How is usage billed?
Last updated: July 13, 2026
Overview
Salesbricks supports flexible usage-based billing to match how your customers actually consume your product. Depending on how you configure a usage brick on an order, Salesbricks can charge customers upfront via a pre-commitment, in arrears for pay-as-you-go consumption, or a combination of both — automatically tracking any usage that exceeds a committed amount and billing it as an overage.
Usage calculations are handled automatically by Salesbricks. You do not need to manually compute charges; Salesbricks applies the rates and billing rules defined on the order as usage is logged.
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Billing Models
Pre-commitment (charged upfront)
A pre-commitment is a fixed quantity of usage that your customer agrees to purchase in advance. The pre-committed amount is charged upfront at the beginning of each billing period according to the Pre-commitment reset schedule you define on the order.
Available reset schedules are:
Schedule | Description |
|---|---|
Monthly | Commitment resets each month |
Quarterly | Commitment resets each quarter |
Semi-annually | Commitment resets every six months |
Annually | Commitment resets once per year |
Contract period | Commitment covers the full contract and does not reset |
Because the pre-committed quantity is paid in advance, it is counted toward the customer's recurring charges and is reflected in MRR.
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Pay-as-you-go (charged in arrears)
If no pre-commitment is set on a usage brick, the customer is billed in arrears for exactly what they consume during each billing period. No charge is made upfront.
In the order builder, a usage brick with no pre-commitment entered shows Pay-as-you-go: no pre-commitment beneath the brick configuration. Pay-as-you-go usage revenue is not counted in MRR — it is billed as a separate usage invoice after the period closes.
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Overages (charged in arrears)
When a customer has a pre-commitment and their actual usage exceeds the committed quantity, Salesbricks automatically tracks the excess and bills the overage amount in arrears at the end of the billing period.
The overage charge is calculated as:
> (Actual usage logged − Pre-committed quantity) × Overage rate
The overage rate is defined on the order using the Overage method setting. Two options are available:
Overage method | How it works |
|---|---|
Pre-commitment rate | Overages are charged at the same per-unit rate as the pre-commitment |
Flat rate | Overages are charged at a custom per-unit rate you specify in the Overage flat rate field |
When Flat rate is selected, you enter the specific per-unit price in the Overage flat rate field. This rate is recorded on the order and used for all overage calculations during the subscription period.
Overage revenue is not included in MRR. It appears as a separate line item on the customer's invoice, distinct from the pre-committed subscription charge.
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How to Configure Usage Billing on an Order
In the Salesbricks admin, navigate to Orders and open an existing order or click Create order to start a new one.
In the order builder, locate the usage brick you want to configure.
To set up pay-as-you-go billing, leave the Pre-commitment field empty. The brick will display Pay-as-you-go: cost based on usage.
To set up a pre-commitment, enter a quantity in the Pre-commitment field.
Click Configure to open the Configure pre-commitment modal.
Select the desired billing frequency from the Pre-commitment reset schedule dropdown (Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-annually, Annually, or Contract period).
Choose an overage method from the Overage method dropdown:
Select Pre-commitment rate to charge overages at the same rate as the pre-commitment.
Select Flat rate to specify a custom overage price, then enter the per-unit amount in the Overage flat rate field.
Click Apply to save the configuration.
Complete and send the order as normal.
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How Salesbricks Calculates and Bills Usage Automatically
Once an order is active, Salesbricks handles all usage billing automatically:
Pre-committed charges are invoiced at the start of each billing period defined by the reset schedule.
Pay-as-you-go and overage charges are invoiced in arrears after each billing period closes, once usage for that period has been logged.
Salesbricks compares the usage logged against the pre-committed quantity to determine whether an overage exists.
If usage exceeds the pre-commitment, the overage amount is calculated using the overage rate on the order and added to the customer's invoice automatically.
You do not need to manually calculate or enter overage amounts. As long as usage events are being reported to Salesbricks, the billing engine computes the correct charges.
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Requirements
Usage-based billing requires a usage brick to be included in the product plan associated with the order.
The overage flat rate is only active when the Overage method is set to Flat rate; it is disabled when Pre-commitment rate is selected.
Pre-commitment schedule changes on an active subscription are locked after the initial order is placed — the schedule from the original contract is preserved on upgrades.
Usage must be reported to Salesbricks (via API or UI) for automatic overage detection and billing to function. If no usage is reported for a billing period, no pay-as-you-go or overage invoice is generated.