Your Hello Hotel invoice has a couple of quirks that are worth two minutes to understand — especially the first one you receive after a free period. This article walks through how the bill is put together, what each line means, and what to do if a bill looks higher than you expected.
Your billing cycle starts on the date you subscribed, not the 1st of the month. If you signed up on the 26th, your cycle runs from the 26th of one month to the 26th of the next, and that's when your invoice is generated.
Each monthly invoice covers two different time periods:
Subscription — your plan's base price, billed in advance for the month ahead
Usage beyond your plan — billed in arrears for the month that just ended
Here's a worked example. Say your cycle date is the 26th, and you receive an invoice dated August 26. That invoice includes:
Your plan's base fee for August 26 → September 26 (the month ahead)
Any usage above your plan's included amounts from July 26 → August 26 (the month behind)
So every invoice looks both forward and backward. This is the single most common source of confusion about the bill — if an invoice seems off, check which period each line covers.
Your very first invoice is base-only. There's no prior month of usage yet, so usage from your first month appears on your second invoice.
Every plan includes monthly allowances: users, phone numbers, 10DLC campaigns, voice minutes, text segments, international text segments, and AI usage. You only pay for what goes over those included amounts, at per-unit rates that get cheaper on bigger plans. See the pricing page for current allowances and rates.
A few things to know:
Allowances reset every cycle. Unused amounts don't roll over.
Nothing breaks when you go over. Service continues normally — the overage simply appears on your next invoice.
Voice minutes are billed per minute of call time.
Text segments are not the same as text messages. One SMS is split into segments of 160 characters (or 70 if it contains emoji or special characters), so one long message can bill as 3–4 segments. This is the #1 thing to check when a texting bill looks high — see Sending a Text Message for the full explanation.
International segments are texts to non-US numbers. They're billed at a separate, higher rate with a smaller included allowance.
Your invoice itemizes each usage category as its own line — for example, "Additional Voice Minutes — (1,891 consumed units) × $0.05." Categories where you stayed within your allowance show as $0.
This makes the invoice itself the best tool for understanding what drove a bill: scan the non-zero lines and you'll see exactly which category went over and by how much.
During a free or discounted period, you'll still receive invoices. They show the full amount with a matching discount, netting to $0. These are normal — nothing is being charged.
When a free period ends, expect your first regular invoice to be larger than your plan price. Because usage bills in arrears, that invoice includes your base fee for the month ahead plus the usage from your final free month. It's a one-time effect of the billing structure, not a double charge.
You can switch plans at any time. A mid-cycle switch generates a proration invoice: any usage above your old plan's allowances is settled at the old plan's rates, and the difference in base price is prorated for the remainder of the cycle.
Billing runs through Polar, our payment platform and merchant of record. From the Polar customer portal — linked in every billing email you receive — you can:
View and download invoices and receipts
Edit your invoice details (company name, address)
Update your payment card
Sales tax appears on invoices where applicable and is handled by Polar as merchant of record.
If a payment fails, Polar emails you with a link to update your payment method and then automatically retries the charge. Nothing is interrupted while that happens.
Only Owners can manage billing for an organization. See Inviting Your Team for how roles work.
If a bill comes in higher than expected, these four things account for nearly all of it:
Shorten your text messages. Fewer segments per message. Avoid emoji in automated messages — a single emoji drops the per-segment capacity from 160 to 70 characters.
Audit your automations. Automated messages are usually the volume driver, not the ones your team sends by hand. Review what's firing and how long those messages are.
Check international texting. It's the biggest per-unit cost. If you message international guests often, this line deserves a look. A WhatsApp integration is on our roadmap and will make international messaging significantly cheaper — you can follow it on the public roadmap.
Right-size your plan. If you're consistently paying overages, a bigger plan is often cheaper in total. If you'd like help reading your usage, use the chat widget in the app, in this help center, or on hellohotel.co, or email us at [email protected] — we're happy to do a quick usage review with you.
Why is my first "real" invoice bigger than my plan price?
It includes the trailing usage from your final free month, billed in arrears, on top of the base fee for the month ahead. See "Free Periods and $0 Invoices" above.
Why did I get a $0 invoice?
You're in a free or discounted period. The invoice shows the full amount with a matching discount. Completely normal.
What's a text segment, and why was one message billed as three?
Carriers split SMS into 160-character segments (70 with emoji or special characters). A long message sends as one text to the guest but bills as multiple segments. See Sending a Text Message.
When does my billing cycle start and reset?
On your signup date each month — not the 1st.
What happens if I go over my included minutes or texts?
Nothing breaks. Service continues, and the overage appears on your next invoice.
How do I update my card or download an invoice?
Through the Polar customer portal, linked in every billing email.
What happens if my payment fails?
Polar emails you a link to update your payment method and automatically retries the charge.
Can I change plans mid-month?
Yes. The switch is prorated — see "Changing Plans Mid-Cycle" above.
