Usage credits

Fund usage-based charges with prepaid credits in Bunny: included credits, selling credit packs, promotional grants, auto top-ups, what happens when credits run out, invoices and revenue recognition.

Usage credits let a customer pay for usage in advance. A subscription holds a credit balance, and each usage record draws it down as it arrives. When the credits run out, the usage is billed as overage, buys an automatic top-up, or is blocked.

Credits come in two kinds:

  • Unit credits prepay units of a feature, such as tokens, API calls or minutes. One credit pays for one unit.
  • Money balance is an amount in the price list’s currency, such as $500, that usage charges draw down at their price.

Credits always belong to one subscription and only pay for that subscription’s usage.

Where credits come fromLink to Where credits come from section

  • Included credits: a usage charge can include a number of credits every billing period, for example 50,000 tokens a month.
  • Credit purchases: a one-time or recurring charge can sell credits, such as a pack of 1,000,000 tokens or a $5,000 balance.
  • Top-ups: more credits bought when the balance runs low, automatically or with Buy credits on the subscription.
  • Grants: promotional or goodwill credits, and adjustments, given by hand from the account.

Nothing changes for a subscription until it has a charge drawn from credits, so existing price lists and subscriptions are unaffected.

Setting up the catalogLink to Setting up the catalog section

Draw a usage charge from creditsLink to Draw a usage charge from credits section

On a usage-based charge, choose how usage is paid for:

  • Billed in arrears: usage is totalled and billed after each period, as before.
  • Drawn from credits: each usage record draws credits as it arrives, and what credits don’t cover bills as overage.

A charge drawn from credits has these settings:

  • Credits included per period: unit credits granted every billing period, in the unit the charge is measured in. Leave it at 0 for a charge that only draws credits the customer buys. A quote can change the number for each customer.
  • When credits run out: what happens to usage once the balance reaches zero. See When credits run out.

Included credits are granted for a period when its first usage arrives, and they’re usable until the period ends.

The usage calculation type doesn’t apply to a charge drawn from credits: every usage record is drawn once, as it arrives.

Sell creditsLink to Sell credits section

On a one-time or recurring charge, the Credits section sets whether buying it gives the customer credits:

  • No credits: a normal charge.
  • Usage credits: prepays units of a feature. Pick the feature under Credits are used for.
  • Money balance: a balance in the price list’s currency that usage charges draw down.

The charge’s quantity is the number of credits sold, so price it per credit. For example, a token pack with a flat price of $0.00002 per token and a default quantity of 1,000,000 costs $20 on a quote. Volume or tiered pricing can lower the price per credit on bigger purchases.

For a one-time credit charge, Credits usable for (months) sets how long the credits last after purchase. Leave it empty to keep them usable until the charge’s term on the quote ends. A recurring credit charge grants its credits each billing period, usable over that period.

Credits are granted when the invoice that sells them is issued.

When credits run outLink to When credits run out section

When credits run out is set on the usage charge, and can be changed for each subscription:

  • Overage: usage beyond the balance is billed at the charge’s price on the period’s invoice.
  • Auto top-up: Bunny buys more credits when the balance runs low.
  • Block: usage beyond the balance is still recorded, but never billed, and the balance shows as blocked. Your platform can read the balance state to stop the customer’s usage.

Auto top-upLink to Auto top-up section

Auto top-up has these settings:

  • Top up at or below: buy more when the available credits drop to this level or below.
  • Credits per top-up: how many credits each top-up buys.
  • Or top up to: instead of a fixed number, buy enough to bring the balance up to this level.
  • Most top-ups per month: once this many top-ups are bought in a month, further usage bills as overage. Leave it empty for no cap.

When you choose auto top-up, Bunny adds a top-up charge to the price list, linked to the usage charge, for the same unit and at the same price. Edit that charge to give top-ups their own price, for example volume pricing for larger top-ups, or a credit validity.

Each top-up is invoiced on its own, without a quote, and charged to the account’s default payment method. The credits become usable once the invoice is paid. If the account has no payment method, for example on net terms, they’re usable at once. If the payment fails, usage carries on as overage until the invoice is paid.

QuotesLink to Quotes section

Add credits-mode usage charges and credit charges to a quote like any other charge. In the quote builder you can change:

  • the included credits on a usage charge drawn from credits, including 0;
  • the number of credits on a credit charge.

The quote PDF and order form show a Usage credits summary: the included and prepaid credits, the order they’re used in, and what happens when they run out.

Credits on a subscriptionLink to Credits on a subscription section

The subscription’s card in the account shows a credits section with each balance:

  • the credits available, and a bar showing how much of the granted credits has been used;
  • the balance state: ok, low, depleted or blocked;
  • top-ups awaiting payment;
  • for each usage charge drawn from credits, what happens when its credits run out, and any overage so far this period;
  • each grant, with what’s remaining, its status and when it expires. Click a grant to see its details and its own ledger.

From the credits section you can:

  • Edit: change what happens when credits run out for this subscription, and its auto top-up settings.
  • Buy credits: buy credits for the customer now, at the top-up charge’s price. Bunny invoices the purchase and charges the default payment method. This needs the usage charge to have a top-up charge, which Bunny adds when you choose auto top-up on the charge in the catalog.
  • Ledger: open the credit ledger, which lists every movement with its date, amount, the balance after it and the invoice it belongs to.

Grant creditsLink to Grant credits section

To give a customer promotional credits, or correct a balance, use Grant credits in the account’s actions menu:

  • Subscription: the subscription whose usage the credits pay for.
  • Kind: Promotional or Adjustment.
  • Denominated in: Dollar balance, in a currency, or Unit credits, for a feature.
  • Amount, Usable from (today by default) and Expires after (leave it empty for credits that never expire).
  • Reason: shown in the ledger.

Unit credits must be for a feature that one of the subscription’s usage charges draws from credits, and a dollar balance must be in the subscription’s currency. Credits can be granted to, and bought for, active, pending and trial subscriptions.

To take a grant back, open it from the subscription card and use Void grant. Its remaining credits are removed from the balance, and the reason is kept in the ledger.

Usage and invoicesLink to Usage and invoices section

Order of useLink to Order of use section

When a usage record arrives, Bunny draws the credits that can pay for it in this order:

  1. free credits (included and promotional) before paid ones;
  2. the credits that expire soonest;
  3. the cheapest credits.

InvoicesLink to Invoices section

The period’s invoice lists the usage as usual, with a Credits applied line for what credits paid for. Only usage that credits didn’t cover is billed. Credits apply after discounts and before tax.

Sales tax is charged when credits are bought, never again on the usage they pay for. Only overage is taxed when it’s billed.

Correcting usageLink to Correcting usage section

Usage drawn from credits can’t be edited after it’s recorded. To correct it, record a negative usage record, which gives back the credits the original drew. Usage on an issued invoice can’t be changed.

Voiding an invoice gives back the credits its usage drew. Voiding an invoice that sold credits voids those credits.

ExpiryLink to Expiry section

Credits stop being usable after their expiry date, and any that are left expire. Paid credits that expire unused are booked as breakage revenue.

Plan changesLink to Plan changes section

When a subscription moves to another plan, its unused credits move with it, keeping their expiry and price.

Revenue recognitionLink to Revenue recognition section

Paid credits are deferred when the invoice that sells them is issued, and recognized as revenue as they’re used, at the price they were bought at. Credits that expire unused are recognized as breakage revenue. Free credits, such as included and promotional ones, never post revenue.

See Revenue recognition for how revenue is posted.