V3: 2023 Plan restructuring: info, timeline and pricing

Info about which changes are coming when...and why. Check out our new 2023 monthly/yearly pricing. Read FAQs.

Jason Alexis avatar
Written by Jason Alexis
Updated over a week ago

Since 2015, PastorsLine has been working hard to help your church easily build your database and engage with your members and visitors using fun and innovative options. Our goal is empowering your ministry to improve communication to help grow your church.

Today we are announcing restructuring to our subscriptions starting January 1st, 2023.

To reflect the value we’ve added and ensure we can keep investing in innovation, today we are announcing some restructuring to our plans.

Tons of New Value


Tons of New Value

  • More credits for the same subscription price. (Our two lowest plans will have a slight price increase but will also enjoy more credits.)

  • We are opening up the use of our multisite/multicampus feature which will no longer require a new plan for the account (now called subaccounts).

  • We are allowing you to downgrade or upgrade without any penalty to your credits.

  • All integrations will be accessible in all plans.

  • There will be unlimited free short code keywords for all plans if you choose to use the short code.

Notable changes

  • The biggest change is how we are handling rollover credits. All plans will come with standard credits with an option to upgrade to forever credits. Credits no longer roll over but all incoming messages will be free. [See more info in FAQs below.]

  • All integrations are free on all plans.

  • There is an increase to voice broadcast charges to cover the costs of machine detection (an increase of 0.5 credits per number called).

  • Toll-free outgoing texts will cost 1.5 credits (an increase of 0.5 credits per 160 characters).

  • Reprocessing from toll-free numbers is now 1 credit per message (an increase of 0.5 credits per 160 characters). As before, this is a setting you control (on or off).

  • The use of the shared short code is optional as it’s being replaced by the A2P numbers. You can turn on the short code use in your account by either paying an additional $5/m or reserving at least one premium short code keyword. [NOTE: You do not need the shared short code as before. A2P is now implemented which means less carrier filtering.]

Pricing

Please increase your screen resolution for a larger view -OR- click on the images to go to the spreadsheet itself.

What is causing the changes? (the main reasons)

We took a long and hard look at how we can continue to remain solvent while ensuring churches don’t feel the brunt of the changes. So instead of increasing prices, we are restructuring our plans for a hopeful win-win. Here are the main things we took into account:

  • We never implemented any pricing changes since PastorsLine began in 2015. However, our costs continue to rise.

  • A2P is now implemented which means less carrier filtering - a significant benefit. However, it has come with new (and continually to increasing) carrier costs which we covered for the last 2 years.

  • PastorsLine is matching what the current church tech market is doing, so we can stay competitive and allow us to continue to innovate.

  • It was essential to find a way to allow us to scale and grow while being considerate to the post-pandemic challenges many churches are still facing.

Ways to manage the transition with minimal overall impact

  • I would recommend upgrading to the yearly plan before December 31, 2022 to lock in the current price for another 1 year billing cycle and all of your rollover credits. This may buy you some time to adjust to the changes. It also includes our normal 17% discount.

  • After January 31st, 2023, you will have no penalty on downgrading in the form of losing rollover credits. You can then right size your plans based on actual monthly usage. This will maximize your purchase. E.g. If you continuously see that you have 1000 credits at the end of the month but paying for 2000 worth of credits, you can consider downgrading to a smaller plan. If your use varies per season, a yearly plan with all your credits upfront which expire after 12 months will be your best option.

If you are currently on the $10/m plan and need to keep that budget, we will be offering a new $10/m plan you can downgrade to. It’s a limited special plan (not standard) with reduced credits and focused only on sending texts and voice messages. It is an ‘apply only’ account and intended for church plantsor financially-strapped ministries.

F A Qs

Q: What are the changes to messaging credits?

  • A2P messages cost more but are included in your new price.

  • All Incoming text messages will be free and will always be free.

  • You will be able to downgrade or upgrade at any time without losing any of your credits.

  • Your credits will no longer roll over automatically. They will expire at the end of each billing cycle. Yearly plans will still get all credits upfront and expire after 12 months.

  • Current accumulated 2022 credits will rollover for at least one billing cycle in the new year. You will be given an option to convert these into FRO. The cost would be an additional 25% of the per credit cost.

  • Starting February 1, 2023⁠—one month into the restructured plans⁠—you will be able to purchase a Rollover Protection (ROP) subscription. This will make sure your future credits become Forever Rollover (FRO) credits. For this pricing, see an FAQ below.

Q: What's the difference between Non-Rollover credits vs Forever Rollover credits?

Non-rollover (NRO) credits (or standard credits) expire at the end of each billing cycle. This is the default for all plans. Unused monthly NRO credits will expire monthly. Unused yearly NRO credits will expire yearly.

Forever Rollover (FRO) credits never expire. All one-time purchased credits are FRO and thus, will never expire. Rollover credits have a big advantage: even if your account expires, your rollover (FRO) credits remain. They are removed only when an account is marked as spam. So if you changed your mind, they would be waiting for you when you returned to PastorsLine. All plans can purchase an ROP subscription (as discussed in the FAQ above) which guarantees your credits will never expire.

Q: How would NRO vs FRO credits work?

NRO (non-rollover) credits are the credits that come with your monthly or yearly plans. They will be noted clearly on your account. These credits work like money in a checking account—the credits are 'deposited' by PastorsLine each month or year; they are 'withdrawn' by you when you message your people.

FRO (forever rollover) credits are like your savings account at your bank—they are basically 'inactive'. They are used last and only if your “checking account” NRO credits are depleted. In other words, if you have no more NRO credits, PastorsLine will use your FRO credits to cover the costs of your messages.

You can switch, upgrade, or downgrade at any time and never lose your FRO credits. And even if you cancel, you can come back, add any plan and access those credits.

All plans can purchase a ROP (rollover protection) subscription which guarantees your credits will never expire.

All one-time purchased credits are FRO and thus, will never expire.

To sum up, you can protect all of your credits by purchasing a ROP subscription.

Q: What will happen to my existing accumulated credits?

FOR UP TO ONE BILLING CYCLE IN 2023...We are allowing you to roll over 100% of your 2022 unused credits (monthly plans - 1 month; yearly plans - 1 year). So, upgrading now [Dec. 2022} to a yearly plan locks your credits in for up to 12 months.

2023.May.05: Your current accumulated non-rollover (NRO) credits will expire at your next billing cycle on May 29 2023 or after the next manual billing change you make -- whichever comes first.

This conversion (which is happening now) was pushed back from February 1, 2023 to give our PL partners more time to check things out and come to their best decisions.

You now have an option to convert any unused accumulated NRO credits into FRO credits. The cost is an additional 25% of the per credit cost. You have until your next billing cycle on May 29, 2023 or the next manual billing change you make -- whichever comes first.

Q: How does PastorsLine figure out which credits are NRO and which are FRO?

Before we discuss this, here is the logic (for those who like flowcharts):

AT THE START OF EACH NEW BILLING CYCLE (monthly or yearly), we will look at your credits in the following way:

If you are paying for an ROP subscription...

All your unused credits become FRO credits and go into your Credit Savings account. Your new credit allotment (monthly or yearly) are NRO credits and are added to your Credit Checking account. At the end of the billing cycle, any of these NRO credits which are still unused are automatically converted to FRO credits and added to your Credit Savings account.

If you do not have an ROP subscription...

All your unused NRO credits expire. That is, they are no longer available to you, and nothing gets added to your Credit Savings account. Your new credit allotment (monthly or yearly) are NRO credits and are added to your Credit Checking account.

Q: How does the ROP subscription pricing work?

If you choose to pay for an ROP subscription at the start of any billing cycle, you will pay an additional 25% of your plan cost.

Two examples:

  • You are on the $30/m plan. Here is the cost of the RPO subscription: 30 * 25% = $7.50. So, you would pay an additional $7.50 each month to convert your monthly allotment of NRO credits to FRO credits. Thus, a total of $37.50.

  • You are on the $500/yr plan you would pay an additional $125 (500 * 25%) each year to convert your annual allotment of NRO credits to FRO credits. So the cost of your annual plan would be $625.

HOWEVER...

If do not purchase an ROP subscription (that is, you decide to 'wait and see' if it is worth it and want to convert credits during your billing cycle), you will pay 50% of your per credit cost for the credits you wish to convert.

For example: You are on the $30/m plan. The ROP subscription would cost you $7.50/m. You choose not to buy it. Towards the end of the month, you want to save 500 unused credits. Your per credit price is $0.024 ($30 plan cost / 1250 monthly credit allotment). So you would need to pay $6 ((500 * 0.024) * 50%) to convert your 500 NRO credits to FRO credits. In other words, you pay $6 to save 500 or $12 worth of credits.

Check out this spreadsheet to calculate how much it would cost to convert your NRO credits to FRO credits at the 50% rate.

Q: What happens when we upgrade or downgrade?

We would now offer prorated billing. FRO credits are never affected whether you are on our standard plans or not.

If you are on our new standard plans, we will calculate the worth of your current NRO credits (your Credits Checking account) and will apply a monetary discount to your next purchased plan. If your discount is larger than your new billing, you would be given a credit on your billing which would be applied first to your subsequent billing. Each new upgrade or downgrade will then come with a new set of credits.

NOTE: If you repurchase a CURRENT NRO plan, we do NOT prorate credits. This works for monthly to monthly and yearly to yearly.

Q: This upgrade/downgrade + prorating is a bit confusing. Can we see some examples?

Sure.

A PastorsLine partner is on the $30/month plan. No rollover, no short code. February 1 they received their plan's 1250 credits. They have used 500 by Feb 15. They now have 750 credits.

They decide to UPGRADE to the $50/month plan. What happens?

The $30/m plan gives you 1250 credits.


1 credit is worth $0.024 (30/1250)
They have 750 credits:

750 x 0.024 * = $18 toward their new plan.

The new plan they choose is $50/m.


For the first month, they pay a prorated amount of $32 ($50 - $18).

They have no FRO credits but get the monthly NRO credit allotment. Since they did not buy an ROP subscription, these monthly NRO credits go into their "Checking" credit account. Repeats each month.

For the second and future months, they pay $50.

Their new billing date is the day they paid for the new plan.

A PastorsLine partner is on the $30/month plan. No rollover, no short code. February 1 they received their plan's 1250 credits. They have used 500 by Feb 15. They now have 750 credits.

They decide to DOWNGRADE to the $15/month plan. What happens?

The $30/m plan gives you 1250 credits.

1 credit is worth $0.024 (30/1250)
They have 750 credits:

750 x 0.024 * = $18 toward their new plan.

The new plan they choose is $15/m.

For the first month, they pay a prorated amount of $0 ($15 - $18) with a remaining $3 to use next month.

They have no FRO credits but get the monthly NRO credit allotment. Since they did not not buy an ROP subscription, these monthly NRO credits go into their "Checking" credit account. Repeats each month.

For the second month, they pay a prorated amount of $12 ($15 - $3).

For the third and future months, they pay $15.

Their new billing date is the day they paid for the new plan.

A PastorsLine partner is on the $37.50/month plan. With rollover, no short code. February 1 they received their plan's 1250 credits. They have used 500 by Feb 15. They now have 750 credits.

They decide to UPGRADE to the $62.50/month plan. What happens?

The partner is on the $30/m plan which gives 1250 credits. They are also paying $7.50/m for an ROP subscription.

Since they have an ROP subscription, their 750 credits go into their "Savings" credit account. We do not give them a prorated cash equivalent.

The new plan they choose is $50/m + $12.50/m for ROP.

For the first month and future months, they pay $62.50/m.

The first month, they receive the monthly NRO credit allotment of 2,750. Due to their ROP subscription, these NRO credits convert to FRO credits and are added to their "Savings" credit account for a total of 3,500 FRO credits. Repeats each month.

Their new billing date is the day they paid for the new plan.

A PastorsLine partner is on the $37.50/month plan. With rollover, no short code. February 1 they received their plan's 1250 credits. They have used 500 by Feb 15. They now have 750 credits.

They decide to DOWNGRADE to the $18.75/month plan. What happens?

The partner is on the $30/m plan which gives 1250 credits. They are also paying $7.50/m for an ROP subscription.

Since they have an ROP subscription, their 750 credits go into their "Savings" credit account. We do not give them a prorated cash equivalent.

The new plan they choose is $15/m + $3.75/m for ROP.

For the first month and future months, they pay $18.75/m.

The first month, they receive the monthly NRO credit allotment of 500. Due to their ROP subscription, these NRO credits convert to FRO credits and are added to their "Savings" credit account for a total of 1,250 FRO credits. Repeats each month.

Their new billing date is the day they paid for the new plan.


Q: Anything new with the keywords?

  • All A2P numbers will continue to include an unlimited number of free keywords.

  • The shared shortcode free keywords will now be unlimited on all plans. Premium shortcodes will cost less due to higher discounts.

  • It will cost an additional $5/m to enable the shared shortcode number to use for keywords or at least one active premium shortcode.

Q: How are multisite/multicampus (subaccounts) changing?

You will be able to add additional multisites/multicampuses (now called subaccounts)

as per your plan in order to manage your workflow without paying an additional fee. The credits will come from the assigned main company bucket of credits. Coming February/March 2023

Q: Any revisions to numbers?

  • Each plan will continue to include a certain amount of free numbers for US/CA/UK or a discount towards the purchase of an AU/ZA or other international number.

  • All included numbers are now A2P (application to person) compliant and include higher sending rates (varies according to trust score) and a lower chance of being filtered by spam. We waived the initial registration fees.

  • Additional numbers purchased will cost less ($2.99/ US/CA/UK phone number) and would not deduct from your bucket of credits. Currently, numbers cost 150 credits which is effectively $5 per additional number.

Q: What about shared numbers (shortcode and toll-free numbers)

  • A2P numbers have made the need for the shared shortcode and toll-free numbers redundant. To use them, they would need to be enabled (turned on).

  • It will cost you an additional $5/m to use the shared shortcode if you haven’t reserved any premium keywords.

  • Toll-free outgoing texts will cost 1.5 credits (0.5 more credits per 160 characters) up from 1 credit.

Timeline (2023)

2023.May.05: You now have an option to convert any unused credits from 2022 into FRO credits. The cost would be an additional 25% of the per credit cost. You have until your next billing cycle on May 29, 2023 or the next manual billing change you make -- whichever comes first.

Old Timeline

  • Jan 1st 2023

    • Restructured pricing comes into effect.

    • There will also be an increase in fees for Voice machine detection (from 0 to 0.5 credits per call) and Toll-free SMS/MMS (from 1 credit per segment [160 characters] to 1.5 credit per segment).

    • Warning about phone numbers being added as additional subscription cost but costing less vs paying for the numbers with credits.

  • During Feb 2023

    • Current partners will get a 30-day grace period on FRO credits.

    • All NRO credits will be expiring. Options to turn those into FRO credits.

    • Warning about the short code costs.

    • Warning about the short code being turned off for their account. Number off but the keywords will be disabled // not active on campaigns.

  • March 2023

    • Current partners: Switched to the standard new plans // no FRO credits by default.

    • Upgrading/Downgrading: you will be able to upgrade/downgrade without losing credits. If you Upgrade/Downgrade, we will then prorate your credit balance and give you a discount or a credit on your next purchase.

    • New $5/m charge for shortcode keywords if you don’t have at least one premium keyword.

    • Release the short code keywords that weren’t paid for.

    • New subaccounts feature.

Changes for the better

I know we don’t like to see changes in our bills, and I respect God’s money that is given as tithes and offerings. However, most plans are getting more value. This allows PastorsLine to continue to innovate while keeping the lights on. We are likely still more economical than other companies, and we plan to continue to make the changes you need to be effective with your ministry's digital strategy.

Our PastorsLine Version 3, incorporating much of your feedback and top wishlist items (as well as some of our own ideas) shows our dedication to your church’s success.

Please continue sharing your wishlist items, feedback, and other ideas. Based on demand, we will ensure your requests are met. We are grateful for your support. We plan to keep earning your business by continuing to add features which will help your church to grow.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reply to this email, reach out via the chat on our website.

We appreciate your loyalty to PastorsLine!

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