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Usage-Based Billing + Credits
Michael Stephenson avatar
Written by Michael Stephenson
Updated yesterday

Overview

Some Element451 features are billed based on usage and draw from your credit balance. Each year (on your activation date anniversary), your institution receives an allotment of credits as part of its contract. These credits can be used across any eligible feature, and additional credits can be purchased if needed.

In this article, we'll walk you through the Billing and Usage sections of General Settings, explain how credits work, and help you manage your usage effectively

The usage-based billing model outlined in this article applies to agreements signed on or after February 15. Some features may not be usage-based for institutions contracted before this date. New features are subject to usage-based pricing for all clients, regardless of contract date. You can read the release notes for more information on the transition to usage-based billing.


Billing Page

The Billing page provides your basic plan information, usage credit balance, and billing information. It allows you to purchase additional credits, monitor usage, manage billing information, and review invoices.

Accessing Billing

To access the Billing page, navigate to Settings > General Settings > Billing. You must be an administrator to access this page. The Billing page is divided into three sections:

Plan

The Plan card displays your current Element451 plan, support tier, and the date you became a customer.

Usage Credits

The Usage Credits card shows your current credit balance. From this card, you can also purchase additional credits, adjust usage credit settings, and update billing information.

Purchasing Additional Credits

To add more credits:

  1. Click Add Credits.

  2. Enter the number of credits you wish to purchase.

  3. Click Confirm in the top-right corner.

  4. Complete your purchase on the payment screen.

Important:

  • Additional credits cost $0.01 each.

  • Purchased credits are non-refundable, have no cash value, and do not expire.

Billing Information

  • View and manage payment methods.

  • Update billing details.

  • Review invoice history.

The information in Billing, specifically your billing details and payment methods, only applies to your additional usage credits and is not used for your Element451 annual contractual agreement fee.

Usage Credit Settings (Auto Recharge + Admin Alerts)

Manage the following features:

  • Auto Recharge: Automatically adds a set amount of credits when your balance falls below a designated threshold.

  • Admin Alerts: Displays a banner in Element451 to notify admins when the credit balance drops below a specified threshold.

To configure:

  1. Enable Auto Recharge and set the threshold for replenishment and the number of credits to add.

  2. Enable Admin Alerts and set the threshold for triggering the in-app notification.

Credit History

The Credit History card provides a monthly period-based view of your starting balance, credits used during the month, credits added during the month, and ending balance.


Usage Page

The Usage page provides a detailed breakdown of how your credits are consumed across different features. This page helps you track and analyze credit consumption, making it easier to identify trends, optimize usage, and plan for future needs.

Accessing Usage

To access the Usage page, navigate to Settings > General Settings > Usage.

Credit Usage Breakdown

  • Displays the quantity of units used per feature and the total credits consumed.

  • Offers insights into which features use the most credits to help optimize usage.

  • Defaults to the current month but can be adjusted using the date picker.

Credit Consumption by Day

  • Provides a visual overview of your credit usage over time.

  • Defaults to the current month but can be adjusted using the date picker.

  • Helps track trends and ensure you stay within your credit allocation.


Usage-Based Features + Credit Cost

Below is a list of features that use credits, along with how we calculate their consumption.

BoltAI + AI-Powered Tools

Feature

Credits

Usage Unit (per)

AI Fraudulent App Detection¹

50

application

AI Advanced Voice Mode²

30

minute

AI Automation³

0.4

run

AI Application Reader³

200

application/run

¹Currently in preview, usage-based billing will begin on 5/1

²Currently in closed beta, wider release coming soon

³In final development; coming soon

Communication

Partners with contract agreements signed prior to February 15, 2025, will continue to operate under the terms outlined in their existing agreements for SMS, MMS, and phone usage.

Feature

Credits

Usage Unit (per)

SMS (Conversations + Campaigns)

2

message segment¹

MMS (Conversations + Campaigns)

4

message segment¹

Phone Numbers

1,000

number/month

In-App Calling (Voice)

2.5

minute

Call Recording

4

minute

¹An SMS message segment allows up to 160 characters for standard text or 70 characters if the message includes emojis or special characters. Messages longer than these limits are split into multiple segments, with standard text segments counting 153 characters each and messages with special characters counting 67 characters each. An MMS message segment (which includes media like images, GIFs, and videos) can contain up to 1,600 text characters. Any message with media is automatically sent as an MMS.

People

Feature

Credits

Usage Unit (per)

Additional Calculated Segments¹

100

segment/month

¹ If you exceed the number of calculated segments included in your contract, usage-based pricing applies. Typically, Engage partners receive 250 calculated segments, while Bolt and Ignite partners receive 100. However, your specific allotment depends on your contract terms.


Credits are non-refundable, have no cash value, and do not expire. Element451 reserves the right to adjust credit costs for individual features without notice.

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