Your ZOLEO billing invoice provides a detailed record of all charges applied to your account during each billing cycle.
This article explains how to read your invoice, how each type of charge is timed and calculated, and answers the most common billing questions. All prices are in US dollars (USD).
Charges on your invoice cover different periods and billing timings depending on the type of fee, which can be confusing at first. Understanding the structure of your invoice makes it easier to verify that everything on your bill is correct.
Image: Sample ZOLEO invoice for a US customer showing the Account Details section, Invoice Date, and itemized charges including the monthly subscription fee and activation fee.
Image: Second page of a sample ZOLEO invoice for a US customer showing individual usage line items, message charges, and any applicable overage fees.
Your Invoice Date and Billing Cycle
Your Invoice Date marks the start of your 30-day billing cycle. It is set on the date you first activated your ZOLEO device and doesn't change for the life of your account.
You can find it in the Account Details section on the first page of your invoice. To access your invoices in MyZOLEO, log in and go to My Account → Billing History.
All additional services you activate after your initial setup will align with this same billing cycle and may be prorated accordingly when first added. Understanding your Invoice Date helps clarify why charges may appear at different times or seem to cover overlapping periods.:
- Monthly subscription plan fees are billed in advance for the upcoming billing cycle — you pay for the next 30 days before they begin.
- Usage overage charges that exceed your plan's monthly message allowance are billed in arrears — they appear on your invoice after the cycle in which they occurred.
Both charge types appear on the same invoice, but they cover different time periods.
What Charges Appear on Your First Invoice
Your first ZOLEO invoice will include two charges for each newly activated device:
- A one-time activation fee of $19.99 USD.
- A subscription fee covering one full month based on the plan you selected.
The activation fee is a one-time charge applied on the day your service begins. It won't appear on any future invoices and is separate from your subscription fee.
If you activate additional devices on different days within the same billing cycle, the first month's subscription fee for each new device will be prorated to align with your existing billing cycle.
The prorated amount is preauthorized on your credit card and charged after your next monthly invoice is generated, which means you may see an additional charge shortly after activation if your billing cycle renews soon.
How Your Charges Are Billed
Not all charges on your ZOLEO invoice cover the same billing period. Here's how the timing works for each charge type:
- Activation fee — charged once, on the day your service begins. This is a one-time fee that applies only when a device is activated for the first time. It will not recur on future invoices.
- Monthly subscription fee — billed in advance for the upcoming 30-day cycle. The fee on any given invoice covers the next month, not the current one.
- Usage overage charges — billed in arrears for the previous billing cycle. These appear after the usage has occurred, which is why overage charges and your subscription fee on the same invoice often cover different date ranges.
- Top-up bundles – billed in arrears will appear on your next invoice rather than the current one. If you added a top-up bundle during the current cycle, it will not appear until your next invoice is generated.
Why You May See Partial or Prorated Charges
Prorated charges appear when you change your monthly plan or pause your service partway through a billing cycle. When either of these changes occurs mid-cycle, your invoice will reflect:
- A prorated credit for the unused portion of your old plan, and
- A prorated charge for the new plan or pause period.
This ensures you're only billed for the days you were on each plan, rather than a full month for both. Prorated charges and credits are itemized separately on your invoice so you can see exactly how the split was calculated.
Example: If you downgrade from the Protect plan ($34.99 USD/month) to the Prepare plan ($19.99 USD/month) on Day 20 of a 30-day billing cycle:
- Protect plan (Days 1–20): 20/30 × $34.99 = $23.33 USD
- Prepare plan (Days 21–30): 10/30 × $19.99 = $6.66 USD
- Total for the cycle: $29.99 USD
You'd receive a credit for the unused 10 days of Protect and be charged for the 10 days of Prepare, with the adjustment appearing on your next regular invoice.
Message Usage and Overages
Your ZOLEO plan includes a monthly allocation of satellite messages. On your invoice, usage within your allowance appears with $0 charges — these are informational line items that give you a complete record of all satellite activity on your account, even when there's nothing to pay.
Once you've used up your monthly allocation, any additional satellite messages are billed at your plan's per-message overage rate and appear in arrears on your next invoice. If your plan includes unlimited satellite messaging, you won't see overage charges; all usage will show as $0.
Legacy plan subscribers: If you're on a legacy plan, your invoice will reflect your legacy message allocation and overage rate.
How Usage Is Billed When You Change Rate Plans
When you change your ZOLEO rate plan, any usage that occurs on the day of the change is billed at the new plan's rate.
Your message allocation for the current billing cycle is also prorated based on the number of days you were on each plan, so you will not lose or gain messages in a way that is disproportionate to the time spent on each plan.
Example: You switch from Prepare (50 messages/month) to Protect (unlimited) on Day 20 of a 30-day billing cycle.
- Prepare allowance for Days 1–20: (20 ÷ 30) × 50 = 33 messages
- Protect from Day 20 onwards: unlimited — no overage applies for the rest of the cycle
Any satellite messages sent above your prorated 33-message Prepare allowance before Day 20 are billed at $0.50 USD each. From Day 20 forward, all messaging is unlimited under Protect.
Pre-authorization and Payment Processing
If you notice two charges on your credit card statement for your first month's subscription fee, this is expected and not a billing error.
- Preauthorization: The first charge is a temporary hold used to confirm that sufficient funds are available before the actual payment is processed. It does not complete a payment.
- Actual payment: The second charge is the payment for your subscription fee, typically posted to your card within 10 business days of the invoice being generated.
Depending on your bank's processing time, both transactions may appear on your statement simultaneously, making it look as though you've been charged twice. In most cases, the preauthorization will drop off once the actual payment posts.
If both charges remain after 10 business days, please Contact Us, and we can look into it.
Why You May Be Billed for a Second Month Shortly After Your First
Your ZOLEO billing cycle runs for 30 days from the activation date of your first device.
Example: If you activated on the 15th of the month, your billing cycle runs from the 15th through the 14th of the following month. On the 15th of each month, a new invoice is generated, and the next cycle's subscription fee is charged in advance.
If you activated additional devices on different dates within the same billing cycle, their first month's subscription fees will be prorated to align with your billing date and may also appear shortly after your initial invoice.
If you believe you have been charged for a period already covered, log in to your MyZOLEO account, then go to My Account > Billing History to review your invoices, or contact us at ZOLEO Contact Us.
Paying Your Balance
Your payment card is charged automatically when an invoice is due. If the first attempt doesn't succeed, the system will try to process the payment again.
To pay manually:
- Log in to your MyZOLEO account.
- Select My Account.
- Go to Account Balance.
- Click on Make a Payment.
- Pay the full outstanding balance or select a specific invoice.
To update your card on file:
- Log in to your MyZOLEO account.
- Select My Account.
- Go to Payment Method.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to update your card.
Keeping your payment information current helps avoid failed payments and service interruptions. If your card has expired or the billing address has changed, updating it promptly will prevent your next invoice from going unpaid.
If you are experiencing difficulty making a payment or believe a charge on your invoice is incorrect, please Contact Us so we can assist you.
Why a Balance May Still Show After a Recent Payment
Your MyZOLEO account balance may show a non-zero amount even after a recent payment. This is expected.
The remaining balance reflects charges in progress, like usage fees incurred during the current billing cycle that haven't yet been included in a finalized invoice. They appear as a running total before your invoice is generated at cycle end and will be itemized on your next monthly invoice.
If you have made a payment and the outstanding balance appears higher than you would expect based on your plan and usage, contact us at ZOLEO Contact Us, and we can review your account in detail.
What UTC Means on Your Invoice
UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) is the global time standard used across all satellite communication systems. All usage timestamps on your ZOLEO invoice are recorded in UTC.
Key things to know:
- UTC does not observe daylight saving time — it stays fixed year-round, while your local time may shift by one hour seasonally.
- US time zone offsets: EST is UTC−5, CST is UTC−6, MST is UTC−7, PST is UTC−8. When daylight saving is in effect, offsets shift by one hour.
If a usage timestamp doesn't match when you expected activity, a UTC conversion is likely the reason — a message sent late in the evening locally may show a different date on your invoice because UTC is several hours ahead of US time zones.
Early Cancellation Fees
All ZOLEO plans require a minimum 3-month commitment from activation. Cancelling within this period incurs a fee equal to the remaining months in the commitment.
How it works:
- Monthly fees are charged at the start of each billing cycle.
- If you cancel mid-cycle for a month you've already paid, only the remaining unpaid months are charged.
Example: You're on the Prepare plan at $19.99 USD/month and cancel with two months remaining.
- Cancellation fee: $39.98 USD (2 × $19.99 USD)
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