Billing Terms Glossary

A late payment fee is a charge added when the provider records payment after the bill's due date.

An overage charge is an extra amount billed when usage goes beyond what your plan or allowance includes.

A service fee is a broad charge connected to providing, supporting, or administering a service.

A regulatory fee is a charge related to government, regulator, or mandatory program costs that may be passed through on a bill.

A delivery charge is the cost associated with delivering a service or resource to your home or account location.

An account credit is an amount that reduces what you owe on a bill or future bill.

A prorated charge is a partial charge for only part of a normal billing period.

A usage charge is an amount based on how much of a service or resource was consumed during the billing period.

An administration fee is a charge described as covering account handling, billing operations, or general administrative costs.

A reconnection fee is a charge for restoring service after it was disconnected, suspended, or interrupted for account reasons.

A billing period is the date range covered by a bill, such as the days when service, usage, and charges were measured.

A due date is the date by which payment should be received or processed to keep the account current.

A minimum payment is the smallest amount the bill says must be paid by the due date to satisfy the provider's immediate payment requirement.

Balance forward is an amount from a prior bill that has been carried into the current statement.

A one-time charge is a non-recurring amount billed for a specific event, request, setup, correction, or service action.

A recurring charge is an amount that repeats on each bill while a service, plan, feature, or rental remains active.

An equipment rental fee is a recurring charge for using equipment supplied by the provider rather than owning it outright.

An activation fee is a one-time charge for starting a service, account, line, feature, or plan.

A cancellation fee is a charge for ending a service, contract, feature, or agreement before the provider's stated conditions are met.

A deposit is money held by a provider as security for future charges, equipment, or account risk.

Taxes are government-required amounts added to eligible charges on a bill.

An adjustment is a correction or change applied to a bill or account balance after charges were originally calculated.

A discount is a reduction from a regular charge, often shown as a credit, promotion, bundle reduction, or loyalty amount.

A statement balance is the amount the bill says was owed as of the statement date.

A payment arrangement is an agreement with a provider to pay a balance through a specific schedule or modified terms.