What is usage-based pricing, and when does it cost less?

Usage-based pricing charges you for actions, not for access. You pay when you post an entry, share a document or send a message, and nothing for months, modules or features you do not use. It suits small and mid-sized businesses whose activity rises and falls with the season, and owners who mainly want to look at their numbers. It is not always cheaper: at high, steady volumes a flat plan can cost less.

How it differs from subscriptions

	Per-user subscription	Plan or feature bundle	Usage-based
You pay for	Each person who logs in	A set of modules, used or not	What you actually do
In a quiet month	Same fee	Same fee	Less
In a busy month	Same fee	Same fee, or an upgrade	More
Adding one feature	Often a higher plan	A higher plan	Pay when you use it
Predictability	High	High	Depends on watching usage

Many products mix these models. Auditer is mostly usage-based, with one fixed part: a seat for each team member beyond the Owner.

When it costs less, and when it does not

Usage-based pricing usually costs less when:

• one or two people use the software, mostly to view reports;
• activity is seasonal, like a fertiliser dealer in Nashik who is busy in the kharif and rabi seasons and quiet in between;
• you need a feature now and then, such as a few e-way bills a month;
• you would otherwise buy a bundle and use two modules out of eight.

It can cost more when:

• volumes are high and steady, for example tens of thousands of entries and messages every month;
• many people need access, because seats add up;
• you send many paid messages, such as daily WhatsApp updates to hundreds of customers;
• nobody watches usage, so costs drift up unnoticed.

Take the fertiliser dealer in Nashik. He creates about 900 entries a month in the peak seasons and 150 in the quiet months. At 0.10 credit an entry, that is 90 credits in a peak month and 15 in a quiet one, while the seat for his one staff member stays at 100 credits a month.

A fair test is to estimate a typical month and a busy month under both models, with your own numbers.

How Auditer credits work

• ₹1 buys 1 credit, plus 18% GST.
• Every new account gets 10 free credits.
• Purchased credits are valid for 24 months.
• The Owner buys credits in the web portal, and every chargeable action in the workspace is paid from the Owner’s credits, whoever performs it.

Action	Credits
Viewing data, syncing, reports, dashboards, AI insights, Help Center, push and in-app alerts	Free
The Owner’s seat	Free
Each additional member	100 a month
Entry posted to TallyPrime	0.10
Document shared as PDF	0.10, once per document
E-invoice or e-way bill	2 each, returned if the portal refuses
Turning on e-invoice, e-way bill or GST returns for a company	100 each, once
WhatsApp message	1
Email or SMS	0.5 each
Extra workspace	1,000, once

Two details matter. The payment reminder feature is free, but each message it sends is charged by channel. And quotations are not posted to TallyPrime, so they cost something only when you share one as a PDF.

A worked example

A business has the Owner plus 2 staff, creates 300 entries a month in Auditer and shares 150 PDFs.

Item	Credits a month
2 staff seats × 100	200
300 entries × 0.10	30
150 PDFs × 0.10	15
Total	245

That is 2,940 credits a year: ₹2,940 plus GST, or about ₹3,469 with GST. Messages and compliance documents come on top. If the same business sends 120 WhatsApp reminders and generates 40 e-invoices a month, add 120 + 80 = 200 credits a month, plus 100 credits once to turn on e-invoicing for the company.

Entries your accountant makes directly in TallyPrime are not charged, because syncing is free. Only entries created in Auditer and posted to TallyPrime count. To work out your own figure, use the pricing calculator.

How to estimate your own cost

1. Count the people, apart from the Owner, who will log in to Auditer.
2. Estimate the entries they will create in Auditer each month.
3. Estimate the PDFs shared and messages sent, by channel.
4. Add e-invoices, e-way bills and any one-time activations.
5. After the first month, compare your estimate with actual usage and adjust.

Questions to ask before you choose

Whichever product you are considering, these questions show whether usage-based pricing will work for you:

1. Which actions are charged, and which are free? Looking at your own data should not cost money.
2. Is there a fixed part, such as seats, and how does it grow with your team?
3. Do failed actions cost anything? For example, is the charge returned when a government portal refuses a document?
4. Do credits expire, and after how long?
5. Can you see usage by action and by month?
6. What happens when credits run out? Can you still see your books?
7. Who can buy credits, and do you get a proper tax invoice for the purchase?

How Auditer helps

Auditer shows credit usage and transactions under Billing & Credits on the web portal, so the Owner can see where credits go each month. If credits run out, viewing and syncing continue; actions that cost credits pause, and entries that could not be sent can be retried after a recharge. Because viewing, syncing, reports, dashboards and AI insights are free, you can connect TallyPrime and judge Auditer on your own books before spending much. Read why Auditer charges this way.