Credits billing

Sell credits. Bill the usage behind them.

AI products burn tokens, images, minutes and model calls. Customers want one number they can budget for. Bunny lets you include credits in a plan or sell them up front, draws usage down the moment it arrives, and decides what happens at zero: overage, auto top-up or a hard stop.

  • Real-time drawdown, record by record, not at month end
  • Auto top-up that invoices and charges the card on file
  • Deferred revenue and breakage handled by the billing system
Book a demo See how it works
Pro plan · AI credits Drawn from credits
Auto top-up
Remaining 10,000
of 10,000
Top up at 2,000 Pack: 10,000 credits
Ledger live
  • Included credits · this period +10,000

Why software companies are moving to credits

Pure usage pricing is fair, but it scares buyers and makes cash flow lumpy. Credits keep the link between price and consumption while giving both sides something they can plan around.

Capped spend, if you want it

Spend customers can budget for

A customer knows what they've bought and what's left. Procurement signs a fixed number, and blocking at zero means usage can never run past what was paid for.

Day 1 cash in

Cash before the cost

Prepaid packs and top-ups are paid before the usage they fund, so you're not carrying a month of model costs and chasing the invoice afterwards.

1 unit to sell

One unit for many meters

Tokens, images, transcription minutes and agent runs all cost different amounts. A shared balance lets you price each one without putting five meters on the order form.

How it works

Grant, draw down, invoice, recognize

Every credit has a source and every drawdown points at the usage that caused it. That's what keeps balances right, disputes short and the revenue schedule something finance can sign off.

1

Grant credits

Included free each billing period, sold up front as a one-time pack, or bought by an auto top-up. Each grant can expire after a set number of months.

2

Draw down as usage arrives

Each usage record your product reports draws credits straight away: credits for that feature first, then any money balance at the charge's price.

3

Invoice what credits didn't cover

The period's invoice bills only the units credits didn't cover, and money balances show as credits applied. Deleting a usage record gives its credits back.

4

Recognize revenue

Paid credits sit in deferred revenue until they're used. Drawdowns release it, and credits that expire unused are booked as breakage.

Decide what happens at zero

The hardest question in a credits model isn't the price. It's what happens when a customer's balance runs out mid-month. Set it on the charge, and change it for one subscription when a deal needs it.

Keep the customer working

Usage carries on past zero and the overage is billed on the period's invoice at the charge's own price or tiers. The usual choice for enterprise contracts where a hard stop isn't an option.

Credit balance this month example
10k 0 Day 1 Day 30 Overage billed
For AI products

Tokens are a cost. Credits are a product.

A buyer can't budget for 38 million tokens across three models. They can budget for 10,000 credits a month. Keep your rate card in your product, report credits to Bunny, and change what an action costs without touching a single contract.

Your rate card

one month, one customer
Action Credits each Count Credits Chat message 1 × 240 240 Image generation 10 × 18 180 Voice minute 4 × 95 380 Agent run 25 × 42 1050
Reported to Bunny as usage 1,850 credits

What the customer is billed

Team plan
Platform fee, billed in advance$99.00
Credits included each month1,000
Credits used1,850
Not covered by credits850
Overage at $0.05 per credit$42.50
1,000 included850 overage
Invoice total before tax $141.50

Switch the charge to auto top-up and the 850 credits come from a prepaid pack instead of overage.

Usage credits

One credit prepays one unit of a feature. Best when you sell a single currency of value, like AI credits, generations or minutes.

Money balance

A prepaid dollar balance that each usage charge draws at its own price. Best when you meter several things, such as tokens per model, and want one wallet to pay for all of them.

In Bunny

Set up credits billing in five steps

  1. 1 Define the unit. Create a feature such as “AI credits” for what your product consumes.
  2. 2 Choose Drawn from credits. On the usage-based charge, switch from Billed in arrears and set the credits included per period.
  3. 3 Pick what happens at zero. Bill overage, Auto top-up with a threshold and monthly cap, or Block usage.
  4. 4 Report usage. Your app calls featureUsageCreate through the GraphQL API or the Node.js and Ruby SDKs, and gets the balances it drew from back.
  5. 5 Sell it. Quote the plan as usual. Quotes and order forms summarize the credits a customer is buying.

Billing usage in arrears instead? See usage-based billing in Bunny for tiered, volume and hybrid plans.

A ledger per subscription Every grant, drawdown and top-up, with the invoice behind each movement.
Buy credits by hand Sell an extra pack from the subscription card, invoiced and charged on the spot.
Expiring credits Set how many months credits stay usable, or keep them for the charge's term.
Negotiated per deal Change included credits, overage price and run-out behavior on one customer's quote or subscription.
Revenue recognition Deferred on purchase, released on drawdown, breakage on expiry.
Credits move with upgrades A plan change carries the remaining credits to the new subscription.

Four ways teams use credits

The same building blocks cover a self-serve developer and a seven-figure enterprise commitment.

AI products

Plans with monthly AI credits

Each tier includes a credit allowance on top of the platform fee. Heavy users roll into overage or auto top-up instead of a support ticket.

Self-serve

Pay before you use

Customers buy a pack, usage draws it down, and Block usage stops them at zero. No unpaid usage, no collections.

Enterprise

Prepaid annual commitments

Sell a year of credits on the quote, collect up front, and recognize revenue as the customer actually consumes it.

Trials

A taste of the real product

Include a small allowance with a short expiry so prospects try premium features without running up costs.

Free trial

The RevOps expert your team never had.

Ask it anything about your book of business, and it answers from your live data. Point it at the renewal that needs a quote and it drafts one. All the digging, none of the digging.
  • Type "send upgrade quotes to all starter plan accounts" — done in seconds
  • Know which renewals need you this month, while there is still time to do something about it
  • Find every overdue invoice in one question, instead of one account at a time
Try free for 30 days

No credit card required. Cancel anytime.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is credits billing?
Credits billing is a pricing model where customers hold a balance of credits, either included in their plan or bought up front, and usage draws that balance down as it happens. When the balance runs out, the vendor bills overage, sells more credits or stops usage.
Why do AI companies sell credits?
AI products consume tokens, images, minutes and model calls that cost different amounts and mean little to a buyer in finance. Credits turn all of them into one number the customer can budget for, while the vendor keeps control of what each action costs in credits.
How does credit drawdown work in Bunny?
Set a usage-based charge to Drawn from credits. Each usage record your product reports with featureUsageCreate draws the subscription's credits as it arrives: unit credits for that feature first, then any money balance at the charge's price. Every grant and drawdown is on the subscription's credit ledger.
What happens when a customer runs out of credits?
You choose per charge, and can change it per subscription: Bill overage at the charge's price, Auto top-up to buy another pack of credits and charge the customer's default payment method, or Block usage so nothing past zero is billed.
How does auto top-up work?
When the balance falls to the threshold you set, Bunny invoices a top-up pack and charges the customer's default payment method. The credits are granted once the invoice is paid. You set how many credits each top-up buys, or a balance to top up to, and the most top-ups allowed in a month.
Can credits expire?
Yes. Set how many months credits stay usable on the charge. Left empty, credits stay usable until the charge's term ends.
How is revenue recognized on prepaid credits?
Paid credits are deferred revenue when they're bought. Bunny releases that revenue as usage draws the credits down, and records credits that expire unused as breakage.
Can a plan include credits every month?
Yes. A credits charge can include a set number of credits each billing period, and quotes can change that number for one customer. Customers can also buy extra credits up front as a one-time charge priced per credit.