Customer Billing Quick Start
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:
- Create a meter to track requests
- Create a pricing plan
- Create a customer and assign the plan
- 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.