Purpose: From 1st January, 2021, the way you are invoiced for additional parcels will change. In this article we describe how invoicing will work if you ship parcels above the shipping allowance of your current subscription plan.
Parcel shipment limit
Depending on your current active subscription plan, there is a maximum number of shipping labels you can generate. If you exceed your monthly shipping allowance, you will receive an additional charge of €0.15 per label created above your limit. If you are a Free user, there will be no additional fee.
We want to make sure the plan and features you are using fit the size of your store, and that you aren’t paying to ship more parcels than required. That’s why we inform you via email when you reach 80% and 100% of your shipping allowance.
Prevent the chance of receiving additional fees by making sure that you have activated the correct Sendcloud plan for your business needs. Depending on the volume of parcels you ship per month, you may need to upgrade to a plan which suits the size of your store and gives you access to additional features.
You can switch plans anytime in your Sendcloud account.
FAQ
Based on which period of time is this fee calculated?
If you are on a monthly subscription, the sum total of the labels you generate between the first day of the month to the last day of the month will be counted.
This sum is checked against the limit of your active subscription plan as it stands on the last day of the month. For yearly subscriptions, labels will be counted from the start date of your subscription. It is checked against the monthly limit of your plan x 12.
How can I check my usage and will I be informed when reaching the limit?
You will get an in-app and email notification when you reach 80% and 100% of your limit. We will start sending out these notifications from January (without invoicing you for that month). This way you have the time to switch to the right subscription and avoid receiving this fee. Starting from 1st January 2021, this fee will be actively applied.
We also display a counter in your Sendcloud account which shows you exactly how many labels you have created that month, so you can see your shipping allowance at a glance.
What counts as a “shipment”?
Every shipping label you create for a carrier will count as a shipment.
If a successfully generated label is cancelled afterwards, it will still count towards the total number of direct shipments within that time period. If label creation fails and the label status appears as “announcement failed”, the shipment will not be counted.
When will I receive this invoice?
You will receive this separate invoice in the first two weeks of the following month. For example, for the period from the 1st of November until the 30th of November you will receive an invoice in the first two weeks of December (only if you exceeded your shipping limit).
I have a seasonal business and fluctuating shipping volume - what should I do?
The best option in this case is to opt for a yearly subscription. You can then ship 12 x the monthly shipping allowance spread across the full year. This way the months in which your shipping volume is lower will compensate for your peak months.
Can I upgrade my account when I notice I'm reaching the limit?
Sure, you can upgrade your account any time, even if you’re on a yearly subscription. Your shipping allowance will then immediately be increased to the limit of your new subscription. This way you won’t get invoiced for exceeding your allowance because you switched to an upgraded plan.
Can I downgrade at any time?
Yes, you can downgrade your monthly subscription at any time. We want to make sure you get the plan that fits your needs, even if that means a smaller plan if it suits you better. Keep in mind that you’ll lose access to certain features when you downgrade your subscription. If you’re on a yearly subscription, it’s not possible to downgrade until your plan is completed (1 year).