> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cobalt.peoplereign.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Billing & usage

> Track usage, manage your balance and payment method, and keep your agents funded with auto-renew.

# Billing & usage

Cobalt billing lives under **Settings → Billing**. It's where you watch how much
your agents are consuming, top up or manage your balance, and keep payment details
current. Billing is **per tenant** — each tenant has its own balance, payment
method, and usage (see [Working across tenants](/operate/working-across-tenants)).

<Note>
  Billing settings require the **Admin**, **Owner**, or **Billing** role. What you
  see depends on your plan: pay-as-you-go tenants manage a wallet and payment
  method here, while **Enterprise** tenants are invoiced and don't see the
  auto-renew and payment-method surfaces.
</Note>

## How usage is measured

Cobalt meters in **credits**. One credit covers one resolved end-user turn — an
employee asks, the agent works and answers. Console activity never consumes
credits: building, configuring, and testing in **Preview** are all free; credits
are spent only when real employees talk to your agents on a live channel.

New tenants start with **100 free credits** — no card required — so you can put
an agent in front of employees before setting up payment. Free credits are spent
first; once they're gone, usage draws down your wallet balance.

## What you can do

The Billing area is organized into tabs:

| Tab                | What it's for                                                                                                       |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Wallet**         | Your current balance and a one-click top-up.                                                                        |
| **Usage**          | How your balance is being consumed over time — a burn-up chart with breakdowns so you can see where spend is going. |
| **Auto-renew**     | Automatically top the wallet up when it runs low, so agents never pause for lack of funds.                          |
| **Payment method** | The card (or other method) Cobalt charges for top-ups and renewals.                                                 |
| **History**        | A record of past charges and top-ups.                                                                               |
| **Plans**          | Your current plan and the options available to you.                                                                 |

## Watch your usage

The **Usage** tab plots consumption over time and breaks it down so you can see
what's driving spend and roughly how long your current balance will last. Check it
periodically — especially after launching a new agent or channel, when volume can
climb quickly.

## Keep agents funded

If your wallet reaches zero, agents stop responding until you top up. To avoid
that:

* **Top up manually** from the **Wallet** tab at any time.
* **Turn on Auto-renew** so Cobalt refills the wallet automatically when it dips
  below a threshold you set, charged to your payment method on file.

Cobalt warns before things stop: billing contacts get a **low-balance email**
while there's still headroom, and if an auto-renew charge fails, Cobalt retries
it over the following days (immediately, then again hours and a day later) and
emails you about each failure before any interruption — so an expired card is
almost always fixable in time.

<Tip>
  Set up **Auto-renew** and a **payment method** before you put an agent in front
  of employees, so a busy day never interrupts service.
</Tip>

## If agents are suspended

When the balance is exhausted, employees get a brief "temporarily unavailable"
reply instead of an answer, and the console shows the suspended state. Recovery
is self-service: **any top-up reactivates the tenant immediately** — no support
ticket needed. Members without the Billing role see who to contact instead of
payment controls.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What exactly is a credit?">
    One credit covers one end-user turn — an employee asks, the agent answers.
    Building, configuring, and Preview are free; only live conversations consume
    credits.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Our agents stopped responding. Why?">
    The wallet most likely hit zero, which suspends live conversations. Top up
    from the **Wallet** tab and service resumes immediately. Turn on auto-renew
    to prevent it recurring.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="An auto-renew charge failed — are we suspended?">
    Not immediately. Cobalt retries a failed renewal over the following days and
    emails you each time before any interruption. Update the payment method on
    file and the next retry clears it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Who can see and manage billing?">
    The **Admin**, **Owner**, and **Billing** roles. Members without a billing
    role see who to contact rather than payment controls. See
    [Roles & team](/identity/roles-and-team).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is Enterprise billing different?">
    Enterprise tenants are invoiced against a contract rather than a wallet, so
    the auto-renew and payment-method tabs don't apply.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

* [Reporting](/operate/reporting) — the volume and resolution behind your usage.
* [Working across tenants](/operate/working-across-tenants) — each tenant bills
  separately.