Billing and credits
You buy credits in packs, like a prepaid phone card. When Clara works on a question, it sets aside a small slice of your credits, uses only what the work actually cost, and puts the rest back right away. During the beta everything is in test mode, so no real money moves at all.
This page is for business owners and admins.
Buying credits
On the Billing page in your portal, press Top up and pick a pack. You pay through a normal card checkout. The moment payment confirms, the credits appear in your balance.
During the beta the checkout runs in test mode. Use the test card number
4242 4242 4242 4242 with any future date. No real charge ever happens, and
your portal shows a test-mode notice so this is never a surprise.
What a question costs
Watch what happens to your balance when Clara answers one question:
Three steps, every time:
- A slice is set aside. Before work starts, Clara reserves enough credits to cover the worst case. This is the "hold". Your balance dips by the hold.
- The work happens. The actual cost is usually far smaller than the hold. A typical fully checked answer costs around 40 credits while the hold might be 200.
- The rest comes back. As soon as the run finishes, the unused part of the hold returns to your balance. You only ever pay the actual cost.
If a run is stopped by a safety check, you pay only for the checking that happened, not for an answer that never went out.
Reading your ledger
The Billing page has a Ledger tab. Every line is one movement of credits:
| Line type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| top-up | You bought a pack, credits in |
| hold | A slice set aside for a run |
| capture | The part of a hold actually used |
| release | The unused part of a hold, returned |
Holds and releases always pair up. If you ever see a hold without a matching release or capture, contact us with the reference id on the line.
Things that are not switched on yet
- Auto top-up exists on the page but is not active during beta.
- Invoices and saved payment methods arrive with real billing, after beta.
All billing is test mode until the beta ends. When real billing starts, we switch it on openly, with notice, and this page changes to say so.