A prepaid balance can run out during an incident, project, or busy support week. Waiting for a technician to notice the last hour has been consumed leaves the account manager negotiating coverage after the work is already under way. AlgaPSA checks prepaid credit and hour balances daily so the MSP can act while value remains.

When a balance crosses its configured threshold, AlgaPSA alerts the account manager. The workflow can also email the client, draft a top-up invoice, or draft and issue one. Those choices should match the commercial agreement: some clients want an evergreen top-up, while others expect a conversation before every purchase.

Decide what the threshold should protect

The best threshold is not necessarily the lowest one. Set it early enough to cover the time between an alert and an approved replenishment.

Consider:

How quickly the client normally consumes hours or credit.
Whether open incidents or project work could accelerate consumption.
How long the client's purchase approval usually takes.
Whether coverage should continue while a replenishment invoice is awaiting payment.
Whether the balance has an expiration date approaching independently of consumption.

Balance	Threshold planning question	Example response
Prepaid hours	What consumed percentage leaves enough time to arrange more coverage?	Set Consumption threshold (%) early enough to cover the approval window.
Prepaid credit	How much value should remain before finance reviews another prepayment?	Set the trigger high enough to avoid a zero balance before the next billing decision.

Avoid copying one threshold to every client without review. A project-heavy account and a client that uses occasional ad-hoc support can reach the same number under very different circumstances.

Prepaid credit alerts use a Credit threshold entered in the selected currency's major unit. The threshold applies to the client's aggregate available credit in that currency. Bucket usage alerts use a whole-number Consumption threshold (%) from 1 through 100. AlgaPSA evaluates that percentage separately for each current bucket-usage subject rather than combining all hour buckets into one balance.

Configure daily balance monitoring

Go to Clients > client > Billing setup > Billing > General > Prepaid Balance Alerts. Configure the rule, then select Save. The card states: Checks run daily at 09:00 UTC. Saving does not send anything immediately.

Figure 1: Monitoring is off until you enable it. Thresholds appear once an alert type is switched on.

The decisions are:

Decision	Available behavior	Operational effect
Threshold	Monitor the prepaid credit or hour balance against an agreed floor	Determines when the daily check triggers action.
Internal recipient	Alert the account manager	Gives the relationship owner time to review consumption and contact the client.
Client communication	Optionally email the client	Makes the remaining balance visible without waiting for manual outreach.
Alert response	Choose one of the three When an alert fires options	Determines whether AlgaPSA only notifies, also drafts an invoice, or drafts and issues it.

The account manager assigned to the client receives an internal notification and, when that active internal user has a valid email address, an email. Also email the client billing recipient adds a client email. AlgaPSA resolves that recipient in this order: the active billing contact, Alternative Billing Email, the oldest active billing-location email, then the oldest active default-location email.

There is no alert-specific wording field on this card. To customize the email wording, go to Settings > Notifications > Email Notifications > Email Templates, open prepaid-credit-low-balance or prepaid-bucket-threshold-reached with Customize or Edit, and select Save.

After saving the rule, record the threshold and replenishment agreement in the account's operating notes. The account manager and billing team should be able to explain why an alert or invoice appeared without reconstructing the setup later.

Who receives an alert

The account manager is the primary internal recipient. That keeps the decision with the person responsible for the client relationship rather than routing it only to a general billing queue.

Before enabling the rule, make sure the client has the intended account manager assigned. Also decide who covers the alert when that person is unavailable. AlgaPSA can raise the notification, but the MSP still needs an ownership process for acting on it.

For broader invoice, project, and ticket notification settings, see 10.9. Configure Email and In-App Notifications for Invoices, Projects, and Tickets.

Decide whether to email the client

A client email is useful when the balance and replenishment terms are already understood. It gives the client time to approve another block, provide a purchase order, or ask the MSP to pause non-urgent work.

Keep the email internal when:

The account manager needs to review disputed or incorrectly categorized consumption first.
The client expects the MSP to consolidate purchasing conversations.
A project change or service issue may affect whether the balance should be replenished.
The remaining balance needs reconciliation before it is presented externally.

Enable the client email when the notification is part of the agreed operating process and the recipient understands what action is expected. Review the configured client billing contacts before relying on automated delivery. See 14.5. Configure Per-Client Billing Email, Payment Terms, Tax Region, and Invoice Layout.

Choose the alert response

When an alert fires is a three-choice control, not an on/off replenishment switch:

Notify only sends the configured notifications without creating an invoice.
Draft a top-up invoice and notify creates a draft invoice and leaves it for billing review.
Draft and issue a top-up invoice creates the invoice as a draft, then finalizes it and emails it.

The invoice-creating choices remove a repetitive billing step from an agreed evergreen arrangement. They can also start billing without a fresh conversation, so they are appropriate for some accounts, not every account.

Use an invoice-creating response when	Use Notify only when
The signed arrangement authorizes repeat purchases at a defined amount or quantity.	Each purchase needs explicit client approval.
The client expects service to continue without interruption.	The client may choose between replenishing, pausing work, or changing scope.
Purchase-order and billing requirements are already satisfied.	A new PO or budget-owner approval may be required.
The account manager does not need to reconcile usage before every top-up.	Consumption may be disputed or needs classification review.

Do not use an invoice-creating response as a substitute for clear commercial terms. Agree the replenishment amount, the trigger, the invoice recipient, and the treatment of work performed while payment is pending.

Configure Credit top-up amount, Bucket top-up minutes, and Replenishment horizon days for the selected response. A Contract replenishment override can change the response for one contract; its default is Use client default.

Every replenishment invoice starts as a draft. The issue tier finalizes and emails that draft. In either invoice-creating tier, the topped-up credit or hours are not consumable until the replenishment invoice is paid. Issuing the invoice alone does not activate the entitlement.

If the client has not authorized evergreen replenishment, use the daily alert to start a review. The account manager can confirm the ledger, discuss the next block, and ask billing to create the invoice after approval.

What happens when a threshold is crossed

AlgaPSA evaluates prepaid balances once each day. When the monitored balance moves across its threshold, it runs the actions configured for that account:

The account manager receives an alert.
If client email is enabled, the client is notified.
If the selected response creates an invoice, AlgaPSA drafts it and either leaves it for review or finalizes and emails it.

Alerts do not re-fire on every daily scan while a balance remains below its threshold. A credit alert can fire again after the balance recovers and later drops below the threshold. A bucket alert normally fires once for the bucket-usage period and configured percentage; period rollover resets it. A paid replenishment that restores bucket capacity also resets that episode, but creating or issuing the invoice does not.

There is no per-alert delivery ledger on this card. Administrators can inspect the scheduled scan under System Monitoring > Job Monitoring > Recent Jobs, but that history describes the scan job rather than each alert or recipient.

The daily cadence is intended for balance management, not real-time incident control. If an active incident could consume the remaining balance before the next check, the service manager should make an explicit coverage decision rather than waiting for the scheduled alert.

Review an alert before acting

When an alert arrives:

Confirm the current balance and the transactions that drew it down.
Check for open work likely to consume more value.
Review expiration separately — a healthy balance may still be close to its calendar expiration date.
Confirm the client agreed to the configured replenishment path.
If the selected response created an invoice, review its amount, recipient, and status.
Record any follow-up so service and billing staff know whether work can continue.

For hour purchase and expiration-ordered consumption behavior, see 14.28. Sell and Track Prepaid Hour Blocks Without a Recurring Contract.

Handle corrections cleanly

If an alert exposes a billing error, correct the underlying record instead of simply lowering the threshold to hide the alert. Financial value owed back to the client should follow the credit workflow in 14.23. Issue and Apply Credit Notes for MSP Client Billing.

After a correction or replenishment, confirm the displayed balance reflects the expected result. This is especially important when an account manager and billing administrator act at the same time; prepaid-alert and balance writes are protected against concurrent-access races, but the team should still verify the business outcome.

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14.29. Monitor Prepaid Balances with Alerts and Automatic Replenishment