your plans and billing information, including:
- Billing cycle
- Plan limits and usage
- Payment method
This means manual billing may work differently for each customer.
Note that auto-upgrade is not available for manually billed customers.
Overage settingOverage setting
A key feature for manually billed customers is the overage setting. Similar to auto-upgrade, it allows you to keep sending without needing to manually change your plan within Klaviyo.
Overages are turned on by default. See this section for details on turning off overages.
The table below outlines where in your account you can accrue overages depending on whether you have overage setting enabled.
|
Without the overage setting |
With the overage setting | |
|
Active profiles | ✔* | ✔ |
| Email limits | ✖ | ✔ |
| SMS limits | ✖ | ✔ |
*Even without the overage setting, your account can accrue active profile overages for a billing cycle.
Overages are applied based on your contracted plan rates and limits. You must reach out to your Klaviyo representative if you would like to change your contracted plan.
Why can’t I change plans in Klaviyo?
You can’t change your plan in Klaviyo for 2 reasons:
- Updating the plan does not impact your invoice amount.
- You can continue to send even if you go over your plan limits.
If you want to change your contract to reflect a new plan and not incur overages, you will need to amend your contract. To do so, contact your success representative (e.g., CSM).
Turn the overage setting on or off
Below, we explain how to turn the overage setting off, since it's on by default.
If you have disabled overages previously and now want the setting on, you can follow the same steps but instead check the boxes.
- Click your account name in the bottom left corner.
- Navigate to Billing > Preferences.
- In the Plan overview section, uncheck the Allow extra X to be sent box for each product where you no longer want overages.
In the example above, you'd need to need uncheck both the Allow extra emails to be sent and the Allow extra SMS messages to be sent boxes. - Click Update plan settings to save.
Billing cycles
Note that billing cycles for manually billed customers are not necessarily the same as the plan usage cycle.
Plan limits and usage cyclePlan limits and usage cycle
Plan limits for manually billed customers are determined by the contract:
- All invoices are based on the contract.
- Plan usage resets on the first of the month (for those who pay monthly), quarter (for those who pay quarterly), etc.
You can view your usage under Billing > Account usage. For more information, see our article on understanding your account usage.
If your contract does not include a certain product (e.g., SMS or reviews), you are automatically on the free tier. To access other products, you’ll need to contact your Klaviyo success representative.
Overage feesOverage fees
Manually billed accounts sign a contract for a specific subscription plan.
However, Klaviyo lets customers send more than their contracted plan allows so that their marketing efforts are never interrupted.
Klaviyo thus applies overages to account for any differences between a customer’s contracted limits and their actual usage.
For instance, say a customer is contracted to a $2,070 per month plan that allows for 1,700,000 emails. But monthly, that customer sent around 2,000,000 emails. In this case, the overage fee will apply to the 300,000 email difference.
Payment optionsPayment options
Manually billed companies might pay in different ways, including:
- ACH
- Wire transfer
The payment method is defined in the contract.
Do I need a credit card in my account as a manually billed company?
No, you do not need a credit card! Since manually billed companies are not billed directly through Klaviyo, no credit card is required on your account.
View plan limits and overages
Currently, Klaviyo can only display plan limits and overage fees for customers billed monthly.
To view your plan’s limits:
- Select your account name in the bottom left.
- Click Billing.
- Review the billing Overview page to see your:
- Contract start and end dates.
- Invoice schedule (when you can expect the bill).
- Contracted plan limits.
- Usage overages (if applicable).
Note that the overview page does not show you the overage costs. Please refer to your contract for that information.
If you want to view your quarterly, yearly, etc. usage, visit the Account usage page.
View invoicesView invoices
Invoices for manually billed customers can be found under Billing > Payment history. If you have an account hierarchy, then the invoice is on the primary or parent account.
Download the W9 formDownload the W9 form
All manually billed customers are provided with a W9. However, if you don’t have this form, you can download the W9 form here.
Additional resources