How does credit charging work in Willow360

Willow360 uses a credit-based system to charge for its services. Here’s a detailed overview of how it works

Licensing and Credits

Credits as Currency: Willow360 operates on a credit system. Customers purchase credits, which are then used to pay for the processing of files through workflows. Credits do not expire, so they can be used at any time without a deadline.

Trial Period: new organisations start in trial mode, which includes a set of trial credits to get started. The trial period lasts for 3 months. If credits are purchased during this period, the organisation transitions out of trial mode and the purchased credits are added to any remaining trial credits. If the trial expires without purchasing credits, the organisation's status changes to Licence Expired, restricting access to administrators only until credits are bought. If credits are then purchased, the organisation becomes active again immediately.

Purchasing Credits: credits can be purchased online through the Credits panel in Organisation Settings. Only administrators can buy credits. Payments are processed via Stripe, and users can choose their preferred currency during the first purchase. Payment details can be managed through Stripe's Customer Portal.

Workflow Costs

Base Cost: each workflow has a base cost of 1 credit per file processed.

Action Costs: the total cost of a workflow is the base cost plus the sum of the costs of all actions included in that workflow. Most actions cost 0 additional credits. Premium actions carry an extra charge:

WillowSign: 3 credits
AI Data (Regular mode): 1 credit
AI Data (Pro mode): 2 credits

The workflow cost is shown live in the top right corner of the workflow editor as you configure it, so you always know the exact cost per file before saving.

Calculating Costs: when files are added to a workflow, the total cost is calculated as the number of files multiplied by the workflow cost. If there are not enough credits to cover the entire batch, the whole batch is rejected. Credits are not partially spent across a batch.

Credit Reservation and Spending: credits are reserved as soon as files enter a workflow, ensuring all files in the batch can be processed to completion. Credits are only actually spent as each action is completed. If a file is deleted before reaching a premium action, the reserved credits for that action are returned to the organisation's balance. The Credit Audit in Organisation Settings records only credits actually spent, not reservations.

Handling Failures and Restarts: if a file fails without a retry option, both the credits spent for that file and any reserved credits for future actions are returned. If a workflow is edited and files are restarted, they are treated as new files and credits are deducted accordingly. If there are not enough credits to restart, the restart will not be permitted.

Notifications and Warnings

Low Credit Warnings: when less than 10% of the total purchased credits remain, a warning email is sent to the dealer and all administrators. This warning is not repeated for 7 days. If more files are added after those 7 days without credits being topped up, the warning is sent again.

Zero Credits: when credits reach zero, a notification email is sent to the dealer and all administrators. A Zero Credit bell notification appears for all administrators linking to Organisation Settings. A No Credits Left pop-up is shown after every login to all administrators and workflow creators until credits are purchased.

This system ensures that organisations can manage their workflows efficiently while keeping clear visibility over credit usage and when replenishment is needed.