How do I top up my hunting ground's message balance?

The message balance is a prepaid credit, in euros, specific to each hunting ground. It is used to send stand assignments to your hunters by WhatsApp or SMS: you top up a sum, and each message sent reduces it. Emails remain free and are always sent. The hunting ground's administrator and manager can see the balance and top it up. For a syndicate member or ordinary member, grant them the **Manage the message balance** permission, Messages category, in the hunting ground's permissions. Without this permission, the **Messages** entry doesn't appear. **Watch the video: notify hunters by SMS or WhatsApp (47 s, in French)** https://youtu.be/cC2wrIdQ7Ck ## On mobile ### View the balance 1. **Hunting grounds** tab, open the hunting ground, under "ADMINISTRATION", tap **Messages**. 2. At the top, the **Balance** and its WhatsApp message equivalent. 3. "Rates" gives the price of a WhatsApp message and an SMS. 4. "Your hunters" sorts your hunters by their choice: WhatsApp, SMS, Email only, No number. 5. "History" shows the last 5 entries. **See all** opens the full history. ### Top up from the app Topping up can't be done in the app. 1. **Hunting grounds** tab, open the hunting ground, under "ADMINISTRATION", tap **Messages**. 2. Tap **Top up on the website**. The website's top-up page opens, asking you to sign in if needed. 3. When the page closes, the balance is reread. ## On the web ### View the balance 1. Click **Hunting grounds**, open the hunting ground, under "ADMINISTRATION", then **Messages**. 2. At the top, the **Balance** and its WhatsApp message equivalent. 3. "Rates" gives the price of a WhatsApp message and an SMS. 4. "Your hunters" sorts your hunters by their choice: WhatsApp, SMS, Email only, No number. 5. "History" shows the latest entries. Click **Show more** to see more. ### Top up the balance 1. Click **Hunting grounds**, open the hunting ground, under "ADMINISTRATION", then **Messages**. 2. In the **Top up** block, the "How much to top up?" section helps you choose. Enter the **Hunts in the season**; the **Hunters** field is already filled with those from the hunting ground and stays editable. 3. Read the estimate. If your hunters have already chosen WhatsApp or SMS, it is a single figure ("Estimated cost: …"). Otherwise, it is a range between all WhatsApp and all SMS. 4. Choose a **Top-up amount**: €10, €20, €50 or €100. The smallest amount that covers the estimate (the top of the range, if there is one) carries the "Recommended" label. If no amount covers it, €100 is recommended. With no hunts or no hunters entered, no label appears. 5. Click **Pay** followed by the amount, for example "Pay €20", then pay by card on the secure payment page. Back on Mes Chasses, the "Payment received. Your balance will update in a few seconds." message is shown and the balance tops up on its own. If you give up, "Payment cancelled. No amount has been charged." is shown and nothing is charged. ## What a message costs - WhatsApp: €0.05 per message. - SMS: €0.10 per message. The rates shown on the hunting ground's **Messages** page are authoritative. Only messages that are actually sent are counted. A message that fails or never leaves costs nothing. When a WhatsApp doesn't go through, an SMS takes over as long as the send is in progress (30 minutes at most), and it is this SMS that is counted. After this time, the hunter doesn't receive a backup SMS and the failure stays visible in the send result. When a send starts, the estimated sum is reserved on the balance, then the actual cost is charged at the end of the send. The history shows the reservation, its release, then the send. ## What the history shows Each line carries its label and its amount: "Free on opening", "Top-up", "Reserved for a send", "Reservation released", "Send", "Message refunded", "Top-up refunded" and "Balance adjustment". ## Good to know - Sending stand assignments by WhatsApp and SMS isn't yet available: stand assignments are sent by email, free of charge. You can top up the balance in any case; it doesn't expire. - Each hunting ground receives €0.50 free, once, when its balance is opened, for example on the first visit to the **Messages** page. A demo hunting ground doesn't receive it. - When sending by WhatsApp and SMS is available, it is offered when sending the hunt's stand assignments, on mobile and the web: the "Send the stands" window offers "Also send by …", with the cost and the balance before and after. It is a switch on mobile and a tick box on the web. - The balance doesn't expire, whether the hunting ground is subscribed or not, and doesn't change your plan. - The breakdown of "Your hunters" depends on each person's choice, made in their own profile. A hunter who has chosen nothing is counted as SMS, like one who has replied STOP to WhatsApp. "No number" groups hunters without a valid French or Belgian mobile. The breakdown appears on the **Messages** page, on mobile and on the web. - No VAT on the top-up (VAT not applicable, art. 293 B of the French General Tax Code). - A demo hunting ground can't be topped up: the page shows "Demo hunting ground: top-up is not available." - The balance isn't refundable, except in cases set out in our [terms and conditions](https://meschasses.com/legal/app/conditions-generales-utilisation/). The main one: if you are a private individual, you have 14 days after a top-up to withdraw, without giving a reason (article 17.3). A professional structure doesn't have this right (article 17.2). Make the request by email to contact@meschasses.com. We then refund, within 14 days, the part of this top-up that wasn't used, to the card used. The €0.50 offered is never refunded. ## Troubleshooting - "I don't see Messages in my hunting ground": you are missing the **Manage the message balance** permission. Ask the administrator or manager for it. - "Unable to load the balance.": on mobile, tap **Try again**. On the web, click **Try again**. - "You are not allowed to top up this balance." (web top-up page): your role doesn't allow top-up. - "This hunting ground is suspended, top-up isn't available for now." (web top-up page): top-up will reopen when the suspension is lifted. - "My top-up doesn't appear": the balance updates in a few seconds. If nothing changes, write to us from the help chat with the hunting ground's name and the date of the top-up. ## See also - [How do I receive my stand by SMS or WhatsApp?](article:how-do-i-receive-my-stand-assignment-by-sms-or-whatsapp) - [How do I place hunters with the guided tour?](article:how-do-i-place-hunters-with-the-guided-path) - [Roles and permissions](article:roles-and-permissions) - [How do I manage the hunting ground's subscription?](article:how-do-i-manage-the-hunting-grounds-subscription)