The My Vodacom App is an awesome tool for checking your bill, buying bundles and tracking your usage, but what do the different parts of your bill mean? And when are certain allocations available to use? Here’s what you need to know.

Bill vs Balances

Your bill and your balances are two different things. Your bill is relevant to contract customers and reflects what is owed to Vodacom at the end of the month. 

However, in the My Vodacom App, your balances are what you have used up of your current data, voice and SMS plans. These balances are relevant to both prepaid and contract customers and reflect your different bundles and packages.

Anytime vs Night Usage

When you see minutes, data or SMS balances and bills, you will also see whether it is for use at any time throughout the day or only at specific times (such as Night Owl/Night Shift data). This is important since nighttime data, for example, is applicable only between midnight and 5:00. Outside of those hours, standard out-of-bundle rates will apply.

Decoding bill items

Minutes: This refers to the number of voice minutes you have available for phone calls. These calls are made over the Vodacom voice network and do not refer to voice calls made over a data connection, such as in WhatsApp.

Data: Data refers to the internet data available and used on your plan. This data includes anything you send or receive over an internet connection, such as messages and photos on WhatsApp, logging into your Facebook profile, and browsing the web. 

SMSes: SMSes are a specific type of text message sent directly to a SIM card and not through apps such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. SMSes show up in your default messaging app on your phone. They do not require an internet connection and are separate from your data allocation. They fall within their separate SMS quota on your phone plan and bill. 

Still aren't using our super-convenient app? Download the My Vodacom App for Android or iOS now and simplify your life!

Header photo by Alex Nemo Hanse on Unsplash