📌 This article covers the Usage Caps billing mode. For an overview of how Element451 bills usage and how to tell which mode your plan uses: see Usage-Based Pricing.
Overview
Under the Usage Caps model, each usage-based feature has an amount included in your annual contract (your cap) measured in the real units you already work in, like messages, minutes, and evaluations. Caps apply to your contract year, reset at renewal, and don't roll over or transfer between categories. You can check your usage against each cap at any time; there's no credit balance to manage.
Caps are soft limits: going over one never blocks a feature, stops a campaign, or interrupts a student. Your usage keeps working, and your account manager can add capacity if you need more and to help plan for the future.
The Six Usage Categories
Usage Caps track six categories, each measured in its own unit.
Category | Measured In | What It Covers |
Messaging (US & Canada) | Messages | |
Phone Calling | Minutes | Time your staff or agents spend on a phone call with a student, including call recording and transcription |
AI Voice Mode | Minutes | Time the AI spends speaking — on the phone, on the web, or in the Student Hub — via Advanced Voice Mode. Tracked separately from Phone Calling |
Phone Numbers | Numbers | Additional phone numbers provisioned for agents, departments, or campaigns |
Transcript Evaluations | Evaluations | Transcripts processed by the Bolt Transcript Evaluation Agent |
ID Verification | Verifications | Applicant identity verifications |
📌 Note: Transcript Evaluations and ID Verification require Bolt for Admissions or Element for Marketing + Admissions. Transcript Evaluations is also available with Element for Student Success. If your plan doesn't include those products, you won't see those categories.
What Isn't Capped
Many core parts of the platform aren't metered and have no cap, including:
Email sending: send as much email as your campaigns require
Contacts and users: No per-record cap
Admins or Internal Users: No per-seat or user cap
Application fraud detection the Bolt App Fraud Detector Agent is included in Bolt for Admissions or Element for Marketing + Admissions at no usage cost
The Bolt Application Reader Agent: Unlimited Applications included in Bolt for Admissions or Element for Marketing + Admissions at no usage cost
AI content and workflow generation — writing tools and workflow formulas
Web chat with Bolt agents
🧠 Good to Know: A couple of features have a technical limit rather than a usage cap — Calculated Segments and Bolt Agent Jobs. Most institutions never reach it, but if you do, you can request a courtesy capacity expansion, which we grant on a case-by-case basis.
Monitoring Your Usage
You can check your usage against every cap at any time from the Usage dashboard.
Go to Settings > General Settings.
Open the Usage page.
Review the progress bar for each active category — how much you've used and how much of your annual amount remains, in that category's unit.
✨ Pro Tip: Check the Usage dashboard before launching a large outbound campaign — like a big SMS push or an AI voice calling initiative — so you know how much headroom you have going in.
When You Reach a Cap
You're kept informed as your usage climbs. At 80%, your admins receive an in-app and email alert for that category; at 100%, a second alert confirms you've reached the included amount — the feature keeps working either way.
If you need more capacity for the rest of your contract year, reach out to your account manager.