How do credits work?
A credit is the unit we bill usage in. One credit equals one file analyzed by the API. Every plan comes with a credit allowance, and your current balance is always visible in your account under Account → Usage.
When do credits refresh?
Credits are tied to your subscription term, not to the calendar.
- Monthly plans receive a fresh allowance at the start of each monthly billing period.
- Annual plans receive the entire 12-month allowance up front, on the day the term starts, and you can spend it at whatever pace you like across the year.
Do unused credits roll over?
No. Credits do not carry over between billing periods. Whatever is unused when a term ends expires when the new allowance is granted.
If your usage is uneven from month to month, an annual plan is usually the better fit. Because the full year of credits lands up front, a heavy month can borrow against a quiet one without you having to change plans.
What happens to my credits when I change plans mid-term?
This is the part that surprises people, so here it is plainly:
We prorate money, not credits.
When you change plans partway through a billing period, your credit balance is set to the full allowance of your new plan for the remainder of the term. Not a prorated slice of it, and not your old balance plus a top-up. The full amount, effective immediately.
The price is what gets prorated. You are charged for the days you spend on each plan, and nothing more.
Upgrading
You get the new plan's full allowance right away, and you pay only the difference in price for the time remaining in your term.
Worked example. You are on Plus (5,000 credits, $99/month) and you burn through all 5,000 credits halfway into the month. You upgrade to Premium (10,000 credits, $199/month).
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Credit balance immediately after the upgrade | 10,000 |
| Charge for the remaining half-month of Premium | $99.50 |
| Credit for the unused half-month of Plus you already paid for | -$49.50 |
| Net adjustment on your next invoice | $50.00 |
Across that month you had 15,000 credits available in total (5,000 under Plus plus 10,000 under Premium) and you paid $149.00 for them. A full month of Premium on its own would have cost $199.00.
The same arithmetic applies to annual plans over a 365-day term instead of a month.
Downgrading
The rule is symmetric, which means downgrading mid-term can reduce your available credits.
If you move to a smaller plan partway through a term, your balance is set to the smaller plan's full allowance. If your balance at that moment is higher than the new plan's allowance, the difference is not preserved. You are refunded the unused time on the larger plan as a credit against your next invoice, but the credit balance itself resets.
If you only need a larger plan temporarily, the cleanest approach is to upgrade now and schedule the return to your original plan at your next renewal date rather than mid-term. Contact us and we will note it on your account.
If you are billed by invoice
Accounts on invoice billing cannot change plans themselves. The plan change options are not available in the web UI or the customer portal for these accounts, which is expected and not a fault with your account. Email support@uvasoftware.com with the plan you want and we will make the change for you. Everything described above about credits and proration applies identically once we do.
A few details worth knowing
Proration is calculated to the second. Our billing system measures the exact elapsed time in your term, not whole days, so if you recompute an adjustment by hand using round day counts you may land a few cents away from the invoice.
Adjustments appear on your next invoice, not as a separate charge. Changing plans does not alter your billing cycle or renewal date. The prorated difference is carried forward and settled the next time you are invoiced. For an annual plan, that is your renewal date, which can be many months out.
Your renewal date never moves. Whatever plan you are on when the term ends is the plan that renews.
What if I run out of credits?
Your API keys enter an insufficient-credits state shortly after your balance reaches zero, and further API calls fail. We send balance alerts by email at 50%, 25%, 10% and 0% of your allowance so this should not arrive unannounced.
If you hit zero because of a one-off event such as a migration or a backfill, email us at support@uvasoftware.com. We can apply a temporary credit boost to get you scanning again while we sort out the right plan with you.
See What happens when my account runs out of credits? and How do I change subscriptions?.