Low Balance Alerts
Blocx is prepaid: once your effective balance reaches zero, new outbound messages and verification codes are rejected. Low balance alerts make sure that never catches you off guard. They are on by default for every organization and can be tuned at Billing → Auto-recharge.
What you receive
There are two alerts, each sent to every owner and admin in your organization:
| Alert | When | Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Low balance | Your effective balance drops below your threshold (default $5) | Email + in-app notification |
| Balance depleted | Your effective balance reaches $0 or below and sends stop | Email + in-app notification + text message to owners/admins with a verified phone |
Each alert emails up to three times, four hours apart, then stops. The in-app notification and the depleted text message accompany the first email only. After you top up, both alerts re-arm, so the next time your balance runs low you'll hear about it again. A top-up that leaves you still under the threshold restarts the low balance reminders, since you are still low.
Setting your threshold
- Open Billing → Auto-recharge.
- In Low balance alert, enter the balance at which you'd like to be warned.
- Save.
A good starting point is roughly a day of your typical spend, so there's time to add funds before sending is affected. High-volume senders should set it higher.
How it interacts with auto-recharge
If auto-recharge is turned on and set to trigger at or above your alert threshold, the low balance alert stays quiet — auto-recharge will refill the balance before the alert would be useful, and emailing you as well would just be noise. The same applies to Scale-plan commitment top-ups.
You'll still be alerted when:
- an auto-recharge fails (a declined card pauses auto-recharge until you update it), or
- your alert threshold is higher than the auto-recharge threshold — an early heads-up you asked for.
The settings page shows a note whenever auto-recharge is currently covering the alert.
When your balance is depleted
Once the effective balance is at or below zero:
- New outbound SMS, MMS, email, and 2FA verifications are rejected with
402 Insufficient balance. - Messages already in flight are not affected.
- Inbound messages and monthly fees for numbers, brands, and campaigns continue to be charged, so the balance can go slightly negative.
Sending resumes automatically as soon as funds arrive — top up at Billing → Overview or let auto-recharge handle it.
Turning it off
Toggle Enable low balance alert off at Billing → Auto-recharge. This silences both the low balance and depleted alerts for your organization. Your threshold is kept, so re-enabling restores it. Individual users can also mute billing emails and texts from their notification preferences; the in-app alert still appears.