Last updated July 24, 2024

 

Barn Owl’s Billing Policy covers how we charge for services related to Barn Owl cameras, connectivity, and software. For our current bundles and pricing, see our pricing page.

Billing Cycle and Invoices

Our software initiates a monthly or annual billing cycle when the account is activated. A valid credit card or a prepaid Annual Plan is required to activate an account. Billing cycles start when the Service Agreement is accepted and/or the plan is paid for.

For each billing cycle, Barn Owl will automatically provide an itemized invoice that can be viewed in Barn Owl HQ. Customers paying monthly will receive invoices monthly, and customers paying annually will receive invoices annually. 

Billing Cycle Options

We give customers the option to select one of the billing models in the table below.

Billing Models
	Flex Plan	Prepaid Monthly Plan	Annual Plan Paid Monthly	Prepaid Annual Plan
Annual Commitment Required	No	No	Yes	Yes
Credit Card Required	Yes	Yes	Yes • Annual Plans are subject to monthly overages, paid monthly.	Yes • Annual Plans are subject to monthly overages, paid monthly. • Approved Customers may be on an Annual Plan without a credit card on file.
Pooled Data	Yes (Usage-based billing)	Yes (Pre-paid buckets)	Yes (Pre-paid buckets)	Yes (Pre-paid buckets)
Prepaid Data Savings	-	50% see Prepaid Data section for details	50% see Prepaid Data section for details	50% see Prepaid Data section for details
Annual Payment Savings	-	-	1-mth Free	2-mths Free
Hardware Discount	-	10%	10%	10%
Items charged at the beginning of the current Billing Cycle	-	• HQ and HQ Upgrades • Connection Fees • Data Bucket • Add-Ons	• HQ and HQ Upgrades • Connection Fees • Data Bucket • Add-Ons	• HQ and HQ Upgrades • Connection Fees • Data Bucket • Add-Ons
Items charged at the beginning of the next month’s Billing Cycle	• HQ and HQ Upgrades • Connection Fees • Add-Ons • Data Usage • SMS Alert Usage	• Data Overage • SMS Alert Overage	• Data Overage • SMS Alert Overage	• Data Overage • SMS Alert Overage

 

Flex Plan

Flex is a usage-based billing model, where all charges occur at the end of the billing cycle based on what was actually used. 

 

Prepaid Monthly Plans

Prepaid Monthly Plans receive a discount on data.

The customer’s credit card will automatically be charged at the beginning of the monthly cycle based on the customer's current account settings. Monthly Data Overage and SMS Overage will be added to next month’s invoice.

 

Prepaid Monthly Plan Renewal

Monthly Plans will automatically renew for the next billing cycle unless changed by the customer prior to the start of the next billing cycle. Customers on Prepaid Monthly Plans will NOT receive notifications prior to each monthly billing charge.

 

Annual Plan, Paid Monthly

Annual Plans, Paid Monthly receive a discount on data and an additional discount for accepting to the terms of an Annual Service Agreement. The annual billing period starts when the first camera is activated. 

The customer’s credit card will automatically be charged at the beginning of the monthly cycle based on the Annual Plan any upgrades during the annual billing period. Annual Plans are subject to monthly overages in accordance with the overage rate on the annual plan. If overages apply, the overage will automatically be charged at the next monthly billing cycle.

 

Annual Plan, Paid Monthly Renewal

After the initial annual period, Annual Plans will automatically renew on a month-to-month basis unless changed by the customer prior to the start of the next monthly billing cycle.

Prepaid Annual Plans

Prepaid Annual Plans receive a discount on data and an additional discount for paying annually and accepting an Annual Service Agreement.

Prepaid Annual accounts will be credited with 12 Prepaid Monthly Plans to be used in a 12-month period. The annual billing period starts when the first camera is activated. 

Prepaid data and SMS buckets are a monthly allowance, NOT an annual allowance. Unused allowance does NOT carry over to the following month. Annual Plans are subject to monthly overages in accordance with the overage rate on the annual plan. If overages apply, the overage will automatically be charged at the next monthly billing cycle.

 

Overage for Prepaid Annual Plans without a Credit Card On File

Approved customers may be on a Prepaid Annual Plan without a credit card on file. In this case, overages will be added to an annual overage balance. If the annual overage balance is below $500, the overage will be added to the next annual bill. If the annual overage exceeds $500, Barn Owl will invoice the customer the overage balance and may contact the customer to increase monthly allowances.

To help prevent overages, customers will receive usage notifications when the account is pacing ahead of the monthly Billing Alerts Dollar Value or has exceeded the monthly Billing Alerts Dollar Value. See the Billing Alerts section for details.

 

Prepaid Annual Plan Renewal

Annual Plans will automatically renew for the next billing cycle unless changed by the customer prior to the start of the next billing cycle. Barn Owl will send an email 14-days prior to the renewal of the next Annual Plan to remind them of the renewal, delivery of the email is not guaranteed.

Mid-Cycle Billing Changes

Flex Plan

Customers can add cameras and upgrade features at any time. Connectivity Fees and billing features are billed on a pro-rated basis. See Flex Plan Connection Fee section for details.

 

Prepaid Monthly Plan

Customers can add cameras and upgrade features at any time. If a camera is added or a feature is upgraded during a monthly billing cycle, the prorated monthly rate for the current month will be added to the next month’s invoice. Additionally, the Prepaid Monthly Plan will increase for following months to account for the added cameras or upgrades.

For suspended/removed cameras or feature downgrades, Barn Owl uses a fair billing policy, applying a prorated credit to the next monthly billing invoice based on the difference in the prepaid plan and the downgrade. 

During plan renewal, the Prepaid Monthly Plan will automatically be set in accordance with the account settings at the time of renewal. Connection Fees and Data Plans are based on the number of Active cameras, Barn Owl Care is based on the number of Active cameras, and AI is charged for each camera with AI set to “On”.

 

Annual Plan, Paid Monthly

Customers can add cameras and upgrade features at any time. If a camera is added or a feature is upgraded during an annual billing cycle, the prorated fees will be added to the next month’s invoice, and the Annual Plan will be updated to reflect the upgrades for the remainder of the Annual Plan.

Cameras can be Suspended/Removed and features can be downgraded, but the current Annual Plan will not be changed until the next annual billing period, in accordance with the Annual Service Agreement. At the expiration of the Annual Plan, the plan will switch to a Prepaid Monthly Plan. The Prepaid Monthly Plan will automatically be set in accordance with the account settings at the time of renewal. Connection Fees and Data Plans are based on the number of Active cameras, Barn Owl Care is based on the number of Total (Active + Suspended) cameras, and AI is charged for each camera with AI set to “On”.

 

Prepaid Annual Plan

Customers can add cameras and upgrade features at any time. If a camera is added or a feature is upgraded during an annual billing cycle, the prorated fees will be charged immediately as a Top-up to cover the higher rate for the rest of the annual billing period.

Cameras can be Suspended/Removed and features can be downgraded, but the current Prepaid Annual Plan allowances will not be changed until the next annual billing period, in accordance with the Annual Service Agreement.

During plan renewal, the Prepaid Annual Plan will automatically be set in accordance with the account settings at the time of renewal. Connection Fees and Data Plans are based on the number of Active cameras, Barn Owl Care is based on the number of Total (Active + Suspended) cameras, and AI is charged for each camera with AI set to “On”.

 

Flex Plan to Prepaid Monthly or Prepaid Annual Plan

If a customer changes from a Flex (including legacy plans billed in arears) to an Annual Plan, the Flex Plan will be terminated and charged for the usage and feature options for the current month to that point. The Prepaid Monthly or Prepaid Annual Plan will be initiated on a new billing cycle, starting when the change is made.

 

Prepaid Monthly Plan to Flex Plan

Changing from a Prepaid Monthly Plan to a Flex Plans can only occur at the end of the monthly period. Monthly Plans will automatically renew for the next billing cycle unless changed by the customer prior to the start of the next billing cycle. When a customer changes from Prepaid Plan to a Flex Plan (billed in arrears), they switch from paying at the start of the monthly billing cycle to paying at the end of the monthly billing cycle, in accordance with Flex Plan rates.

 

Prepaid Annual Plan to Flex Plan

Changing from a Prepaid Annual Plan to Flex Plans can only occur at the end of the annual period. Annual Plans will automatically renew for the next billing cycle unless changed by the customer prior to the start of the next billing cycle. Customers will receive an email 14-days prior to the renewal of the next Annual Plan to remind them of the renewal.

 

Billing Alerts

Billing Alerts allows account owners to receive notifications when the usage is on pace to exceed or exceeds the monthly Bill Alert Threshold, a total dollar value. For prepaid plans, the Bill Alert Threshold is equal to the monthly prepaid bill. Customers on Flex Plans can set a manual Billing Alert Threshold on their account to activate notifications.

Barn Owl’s software will check usage against the prorated value of the Billing Alert Threshold on a weekly basis (every 7 days). Account owners will be notified by email and in-app alerts at the following times:

• Usage exceeds 110% of the prorated Billing Alert Threshold during the weekly check
• Usage exceeds 100% of the Billing Alert Threshold

 

Billable Service Details

Through our software, we bill for the following core services:

• Barn Owl HQ (software)
• Connectivity (cellular data plans, data usage, and SMS usage)
• Add-ons (Barn Owl Care, AI, SMS Alerts, and API Access)

 

	Billed per Account	Billed per Camera
Barn Owl HQ Features
Auto-Tags (AI)		✔ AI can be turned on or off for each camera independently.
Extended Cloud Storage	✔
Additional Users	✔
Priority Support	✔
Connect
Connectivity Fee		✔
Data Usage or Data Bucket	✔ Data is Pooled across all cameras. For Prepaid Buckets, each camera adds to the account Pool.
Add-Ons
Barn Owl Care		✔ All Active or Suspended cameras are added to the coverage.
SMS Alerts	✔
API Access	✔

Barn Owl HQ

Core functionality of Barn Owl HQ is provided at no cost, but users may elect to purchase upgraded features. Pre-selected bundles include some upgraded features, and users may also upgrade features within their account settings.

 

HQ Feature Details

Auto-tags (AI)

Users can turn AI on independently for each camera. For Flex Plans, AI will only be billed for cameras with AI set to ON or if AI is used to process images during the billing cycle. For Prepaid Monthly and Prepaid Annual Plans, the plan will default AI on for all Active cameras. Account owners can turn AI off for individual cameras; the prorated savings will be credited to the customer, and the reduced rate will apply the following month. See the Mid-Cycle Billing changes section for details on billing changes.

AI tagging of images will start when AI is turned on for that camera. Historical images in the camera’s history will not be processed by AI. 

 

Additional Users

One user is included at no charge. Additional users are $5 each. For additional users, HQ’s Role-based Access Control allows the account owner to manage the admin and viewing permissions of other users.

 

Cloud Storage

When a camera is Active or Suspended, all photos and videos are accessible up to the account’s retention limit. Retention limits are per account and apply to all cameras in the account. Thirty (30) days of retention are included for free. Any photo or video marked as a favorite (★) will be retained as long as the camera is Active, regardless of the account’s retention limit. Extended cloud storage rates are per account and do not increase with more cameras.

 

Support Level

All customers have access to Barn Owl’s standard email (support@barnowl.tech) and phone support (720-594-3649) during business hours (9am-6pm EST, Monday-Friday).

Customers who select Priority Support will be provided a priority phone number within Barn Owl HQ. While we strive to serve all customers with great support, Priority Support customers will receive cue priority and faster response times.

 

API Access

API access enables unlimited access to the Barn Owl API. This policy is subject to change. Accounts with exceptionally high API usage may be limited or charged additional fees.

 

Connectivity

Connectivity fees consist of the following items:

• Cellular Connection Fee
• Cellular Data
• SMS Alerts

 

Cellular Connection Fee

This fee covers the cost of SIM activation, cellular network access, and basic customer support. Camera connectivity is managed differently for Flex and Prepaid Plans.

 

Prepaid Connection Fees

Connection Fees are charged at the beginning of the monthly or annual billing period. The number of Connection Fees is determined by the current number of Active cameras at the time of plan renewal. Cameras can be added, suspended, or removed at any time, and billing changes are in accordance with the Mid-Cycle Billing Changes section.

 

Flex Plan Connection Fees

The connection fee depends on the camera’s status, Active or Suspended.basic

Active = $5/mth

The camera’s SIM card has access to cellular data and the user has access to the camera’s media history. A camera is set to Active when it is added to a user’s account. If a camera is set to Active for a part of the month, the Connection Fee is prorated.

Suspended = $0/mth

Suspended SIMs can be re-activated at any time. Media for Suspended cameras is retained up to the account’s Retention Limit. Cameras can be manually or automatically Suspended.

• Manual Suspend. Cameras can be manually Suspended at any time in the app (Camera Menu → Camera Profile → Camera State = Suspend). To reactivate a manually Suspended camera, simply set it back to Active in the app. Please note, it may take up to a few hours for carriers to reactivate a Suspended SIM card.

• Automatic Suspend for non-payment. If a billing period’s invoice is not paid in full within 14 days of the first attempted charge, the account will be frozen with all cameras automatically moved to Suspended. When an account is frozen for non-payment, users will not have access to cameras or media history. The account will be fully restored when the invoice is paid. See Failed Payments section for more details.

Removed = $0/mth

If a camera is no longer needed, it can be permanently “Removed” from the account. When a camera is removed, all media and settings history for that camera will be permanently deleted. Removed cameras will still be charged prorated connection and usage fees in the month it was removed.

Removed cameras can always be reactivated through the Add Camera process. Cameras that are Removed and then re-added will not have any media history associated with them when they are reactivated, and it may take up to a few hours for cellular carriers to reactivate the SIM card.

The SIM for removed cameras can be reactivated for a period of 13 months. If the SIM has not been reactivated within 13 months, it will be permanently deactivated. Re-adding a camera with a deactivated SIM will require the purchase of a new SIM card from Barn Owl.

 

Cellular Data

For both Flex and Prepaid Plans, data is pooled for all cameras in the account.

 

Flex Data

With Flex Data, customers only pay for the amount of data actually used, and data is pooled across all cameras on the billing account. Data used is rounded up to the nearest KB and charged by the KB at the end of the billing cycle. Data rates are tiered, so the cost per MB decreases as data use increases.

Barn Owl determines data usage by tracking the data that is actually received by our servers. By using the data value that is actually received by our servers, Barn Owl is able to report accurate, real-time data usage without relying on cellular carriers, and it benefits customers by removing extra data use that SIM cards transmit to manage cellular connectivity.

Flex Plan - Pooled Data Pricing (for activations before 6/7/2024)
# Small Pics	# Medium Pics	# Large Pics	# Videos	Price
(640 x 480px)	(1280 x 960px)	(1920 x 1440px)	(720p, 10 sec)
500	167	83	10	$7.90
1,000	333	167	20	$10.55
2,000	667	333	40	$15.80
5,000	1,667	833	100	$26.25
10,000	3,333	1,667	200	$37.00
20,000	6,667	3,333	400	$53.00

 

Flex Plan - Pooled Data Pricing (for activations after 6/7/2024)
# Small Pics	# Medium Pics	# Large Pics	# Videos	Price
(640 x 480px)	(1280 x 960px)	(1920 x 1440px)	(720p, 10 sec)
500	167	83	10	$7.90
1,000	333	167	20	$10.00
2,000	667	333	40	$14.70
5,000	1,667	833	100	$16.00
10,000	3,333	1,667	200	$31.50
20,000	6,667	3,333	400	$40.00

Sample pricing table by image or video count.

Actual pricing will vary because image & video sizes depend on media content.

Data Cost Calculator - use our calculator to approximate Flex Data charges.

 

Prepaid Data (Monthly and Annual)

Data buckets are set by the selected product bundle, and customers can increase the data bucket size as needed to meet their needs. Data buckets are pooled together for all cameras on the account. 

Data pooling allows for simpler management of data usage because customers only need to manage the total data used by the account instead of each individual camera. For example, if a customer has three cameras and selects the Standard data bucket with 50 Mb per camera, the Pooled data allowance is 150 Mb per month for the account.  If a camera exceeds 50 Mb in the month there is no overage unless the whole account uses more than the pooled, 150 Mb. 

Prepaid data customers receive a discount off of Flex Data rates.

Prepay Data Bucket discounts are calculated per camera:

• <50MB: 20% Discount
• >=50MB and <300MB:  24.17% Discount
• >=300MB and <2000MB:  38.08% Discount
• >=2,000MB: 52.83% Discount

Prepaid Data Overage Fees

See the Prepaid Monthly Plans and Prepaid Annual Plans section for details on overages for prepaid plans.

 

Add-Ons

 

SMS Usage

SMS Commands

SMS Commands are used to send control commands to the RangeCam and ReachCam series of cameras to change settings or trigger a photo/video. SMS Commands are included with our service at no charge.

 

SMS Alerts

SMS messages are used to send text alerts to users’ phones. Each phone number that receives an alert is a separate SMS message. The fee covers SMS costs charged by the network carriers. If you do not wish to pay for SMS alerts, email alerts and in-app notifications are free.

SMS Alerts are: $0.03 per SMS. There are no discounts for SMS due to the costs charged by cellular carriers.

For Flex Plans, SMS Alert Usage fee is added to the end-of-month invoice. For Prepaid Plans, users may select a prepaid SMS bucket for the account. The SMS bucket resets each month. If actual SMS usage exceeds the prepaid bucket, SMS Overages will be charged in accordance with the  Prepaid Monthly Plans and Prepaid Annual Plans section.

Barn Owl Care

Barn Owl Care is an optional service that protects the user’s cameras. Barn Owl Care premiums and coverage will be applied to all cameras in the account that are either Active or Suspended, and the paid Premium covers the upcoming billing period. The premiums,  deductibles, and upgrade deposits are set based on the camera model. 

See the table below for benefits.

Barn Owl Care
	Barn Owl Care	Standard Warranty
Dedicated Customer Support	Y	Y
45-Day Return Policy	Y	Y
2-Year Warranty for Defects	Y	Y
Free Shipping for Warranty Claims	Y	Y
Lifetime Warranty for Defects	Y
Theft Protection	Y
Vandalism Protection	Y
Accidental Damage Protection	Y
Extraordinary Weather Event Protection	Y
Exclusive Offers	Y
Pricing (per camera)
Monthly Rate	$ / Camera / Mth
EdgeCam	$40.00
RangeCam / ReachCam	$5.00
Camera Replacement Fee (covers shipping & activation)
EdgeCam	$400.00
RangeCam / ReachCam	$30.00
Camera Upgrade / Loyalty Camera Fee
EdgeCam	$1000.00
RangeCam / ReachCam	$80.00

 

For Flex Plan customers, the option to turn on Barn Owl Care is in the "Billing" section of the Barn Owl App.  When Barn Owl Care is turned On, it protects the cameras for the billing cycle following payment. Barn Owl Care pricing is applied to all Active or Suspended cameras associated with the account. For Flex Plans, Barn Owl Care can not be applied to a portion of the account’s cameras. 

For Prepaid Plan customers, Barn Owl Care is included with all Prepaid Plans and covers the prepaid billing cycle. Cameras that are currently Suspended and not on a prepaid plan are not eligible for a Barn Owl Care replacement or upgrade for that camera. To be eligible for a camera replacement, the camera must have a Prepaid Plan for three consecutive billing cycles, including the billing cycle in which the replacement or upgrade is requested.

All cameras will initialize Barn Owl Care at $5 per month for the first month. If the camera is an EdgeCam, the higher monthly rate of $30 per month will be applied starting with the second billing cycle.

 

Barn Owl Care Camera Replacements

To be eligible for a camera replacement, premiums must be continuously paid for at least three months or a single annual payment prior to the claim. Claims are limited to one per year for each camera on Barn Owl Care.

To initiate a Barn Owl Care claim, contact customer service. The Replacement Fee, which covers shipping, handling, and camera activation, depends on the product being replaced. If the camera model being replaced is discontinued or not in stock, customers may choose a different model of a similar price point (within $100 retail price) as a replacement.

 

Barn Owl Care: Camera Upgrades and Loyalty Cameras

An upgrade is defined as upgrading to a newer model with the same approximate price point (within $100 retail price). A Loyalty Add-on is defined as keeping the existing camera and using the Barn Owl Care benefit to add a camera to your account. For Upgrades and Add-ons, customers can choose any camera within $100 retail price of the original camera on Barn Owl Care. To be eligible for a camera upgrade or add-on, Barn Owl Care must be continuously paid for at least twelve months prior to the upgrade or add-on. Upgrades and Loyalty Add-ons are limited to one per year for each camera on Barn Owl Care.

 

Failed Payments

A valid credit card or a prepaid Annual Plan is required to activate an account.

Flex Plan Failed Payments

If a billing period’s invoice is not paid in full within 14 days of the first attempted charge, the account will be frozen with all cameras automatically moved to Suspended. When an account is frozen for non-payment, users will not have access to cameras or media history. The account will be fully restored when the invoice is paid.

 

Prepaid Monthly Plan Failed Payments

A successful prepayment is required to activate the account. For active accounts, if a monthly prepayment is not paid in full within 14 days of the first attempted charge, the account will be frozen with all cameras automatically moved to Suspended. When an account is frozen for non-payment, users will not have access to cameras or media history. The account will be fully restored when the invoice is paid.

 

Prepaid Annual Plan Failed Payments

A successful prepayment is required to activate the account. For active accounts, if an annual prepayment is not paid in full within 14 days of the first attempted charge, the account will be frozen with all cameras automatically moved to Suspended. When an account is frozen for non-payment, users will not have access to cameras or media history. The account will be fully restored when the invoice is paid.

Prepaid Annual Plans with a credit card on file, if an overage charge fails, the account owner will be notified and the account will be Suspended if the overages have not been paid within 14 days.

 

Billing Policy Changes

Because cellular carriers and cloud services frequently change their billing policies and rates, we reserve the right to change our policies in the future. Account owners will be notified by email of any billing policy changes.

 

Contact

If you have any questions about our policy, please contact us.

• Phone: (307) BARN OWL (227-6695)
• Email: info@barnowl.tech