Postage and your mail balance
How mail is paid for, why it works on a balance, and what happens when it runs low.
Physical mail runs on a prepaid balance rather than an invoice at the end of the month.
Where to find it
Why a balance
Each piece is debited at the exact carrier rate the moment it's accepted for printing.
That means:
- Held or failed pieces are never charged.
- A cancelled piece is refunded automatically.
- You pay the real rate for the real piece, rather than an estimate trued up later.
It also means a run can't quietly cost more than you expected — the cost is known per piece at the moment it's committed.
Topping up
Add credits to increase your balance. Funding method sets how it's paid.
Auto-reload keeps your balance topped up automatically. Set it once and it stays out of your way — worth turning on before season rather than during it.
Running out mid-run
If your balance can't cover a run, those pieces wait in Ready rather than failing silently.
This is the important behaviour. Nothing is lost, nothing half-sends, and nothing disappears. Top up and the waiting pieces go.
Watching your spend
The funding page shows Credit balance, Spent this month, and Pieces mailed this month, with a Credit activity log of top-ups and per-piece debits.
Worth a look after your first big run so you know what a season actually costs before you commit to mailing everyone.
Notes and limits
- The balance is firm-wide, not per client or per office.
- Estimated postage is shown before you send. The debit is the actual rate.
- Certified and return receipt cost more per piece than first-class.
- Auto-reload can be changed or turned off at any time.