How it works
The allowance is attached to the plan. When a period starts and its invoice is paid, the allowance is issued to the subscriber's balance. Usage during the period draws it down like any other credits, and the next paid renewal adds the next allowance.
Two details matter. Issue the allowance on payment, not on the calendar date, so a failed renewal does not hand out free credits. And make the grant idempotent per invoice, because payment webhooks can arrive more than once and a duplicate grant is free usage you pay for.
Example
A $49 per month plan has a 5,000-credit allowance. On the March renewal the invoice is paid and 5,000 credits are added. The subscriber uses 4,100. If the plan rolls over, April's renewal brings the balance to 900 + 5,000 = 5,900; if it resets, April starts at 5,000.
Credit allowance in Cred
Each subscription carries a credits-per-period amount. Credits are issued once per paid Stripe invoice, including the first invoice and every renewal, and the grant is keyed to the invoice so a repeated webhook cannot issue the allowance twice.
Subscriptions docsQuestions
- What if a renewal payment fails?
- No allowance should be issued until the invoice is paid. The customer keeps any remaining balance, and the next allowance arrives when the retried or updated payment succeeds.
- How do I size an allowance?
- Start from the usage of a typical customer at that plan's price point, then check that the allowance at full use still leaves your target margin after model and payment costs.
- Is a credit allowance the same as a usage quota?
- They are close. A quota is a limit on usage that resets each period; an allowance is credits added to a balance, which can be spent alongside purchased credits and may roll over depending on the plan's rules.
