---
title: Customer Billing Quick Start
slug: customer-billing-quick-start
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-04-15T20:18:39.245Z
---

This guide walks you through a complete billing flow in Amberflo.

By the end, you will have:

- A **meter** capturing usage
- A **pricing plan** defining how that usage is charged
- A **customer** assigned to that plan
- **Usage data** reflected on an invoice

The goal is to get a simple, working setup. You can expand from there.

## What You’ll Build

Example use case:

You want to charge customers **$0.01 per API request**.

You will:

1. Create a meter to track requests
2. Create a pricing plan
3. Create a customer and assign the plan
4. Send usage and verify billing

## Step 1: Create a Meter

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Meters** (under **Manage**)

### Create the Meter

- Click **Create Meter** (top right)

### Configure

- **Label**
  Example: API Requests
- **API Name**
  Auto-generated
  - No spaces
  - Allowed: letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores
  - Max 50 characters
- **Description (optional)**
- **Meter Type**
  Select **Count**

### Dimensions (Optional)

Add dimensions if you want more detail later.

Example:

- endpoint
- region

You can skip this for now.

Click **Create**.

## Step 2: Create a Pricing Plan

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Pricing**

### Create the Plan

- Click **Create Pricing Plan** (top right)

### Configure

- **Name**
  Example: API Usage Plan
- **Billing Period**
  Choose:
  - **Monthly**, or
  - **Calendar Monthly**
- **Description (optional)**

Click **Continue**.

### Add a Rate

- Click **Add Rate** (right side)
- Select **Usage-Based**

Configure:

- **Meter**
  Select your meter (e.g., API Requests)
- **Rate Model**
  Leave as **Per Unit**
- **Price**
  Enter 0.01

Leave all advanced options empty.

Click **Continue**, then **Save**.

### Activate the Pricing Plan

Make sure the pricing plan is **active**.
If it is not active, it will not appear when assigning it to a customer.

## Step 3: Create a Customer and Assign the Plan

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Customers**

### Create Customer

- Click **Create Customer** (top right)

Fill in:

- **Customer Name**
  Example: Test Customer
- **Customer ID**
  Any unique identifier

Click **Save**.

### Assign Pricing Plan

- Open the customer you just created

In the **Pricing Plans** section:

- Click **Assign Plan**

Configure:

- **Plan**
  Select your pricing plan
- **Start Date**
  Choose:
  - **Now**, or
  - **Custom date**

Click **Assign Plan**.

## Step 4: Send Usage

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Meters**
- Click on your meter to open it

### Upload an Event

- Click **Event Upload**

Fill in:

- **Customer**
  Select your customer (may already be auto-populated)
- **Value**
  Example: 100
- **Dimensions (optional)**
  Only if you added them earlier

Click **Ingest Meter**.

You have now sent usage tied to that customer.

## Step 5: Verify Billing

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Customers**
- Open your customer

### What to Expect

- You should see a **non-zero invoice total**

Example:

- 100 units × $0.01 = $1.00

### If You Do Not See Data

Amberflo does not automatically refresh data views.

- **Refresh the page**

If data still does not appear:

- Confirm the customer has a pricing plan assigned
- Confirm usage was sent to the correct customer
- Confirm the pricing plan is active

## What You Just Did

You completed the full billing loop:

- Metered usage
- Defined pricing
- Assigned a customer
- Sent usage
- Generated billable charges

## What’s Next

From here, you can expand into:

- Tiered or volume pricing
- Discounts and promotions
- Multiple meters per plan
- Automated ingestion via API

Or move to the **Cost Visibility Quick Start** to understand how the same usage can be used to track internal cost.