Credits & Billing

Understand the credit-based pricing system and manage your organization's balance.

Overview

The platform uses a credit-based model where credits are consumed during product enrichment. Credits provide flexibility and predictable costs for AI-powered data extraction.

Credit System

What Are Credits?

Credits are the platform's currency for:

• Product Enrichment: AI-powered data extraction
• Product Validation: AI-powered data quality checks
• Web Scraping: Fetching product page data
• AI Processing: Running models and generating attributes

Credit Balance

• Organization-Level: Each organization has its own credit balance
• Shared Pool: All members of an organization share the same credit pool
• Real-Time Tracking: Balance updates immediately after usage

View your current balance:

• Dashboard: At the top of the dashboard
• Credits Page: Detailed balance and transaction history
• Before Enrichment: Estimated cost shown before starting jobs

Purchasing Credits

Via Stripe Integration

The platform uses Stripe for secure credit purchases:

1. Navigate to Credits
2. Click Buy Credits
3. Enter the number of credits to purchase
4. Click Checkout
5. Complete payment via Stripe Checkout
6. Credits added to your balance immediately after payment

Payment Methods

Stripe supports:

• Credit/Debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc.)
• Digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay)
• Bank transfers (ACH, SEPA)
• Local payment methods (region-dependent)

Pricing

Contact sales for current pricing information.

Credit Usage

How Credits Are Consumed

During product enrichment and validation, credits are consumed based on:

• AI Model: Budget, Normal, Pro, or Ultra model selection
• Product Complexity: More detailed products may cost more credits
• Attributes: Number of enrichment/validation attributes requested

Model Cost Comparison

Enrichment & Validation (per product with 5 attributes):

Actual costs vary based on product complexity and data availability.

Cost Estimation

Before starting an enrichment or validation job, the platform shows:

• Estimated cost per product
• Total estimated cost for the job
• Your current balance
• Remaining balance after job

Important: Jobs will fail mid-processing if credits run out!

Credit Transactions

Transaction Types

Transaction Status

Viewing Transaction History

Navigate to Credits page to see:

• All transactions (purchases and usage)
• Transaction amount
• Transaction type
• Timestamp
• Status
• Checkout session ID (for purchases)

Example Transaction History

Date                Type        Amount      Status      Balance
2024-01-15 10:30   Purchase    +100.00    Completed    125.50
2024-01-15 11:45   Usage       -15.25     Completed    110.25
2024-01-15 14:20   Usage       -8.50      Completed    101.75
2024-01-16 09:15   Purchase    +50.00     Completed    151.75

Credit Refunds

Automatic Refunds

Credits are automatically refunded when:

• Enrichment or validation job fails due to system error
• Product page cannot be accessed (after retry)
• AI model unavailable

Failed Enrichments

When individual products fail within a job:

• Credits for that specific product are not refunded
• Only successful enrichments consume credits
• Job status shows completed_with_errors

Manual Refunds

Contact support for refunds due to:

• Billing errors
• Quality issues with enrichment or validation
• System downtime during jobs

Refund policy subject to terms of service.

Free Credits

Trial Credits

New organizations may receive free trial credits:

• Automatically added on organization creation
• Typically 10-50 credits (varies by promotion)
• No expiration
• Same usage as purchased credits

Promotional Credits

Occasionally offered for:

• Platform improvements feedback
• Referrals
• Special events
• Beta testing new features

Low Balance Warnings

Balance Monitoring

The platform warns you when:

• Balance < 10 credits (warning notification)
• Balance < 1 credit (urgent notification)
• Attempting enrichment or validation job exceeding balance (blocked)

Notifications

Low balance notifications appear:

• On the Dashboard
• In the Credits page
• Before starting enrichment jobs

Preventing Interruptions

Best Practices:

1. Monitor balance regularly
2. Set up balance alerts (if available)
3. Purchase credits in advance for large jobs
4. Keep a buffer balance (~20% extra)

Credit Exhaustion

What Happens

When credits run out during a job:

1. Current product fails with "Credit limit reached"
2. Remaining products in job marked as failed
3. Job completes with completed_with_errors status
4. No additional charges or overdraft

Recovery

To resume after exhaustion:

1. Purchase more credits
2. Create a new enrichment job for failed products
3. Job will process successfully with available balance

Custom Pricing

Enterprise or high-volume customers may receive:

• Volume discounts
• Custom payment terms
• Dedicated support

Contact sales for custom pricing options.

Billing & Invoicing

Checkout Sessions

Each credit purchase creates a Stripe Checkout Session:

• Unique session ID
• Stored in transaction history
• Links to Stripe invoice
• Downloadable receipt

Accessing Receipts

1. Go to Credits page
2. Find the purchase transaction
3. Click on transaction to view details
4. Access Stripe receipt link

Invoice History

All payment history available in:

• Platform transaction history
• Stripe Customer Portal (link provided)
• Email receipts sent by Stripe

Credit Policies

Non-Refundable

Purchased credits are generally non-refundable except:

• Platform errors or outages
• Billing errors
• Service quality issues (case-by-case)

No Expiration

Credits never expire:

• Use at your own pace
• No time pressure
• Carry over indefinitely

Non-Transferable

Credits cannot be:

• Transferred between organizations
• Sold or exchanged
• Converted to currency

Troubleshooting

Purchase Failed

Common causes:

• Payment declined by bank
• Insufficient funds
• Stripe account issues
• Network connectivity

Solutions:

• Retry payment with different card
• Check with your bank
• Contact Stripe support
• Contact platform support

Balance Not Updated

After purchase:

• Stripe webhook delay (usually < 30 seconds)
• Refresh the page
• Check transaction status
• Contact support if > 5 minutes

After enrichment:

• Jobs update balance in real-time
• Check transaction history for deductions
• Verify job completed successfully

Unexpected Credit Usage

Check:

• Job details (model type, number of products)
• Attribute count (more attributes = higher cost)
• Failed vs successful enrichments
• Transaction history for exact amounts

Best Practices

Budget Management

1. Estimate Before Running: Always check cost estimates
2. Start Small: Test with 5-10 products before large jobs
3. Monitor Usage: Review transaction history regularly
4. Set Budgets: Plan monthly credit budgets
5. Bulk Purchase: Buy in larger amounts for better value (if discounts available)

Cost Optimization

1. Choose Right Model: Use budget model for simple products
2. Optimize Attributes: Only enable needed attributes
3. Clean Product Data: Ensure URLs are valid to avoid wasted credits
4. Batch Efficiently: Group similar products together

Support

Need help with credits or billing?

• Platform Issues: Use in-app feedback button
• Billing Questions: Contact billing@catalog-ai.tdcapps.com
• Payment Issues: Check Stripe Customer Portal
• Refund Requests: Contact support with transaction details

Next Steps

• Product Enrichment - Learn how credits are used
• API Keys - Set up API access
• Dashboard - Monitor credit usage