About Credits

What are Credits?

Credits are what SageTracker devices use to send status and location reports to the tracking system server.  Credits are only applicable with the Prepay subscription option.  Customers with an unlimited subscription plan do not have credits deducted from their account and never have to purchase credits.

Each time a SageTracker device sends in a report to the server, the system will debit your account one credit. If your credit balance drops below zero, you will need to purchase more credits before in order to access your tracking information.  The device will continue to function normally and send its tracking telemetry into the system when your balance is below zero, and the system will continue to deduct one credit for each incoming report even when your balance is negative.  The unit is designed to send in a report each time that the device detects motion at a report interval rate you select.  When the equipment is stationary, SageTracker sends a status report to the server once per day so that you can be sure that the device is functioning properly.

How many credits do you need? This will depend on your usage and your reporting interval. To get an idea of how many credits would be used in the battery operated version, let’s look at a few example scenarios.

Example Usage Scenarios

SageTracker will generate a report at the interval rate you select whenever it is in motion. The device automatically sends in these motion related reports to the tracking site each time one is generated. SageTracker devices are also programmed to send a minimum of one daily status report to the Internet, which allows you to be sure that the device is functioning properly, even when it is attached to a vehicle which remains stationary for long periods of time.

How many credits do you need? This will depend on your usage and your reporting interval. To get an idea of how many reports would be generated, let’s look at a few example scenarios over a one week period:

Numbers are an estimate of the reports generated by ST Battery High, Medium, and Low use conditions in one day.

A SageTracker battery powered unit will normally send approximately 500 reports to the tracking server before the batteries need to be replaced, and field data shows that the typical time between battery changes range from slightly more than one week to over 90 days depending on the user’s application. You can use the table above to estimate both the time between your battery changes and the number of reports that you might use on a monthly basis.

One of the hardest decisions customers face when purchasing a SageTracker Battery is whether to purchase an unlimited reporting plan or use credits.  A good rule of thumb is that if you think you are going to use 300 credits or more per month based on the table above, you are going to be better off going with the unlimited reporting plan.