Documentation · Budgets and billing

Credits and auto top-up

How credits work, what they pay for, how to add them, how auto top-up keeps your agents running, and where to find your card and receipts.

Ivy Link is prepaid. You buy credits, and your reports and agent work spend them. Credits are not a subscription and there is no contract. The exception is Enterprise, a separate $1,000-a-month subscription for one site. Some older accounts also still have a monthly plan (see Cancel and refunds). Everything on this page happens on Billing.

How credits work

• One credit is one dollar. A balance of $42.50 is 42.5 credits.
• All your sites share one balance. Each site has its own plan that sets how fast its agents may spend. See Budgets.
• Credits don't expire while your account is active.
• Credits are added only after Stripe confirms the payment, and never twice. Clicking a pay button twice charges you once.
• Your card details are stored by Stripe, never by Ivy Link.

What credits pay for, and what's free

The free checks never touch your balance. They keep running when your credits run out, as long as the site's agents are on (any plan above Off).

Agents never do cheaper work to fit your balance. If the balance is too low for the next job, they wait until you add credits.

Add credits

1. Go to Billing and select Add credits. You can also use the Top up link next to "credits left" on Home.
2. In Amount, type any amount from $10 to $500. Cents are fine, like 50.25. The amount starts at $50.
3. Or pick a quick amount: $10, $25, $50, $100, $250 or $500.
4. Check the summary: Credits, Current balance and Balance after.
5. Under Pay with, choose one:
   • Your saved card, shown as the card brand and last four digits. It says Charged now, credits added instantly.
   • A different card (or Card if none is saved). This opens secure checkout on Stripe, and the card is saved for next time.
6. Select Pay $X for a saved card, or Continue to payment for a new one.

When it goes through, Billing shows "$X added to your balance" and your new balance. The new row is highlighted in Activity.

If something goes wrong

If your saved card needs extra verification from your bank, you're sent to Stripe checkout to finish the payment there.

Paying for a deeper report

When you pick a report depth your balance doesn't cover, its price shows as +$X. While you set up your first report, the button reads Pay $X and continue. You pay only the difference between the report's price and your balance, rounded up to whole dollars. It can be as little as $1, and the $10 minimum doesn't apply. The payment becomes credits on your account.

With a saved card, a dialog shows The report, Your balance covers and To pay now. Select Pay $X, or Use a different card to pay on Stripe checkout. Without a saved card, you go straight to Stripe checkout. See Report depths.

Auto top-up

Auto top-up adds credits from your saved card when your balance runs low, so your agents don't stop. It's off until you turn it on.

Your balance is checked before each job and every few minutes. If it's below your threshold, your card is charged once for the amount you set. It also tops up when your balance is above the threshold but too low for the job that's about to start.

At most 5 auto top-ups happen in any 24 hours.

Turn auto top-up on

1. Make sure you have a saved card. Add credits once, or select Add card under Payment method.
2. In the Auto top-up card, switch it on. The card reads On — save to apply.
3. In "When my balance falls below $__", set your threshold. It can be $5 to $500. The default is $10.
4. In "add $__", set how much to add each time. It can be $10 to $500. The default is $50.
5. Select Save.

You see Auto top-up is on and "When your balance falls below $Y, we'll add $X from your saved card." The Credit balance card then reads Auto top-up on · adds $X below $Y.

If your balance is already below the new threshold when you save, your card is charged straight away. You then see "$X added to your balance" and "Auto top-up charged your saved card."

If you have no saved card, you see Add a card to turn on auto top-up. Save a card first, then turn it on.

Turn auto top-up off

1. In the Auto top-up card, switch it off. The card reads Off — save to apply.
2. Select Save.

You see Auto top-up is off and "Your card won't be charged automatically." With auto top-up off, agents pause when your balance runs out.

When auto top-up turns itself off

If a top-up fails because the card was declined, the bank needs you to verify the payment, or there's no saved card, Ivy Link turns auto top-up off so nothing more is charged. You get:

• A banner on Billing: Auto top-up was turned off, with the reason and date, and "Nothing more will be charged."
• An email: "Auto top-up is off: your card wasn't charged".

To fix it, select Update your card and turn it back on in the banner. Replace the card if needed, then switch auto top-up on and select Save.

If Stripe is only briefly unreachable, auto top-up stays on and tries again.

Add or replace your saved card

Your saved card is used for one-click top-ups and auto top-up. The first card you pay with is saved automatically.

1. On Billing, find Payment method.
2. Select Add card, or Replace card if you already have one.
3. Enter the card on Stripe's secure page. Nothing is charged.
4. You return to Billing.

The Payment method card shows the brand, "ending in" the last four digits, and the expiry date. It reads Expires soon within 45 days of expiry and Expired after. Replace the card before then so auto top-up keeps working. Without a card it reads No card saved and "Your card is saved the first time you add credits."

Invoices and receipts

• Receipts: the bottom of Billing shows "Receipts go to" followed by your billing email.
• Activity on Billing is your record of every credit purchase and top-up. Buying credits is a one-time payment, not an invoice.
• Invoices: if your account has any Stripe invoices, Billing lists them with Date, Invoice, Amount, Status and PDF. Select the date to open the invoice, or Download for the PDF. A Due invoice has a Pay now button. Billing shows the latest 12. Select See older invoices for the rest.
• Edit billing details at the bottom of Billing opens Stripe's billing portal. When you're done, it returns you to Billing. If it doesn't open, you see Stripe didn't open. Try again in a minute.

If Billing shows Stripe didn't respond, your card and invoices can't be shown right now. Try again in a minute.

See what you've spent

The Credit balance card shows Spent this month (the calendar month so far, in UTC, including jobs still running) and Added all time.

Activity lists credits added and work spent over the last 90 days. Use All, Added or Usage to filter. Rows include:

Low balance warnings

You find out your balance is getting low in four places.

Each email is sent once per dip. Once your balance recovers, you'll be told again next time it runs low. Neither email is sent while auto top-up is on and working, because it refills your balance instead.

Your balance can show below zero, with a minus sign. Add credits to bring it back up.

Get agents running again

1. Select Add credits on Billing, or the Top up link on Home.
2. Or turn on auto top-up so it doesn't happen again.

Agents start again as soon as your balance covers the next job. Nothing else to do.

Stopping and refunds

You don't need to cancel anything. Stop adding credits, or turn a site's agents Off to stop all its spending. See Turn agents on and off and Cancel and refund.

Questions about a charge? Email hello@ivyl.ink.

Last updated October 31, 2026

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