Buy credits and set limits

Open Credits & Usage from the user menu or Settings. The account owner and administrators can buy credits and change the settings on this page. Credits must be turned on first; see turn credits on or off.

Buy credit packs

Open Buy credits to compare prepaid packs. Purchased credits don't expire. The current standard packs are:

Pay-as-you-go is $0.09 per credit. The page shows any account discounts and the amount to review before you buy. Use the Credit Cost Estimator to compare your expected usage with pack sizes.

Select a pack, review the purchase, and complete payment, including any payment authentication. Wait for the purchase to finish before retrying, then check your balance and History. Trial accounts need a paid plan before they can buy credits.

Turn on auto-refill

Auto-refill buys a pack for you when your balance runs low. It requires a saved card, including an actual card saved through Link. Link Instant Bank Payments are supported for pay-as-you-go, but not automatic refill.

1. Open Settings and choose Edit beside Auto-refill.
2. Turn it on, then choose Refill when balance falls below and Credit pack to purchase. The lowest threshold is 1,000 credits.
3. Save your changes.

Each refill is a separate charge and isn't limited by the pay-as-you-go cap. Billing contacts receive refill updates, including payment problems. If the pack you chose becomes unavailable, choose a current one.

Turning auto-refill off stops automatic purchases. Check the pay-as-you-go setting separately to see whether work can continue after prepaid credits run out.

Turn on pay-as-you-go

Pay-as-you-go lets work continue after prepaid credits run out. Turning credits on doesn't turn this on.

Open Settings and choose Edit beside Pay-as-you-go. Review the rate and payment information, complete any setup, and check the saved status. It needs an eligible paid account, automatic refill turned off, and either a supported saved card or a verified Link Instant Bank Payment. Billing identifies a verified bank-funded Link method as Instant bank payment beside the Link logo. Other or unverified Link methods cannot enable pay-as-you-go; use Update payment method on Billing to save a supported card if needed.

An instant bank payment confirms when charged; it does not prepay future usage. Usage is billed monthly, or sooner if the account reaches its payment collection threshold. That threshold only decides when a payment is collected. It doesn't limit spending, and a payment during the month doesn't reset your monthly cap.

Monthly spending controls

Manage these from Settings, under Caps and limits, or from Spending controls on Billing. Both work by calendar month and reset at midnight UTC on the first, regardless of your renewal date.

Set a pay-as-you-go cap

Choose Edit beside Pay-as-you-go cap, select Cap at, enter a monthly dollar amount, and choose Save changes. The form shows spending so far, rounding, and the choices available for your account tier.

Accounts without a custom cap use their tier's default. Some tiers require a cap and set a maximum, and Highest allowed, currently uses that maximum. No cap appears only when your tier allows it. A change in tier can change the default, the maximum, and the choices you see, so check the saved amount afterward.

When the remaining cap can't cover more usage, new work pauses once prepaid credits are gone. Rounding can leave a small amount of the cap unused. To continue sooner, buy prepaid credits, raise the cap, remove it if No cap is available, or wait for the next calendar month.

Set limits by person

Expand Credit limits by person. Review Used in the current month, enter each person's Monthly limit in credits, and choose Save limits. An empty field means No limit, and Cancel discards unsaved edits. The form shows any rounding and whether a saved limit pauses the person.

A limit doesn't set credits aside. A 2,000-credit limit caps what that person can use from the shared balance, and it doesn't stop anyone else from using it. When the person reaches the limit, their new work pauses until an administrator raises or clears the limit, or the next month starts. Buying a pack doesn't reset it.

Saved settings and work already running

Saved, takes effect soon means the change is saved but not active yet. Wait for Active before relying on it. Failed to apply means the change needs attention, so refresh the page and contact Customer Success if it stays that way.

Limits are checked before new work starts. Work already running can finish, but GovTribe charges only what fits within the active limit and cap, and any excess isn't charged. Lowering a limit below what someone has already used doesn't refund that usage.

Alerts and account tiers

In Settings, choose Edit beside Email alerts to add monthly pay-as-you-go thresholds in US dollars. Billing contacts receive an email when usage reaches each one. Alerts only notify you. They don't pause usage or replace a cap. Remove thresholds and save to stop these alerts.

A monthly pay-as-you-go cap also sends its own approaching-cap and cap-reached emails to billing contacts and the account owner. Removing your thresholds doesn't turn these off. Cap emails follow the calendar month, while your thresholds follow the pay-as-you-go billing period.

Use Manage on Billing to change recipients. Billing emails explains who receives what.

Expand Account Tier to see the current request limit and pay-as-you-go billing threshold. Tiers can increase with lifetime spend. Your tier also sets the default cap, the maximum cap, and whether No cap is available.

Related articles

• Credits & usage: Learn what uses credits, check your balance, and see what happens when you run out.
• Billing: Manage payment information, billing recipients, and invoices.
• History: Review credit grants, purchases, and billing effects.
• Choose the right GovTribe plan: Compare plans and annual credit allowances.