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

# Credits and billing

> Your credit balance, how a generation is held and charged, and who manages billing.

Your organization has one balance of credits, and each generation uses some
of it. That balance pays for everything your organization makes, in Generate
and through the API.

![Settings, Billing: a credit balance of \$94.59 with \$0.00 held and \$94.59 available to start, Buy credits, Auto-reload credits off, complimentary credits expiring Oct 15, 2027, and the Usage-based billing model.](https://mintcdn.com/zero-gen/m4I7fPs1rAXZSMjU/images/foundations/billing.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=m4I7fPs1rAXZSMjU\&q=85\&s=9ca46edb12423b74c5ce9e48a09372a7)

## Your balance

**Settings › Billing** shows:

* **Credit balance**: what your organization has left.
* **Held**: set aside for work that's running now.
* **Available to start**: the balance less what's held. A new generation needs
  enough here to start.

The balance in the top bar shows the same amounts as **Organization
balance**, **Available to start** and **Reserved for running work**.

**Credits** lists where your balance comes from, with what's left of each and
when it expires. Its amounts are as of the time shown, so the latest usage may
not appear yet:

* **Prepaid** credits you buy. They expire one year after purchase.
* **Auto-reload** credits added automatically. See
  [Add credits](#add-credits).
* **Complimentary** credits from ZeroGen. They expire one year after they're
  added.

## How a generation is charged

1. **Estimate**: before you choose **Generate**, ZeroGen shows what the
   generation should cost.
2. **Hold**: when it starts, ZeroGen holds the estimate from your balance.
3. **Charge**: when it finishes, you're charged for what the model actually
   used, and the hold is released. The charge can be higher or lower than the
   estimate.

If a generation fails, you aren't charged for the output it didn't make,
though you may be charged for work the model already did. If you cancel,
outputs that already finished are kept and charged. A video the model refuses
before it starts is released right away.

A Seedance draft and its upscale are separate generations, each charged on
its own. See [Draft, then upscale](https://docs.zerogen.com/generate/draft-then-upscale.md).

## Add credits

Owners and Admins can buy credits whenever they like, or turn on
**auto-reload** to top up the balance automatically when it runs low. See
[Billing settings](https://docs.zerogen.com/administration/billing-settings.md).

## Who manages billing

Everyone in your organization can see **Settings › Billing**. Owners and
Admins buy credits, manage auto-reload, cards and billing details, set the
monthly spend limit, and see invoices and the **Usage** page. See
[Billing settings](https://docs.zerogen.com/administration/billing-settings.md) and
[Spend limits and budgets](https://docs.zerogen.com/foundations/spend-limits.md).


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