---
title: "Add usage credit and manage balance alerts"
summary: "Add prepaid usage credit from the Usage page, check what's available, and set a low balance alert where alerts are offered."
url: https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/billing/add-usage-credit
product: "Matilda"
kind: how-to
version: v1
source: MaincodeHQ/matilda-apps@44e52b188d4d324371ee5fb4bb094dc1789ea478
---

# Add usage credit and manage balance alerts

Add prepaid usage credit from the **Usage** page, then check what's available and, where alerts are offered, get told when it runs low.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

Usage credit pays for usage after the included allowance runs out, up to your [spending limits](https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/billing/manage-spending-and-purchases). It doesn't buy seats or give anyone access. [Promotional credit](https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/billing/redeem-promotional-credit) is different: it comes off invoices.

Open the right **Usage** page:

- For an organisation, open the account menu, choose **Organisation settings**, then **Usage**. Owners, billing admins and billing viewers can open it.
- For yourself, open **Settings → Usage** while you chat as Personal. Your usage credit appears there once you have a personal billing account.

Owners and billing admins can add credit to an organisation. Billing viewers see the balance but not **Add credit**. An owner's **Usage credit purchases** limit on Billing decides whether credit can be bought and the most per purchase.

## Add credit {#add-a-one-time-amount}

1. On **Usage**, select **Add credit** beside **Usage credit**.
2. In **Add usage credit**, choose an amount. The amounts are the ones offered for your account.
3. Select **Continue to payment**. **Cancel** closes the dialog and starts nothing.
4. Stripe's secure payment page opens. Check the credit amount, tax and total
   before paying. If Matilda first offers **Pay on Stripe**, select it to continue.
5. Enter your payment details and confirm the payment on Stripe.
6. Return to the same **Usage** page and check your balance. If payment is still
   being confirmed, wait and check again; don't start another purchase.

![Add usage credit offers a few amounts and opens payment on the next screen. The amounts are sample data.](https://help.maincode.com/media/matilda/v1/en/528b16bf0a6b08052101cd14916bec11843bca1870207ae4aeecb04c10b52de0.png)

Card details go straight to Stripe, Matilda's payment processor. Credit is added as soon as the payment clears. If the checkout page shows a problem, see [checkout problems](https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/organisations/troubleshoot-setup-and-billing#s-checkout-shows-a-problem).

If **Add credit** isn't there, check your role, the organisation's **Usage credit purchases** limit and whether a payment is already in progress.

## Read your balance {#read-the-wallet}

**Usage credit** shows the amount available to spend. A pending amount beside it is held for replies that are still running, so it isn't final yet. **How usage credit works** explains that spending stops at your limits, which start again each month (UTC).

Below it, **Spending limits** shows **Spent this month** and the limits that apply. Statements for closed months are under **Usage statements**; see [usage and billing records](https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/billing/read-usage-and-billing-records#s-open-a-usage-statement).

If the balance didn't load, you'll see **We couldn’t load your usage credit**. Select **Try again**. A balance that didn't load is unknown, not zero.

## Use balance alerts {#use-balance-alerts}

**Balance alerts** appears on **Usage** when alerts can be sent for your account. If you don't see it, alerts aren't available to you yet.

1. Under **Balance alerts**, select **Edit alerts**. It appears only if your role can change alerts.
2. Turn on **Low balance alert** and enter an amount in **Alert below**.
3. Select **Save**. The confirmation lists what changes.
4. Select **Save alerts**. **Low balance alert** now shows the amount.

An alert tells you; it doesn't buy credit. There's no automatic top-up.

## If a payment or change didn't finish {#recover-a-lost-response}

If you left checkout before paying, **Usage** shows **You have a payment in progress**. Select **Continue payment** to go back to the same checkout. You won't be charged twice, and you can't start another payment until this one finishes or closes.

If Usage shows **Your last payment needs a check**, select **Contact support** before you add more credit.

If an alert change shows **We couldn’t confirm your last change**, it may already have gone through. Check what's shown, then select **Try again** to send the same change again, or **Discard** to clear it from this browser. Discarding doesn't undo a saved setting.

If you're asked to sign in again, select **Sign in again**. Signing in doesn't pay or save anything for you. [Troubleshooting](https://help.maincode.com/products/matilda/v1/en/organisations/troubleshoot-setup-and-billing#s-payment-or-billing-does-not-match) covers payments that don't show up.