HelpBilling, payments and refundsHow automatic buying works

How automatic buying works

WhatsApp messages, texts and extra visits come in packs. You pay for the first pack yourself. After that turnda buys the next one by itself, before you run out.

Owner Where: Billing → your add-on cards 5 min read

You choose the most it may buy in a month. Nothing is ever bought past that limit.

What it is

A pack is a bundle of messages or visits, paid for before it is used. Automatic buying means you never have to remember to top up.

How to check it in turnda

Open Billing and find the card for what you use. WhatsApp or extra visits. Text messages are closed in every country until turnda opens one, so they are not on offer yet.
Read what is left and the line about the next pack. It shows what is left, the packs bought this month and when the next one is bought.
Open Billing history to see each pack bought and why.

A real example

Ana's Café Ana turns on WhatsApp. She sees a rules box and ticks I allow turnda to charge my card for each new pack. She pays $30 for the first pack of 1,000 messages. Her limit is 3 packs a month. On the 18th only 100 messages are left (10%). turnda buys pack 2 of 3 for $30, sends her an email and an invoice, and WhatsApp carries on without a break.

What happens in turnda

1You switch on and pay for the first pack
The price you pay is shown first. You tick the permission
2Messages go out
Paid first, then used. Never sent before they are paid for
310% is left
The next pack is bought, one at a time, never several together
4The invoice and email arrive
Every purchase has its own
5Your limit is reached
No more packs this billing month

The life of a pack.

Paid first. A message is only sent from a pack you have paid for.
The first pack counts toward your limit. With a limit of 3, the first pack is “1 of 3”.
Packs never expire while your account is open. A business on Free keeps them paused. If you close the account, the unused part ends when it is finally deleted and is not refunded.
The same steps for all three packs: WhatsApp, texts and extra visits. For extra visits, your package's own visits go first and the pack is bought when about 10% of your visits are left. See Extra visits.

What happens to your packs

Situation	What happens to your packs
Time passes	Nothing expires. What you bought stays until it is used. Your package's own visits are used before any pack.
Two zones at once	A zone change starts with your next pack. While you hold packs in two zones, each visitor uses the lowest zone that covers their phone country, oldest first, so messages only a dearer zone covers are kept for the visitors who need them.
You change package	Your balance, zone and limit are kept.
Your package payment fails (grace period)	You can use the messages and visits you hold. No new pack is bought until your card works again.
Your business moves to Free	Balances are kept and paused, and come back when you pay for a package again. People already waiting are finished first.
You switch an add-on off	People already waiting are finished. What you have left is kept. Nothing is refunded.
You close the account	The unused part of your packs ends when the account is finally deleted. It is not refunded.
You undo a Call that had added a pack	The visit is not counted, but the pack stays yours.
A gift or a discount on your package	It never reaches a pack: a pack costs its normal price.
A reseller's code	A reseller earns on the base package only, never on a pack, a registration fee or a renewal.
The business is handed to a new owner	Your balance is kept. Automatic buying is paused until the new owner adds their own card, chooses a limit and ticks the permission again.

Who can do what with add-ons

Who	What they can do
Owner	Switch an add-on on or off, pick the zone, set or raise the limit, and buy. Only the owner.
Manager	Has no Billing page, so sees no cards. A manager sees a Warning about a pack running low or paused, with no button, and is told to ask the owner. The email goes to the owner only.
Staff	Do not see Billing, and do not see pack warnings. They are not told when a pack is running low or paused; the owner and managers are.
Free package	WhatsApp and text messages cannot be switched on: the Visitor updates card says “Works on a paid package” and offers Choose a package.

What you need to do

Read the rules box before you pay. It lists what is charged, when, and the refund rules.
Keep a card that works on file. See Adding or changing a card.
Choose a limit you are comfortable with. See Your monthly limit.

What turnda does not cover, and who does

Not covered by turnda	Who covers it
A pack your bank refuses	Your bank. turnda does not keep retrying. The pack is bought the moment your card works.
A message that fails because a visitor's phone is off	Nobody. It was sent, so it is used. A message that fails for a reason on our side is given back.
Selling or giving a pack to another business	Not possible. A pack has no cash value and cannot be moved.

Common questions

Question	Answer
Can I turn automatic buying off?	Yes. Switch the add-on off. People already waiting are finished, and what you have left is kept. Nothing is refunded.
Is the tick I gave kept?	Yes, with the time. Every purchase is also in Money activity on Billing.
Are two packs ever bought at once?	No. One at a time.
What does a pack cost?	It depends on your zone. The pay step shows the price you pay before you press pay.