> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.autosnap.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Usage & Billing

> How AutosnapAI bills, when changes take effect, and how to manage your account

AutosnapAI bills **per dealership, per month**. Each dealership in your account is assigned a plan tier (Essentials, Enhanced, or Premium), and you're charged for each one at the start of the billing cycle.

## Billing model

|                        |                                                                       |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Unit of billing**    | Dealership-month                                                      |
| **Cycle**              | Monthly                                                               |
| **What's metered**     | Number of active dealerships × their plan tier                        |
| **What's NOT metered** | Requests, bandwidth, vehicles in inventory, API keys, MCP connections |
| **Currency**           | USD                                                                   |
| **Payment**            | Credit card (managed in your dashboard)                               |

## Adding a dealership

When you add a new dealership to your account:

1. Pick a plan tier (Essentials, Enhanced, or Premium)
2. The dealership starts being billed **prorated from the day you added it** through the end of the current billing cycle
3. From the next cycle on, it's billed at the full monthly rate for that tier

## Upgrading a dealership

When you upgrade a dealership from a lower tier to a higher tier:

1. The change takes effect **immediately** — the new tier's features unlock right away
2. The price difference is **prorated** for the rest of the current billing cycle and added to your next invoice
3. Going forward, the dealership is billed at the new rate

## Downgrading a dealership

When you downgrade:

1. The change takes effect at the **start of the next billing cycle**
2. You keep the higher-tier features for the remainder of the current cycle
3. No refunds or credits for the unused portion of the current cycle

## Removing a dealership

When you remove a dealership:

1. Active scraping stops immediately
2. The dealership is billed through the end of the current cycle
3. No further charges from the next cycle on
4. Vehicle data for that dealership remains queryable for 30 days after removal, then is purged

## Test usage doesn't count

API calls made with **test keys** (`as_test_...`) don't affect billing in any way. They use the [test key monthly quota](/get-started/rate-limits#test-key-monthly-quota) of 5,000 requests/month, which is independent of your live plan.

## Invoices

Invoices are generated at the start of each billing cycle and emailed to the billing contact on your account. They include:

* **Each dealership's plan tier** for the cycle
* **Prorations** for any mid-cycle changes
* **Subtotal and total** in USD

You can also download past invoices from **Dashboard → Billing**.

## Failed payments

If a payment fails:

1. We retry the charge over the next 3 days
2. You'll get email notifications at retry time
3. After 3 failed retries, your account moves to a **read-only** state — existing API calls return data but you can't add dealerships or upgrade plans
4. After 7 days in read-only state, scraping pauses
5. Once the payment succeeds, full access is restored automatically

To avoid interruptions, keep your billing card up to date in **Dashboard → Billing → Payment Methods**.

## Contact

Questions about billing, invoices, or pricing? Email [support@autosnaplive.com](mailto:support@autosnaplive.com).

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Plans" icon="layer-group" href="/plans-pricing/plans">
    What each plan tier includes
  </Card>

  <Card title="Feature Access" icon="list-check" href="/plans-pricing/feature-access">
    Which features unlock at which tier
  </Card>
</CardGroup>