Sending consumes units. Units convert into credits, and credits convert into the estimated cost shown on your dashboard. Knowing the chain makes a surprising total easy to explain.
Units
A unit is the smallest measure of sending. For a text message it is a segment; for a call it is a minute. A message that runs long is split into more segments and so consumes more units. A message with media is allowed more units than one without.
Credits
Credits are units converted by message type: the units used are multiplied by the credits that message type costs. This is why the same number of units can produce different credit totals for different channels.
Cost
Cost is the estimated amount incurred for the messages sent, displayed in US Dollars. It is calculated from credits and is an estimate, not an invoice.
Read a report
Open the dashboard
Open the Dashboard for the account you want to review.
Set the period
Use Date Filters to set a From and To range. Every figure on the page is recalculated for that range.
Narrow the scope
Use the filter menu to restrict the view — to one contact, one service, one direction or one type — if you want to compare campaigns rather than the whole account.
Open a report
Use the Usage Report to see what was consumed, or the Messages Report to see what was sent, over the same period.
Estimates are not invoices
The cost on the dashboard may differ from what you are billed because of taxes, fees and discounts. Use it to compare periods and to notice unexpected volume, not to reconcile an invoice.
Response Rate
The dashboard also shows a Response Rate — the share of messages that received a response — which is a useful check on whether a campaign landed.