Effective September 1, 2026, Portless no longer invoices your contract minimum in advance. Instead, we compare your actual invoiced charges against your minimum once per quarter, and you are only invoiced if you fall short. If your agreement includes a minimum commitment, this changes when you pay and how much cash you hold. Your minimum amount itself has not changed.
Things to keep in mind
Any pre-payment invoice already sitting open on your account remains payable as issued. That amount was already applied as a credit against your shipping invoices, so the shipping you have received has effectively been discounted by it.
If you are unsure whether you have an open pre-payment invoice, check the Billing & Invoicing tab in your portal or ask your Customer Success Manager.
Why did Portless make this change?
Billing the minimum upfront tied up merchant cash before any shipping happened, and the resulting credit balances made invoices difficult to reconcile. Assessing after the quarter closes means you pay for what you actually used, and you are only invoiced for a minimum you did not reach.
Understand minimum commitment
When you sign a contract with Portless, your agreement may include a minimum commitment: a minimum dollar amount you agree to spend on Portless services each quarter. This ensures a baseline level of usage and is reflected in your contract terms. Your commitment amount is defined in your contract and configured by your Portless account team.
How it works
At the close of each quarter, Portless compares your total invoiced charges for the quarter against your commitment amount.
If your charges meet or exceed the minimum: Nothing happens. No additional invoice is issued.
If your charges fall below the minimum: You receive a shortfall invoice for the difference.
The shortfall invoice covers only the gap between what you were invoiced and your commitment minimum. It is not a penalty, it simply brings your quarterly total up to the agreed floor.
What counts toward your minimum
All standard invoiced charges during the quarter count toward your minimum, including:
Shipping fees
Pick & pack fees
Tariffs and duties
Storage fees
Service fees and incidentals
Ad-hoc charges
What does not count
Prior shortfall invoices. A shortfall invoice from a previous quarter does not count toward meeting the minimum in a future quarter. Shortfall invoices do not compound.
Example scenario
Your contract specifies a $15,000 quarterly minimum commitment.
Month | Invoiced Charges |
January | $4,200 |
February | $6,100 |
March | $3,800 |
Quarter Total | $14,100 |
Your quarter closes at the end of March.
Your total qualifying charges for Q1 were $14,100.
Shortfall = $15,000 − $14,100 = $900
Portless issues a shortfall invoice for $900. This invoice is subject to standard Net-7 payment terms.
If your Q1 charges had totaled $15,000 or more, no shortfall invoice would be issued.
Individual months within the quarter do not matter, only the cumulative total at the end of the quarter is evaluated.
How charges are assigned to a quarter
Charges are assigned to a quarter based on when the charge event occurred (in UTC), not when the invoice was issued. This means a charge for a shipment that occurred on March 31 counts toward Q1, even if the invoice containing that charge is issued in early April.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I get an invoice every quarter now?
Only if you fall short of your minimum. If your invoiced charges meet or exceed it, no true-up invoice is issued.
Can my minimum commitment amount change?
Yes. If your contract terms are updated, your Portless account team will update your commitment amount. Changes take effect at the start of the next quarter — they are never applied retroactively to a quarter already in progress.
What happens if I have no minimum commitment?
If your contract does not include a minimum commitment, none of this applies. No shortfall invoices are issued.
Do credits or refunds reduce my qualifying charges?
Credits and adjustments that appear on your invoices within the quarter are reflected in your qualifying charge total.
Are shortfall invoices subject to the same payment terms?
Yes. Shortfall invoices follow standard Net-7 payment terms, the same as your regular invoices.
Why is it quarterly instead of monthly?
A quarter smooths out normal seasonal swings in order volume. A slow month no longer triggers a charge on its own, as long as the quarter as a whole reaches your minimum.