Credits and billing
Who should be able to spend
Almost nobody decides this, and then it shows up in the breakdown. The three profiles and what to leave each.
Consumption is not generated by "the company": it is generated by specific people doing specific things. And since it is almost never decided who may do what from that angle, the first time someone opens the breakdown they find that 60% comes from one person who did not even know they were spending.
The three profiles by what they can trigger
| Profile | What actions they generate | What works |
|---|---|---|
| Whoever runs the day to day | Sends, reminders, uploads: high volume, low risk per action | No limits, with visibility |
| Whoever launches to many | Campaigns and bulk sends: few actions, wide reach | They should know it is one action and how many it reaches |
| Whoever switches on automations | Rules that fire by themselves, many times | Here yes: have someone review first |
Important
The third row is the only one genuinely worth putting a hand in front of, and not because of the action's cost — it is the same as any other — but because **it is the only one that multiplies without anyone touching it again**. A person sending consumes as they work; a misaimed rule consumes for as long as it is on, weekends included.
What works better than a limit
- 1
Let each area see its own consumption
Seeing the figure changes behaviour more than any permission: nobody wants to be the line that stands out.
- 2
Warn about what multiplies, not what adds
A send to two hundred is one action; an hourly rule is seven hundred a month.
- 3
And review who generated what monthly
Not to point fingers: to discover the process nobody knew existed.
Watch out
Beware the intuitive reaction of restricting whoever spends most. It is nearly always whoever works most with the outside world — the person chasing suppliers, the one sending for signature — and limiting them saves nothing: it moves the work elsewhere, usually to email, where no record remains. **If someone spends a lot and their job justifies it, the figure is not a problem: it is a description of their role.**
When narrowing does make sense
The third surprises people most on review: an integration that creates or notifies generates actions like a person, and it does not tire or take holidays.
Worth knowing
Everything executed is attributed to whoever did it — person, rule or integration — so the consumption conversation can be had with data rather than impressions. It is the difference between "we spend a lot" and "this rule has run seven hundred times this month".
›Can a per-user cap be set?
What exists is visibility and permissions over actions; the real brake is knowing who generates what.
›What if someone spends by mistake?
It is usually a rule, not a person: look at the automatic side first.
›Should consumption be shown to the whole team?
Their area's, yes. The company total, only to whoever decides.
A real case
The situation
A company sees high consumption and considers limiting whoever sends most.
What you do
- Checks the breakdown by origin and finds an hourly rule switched on two months ago
What you get
Adjusts the rule and leaves the top sender alone — they were the one getting the most deliveries.
The situation
Anyone can launch actions that consume.
What you do
- Defines who can do what
What you get
Spend has known owners.
The situation
Somebody new launches a campaign by mistake.
What you do
- Limits bulk actions to the right people
What you get
The big mistake stops being possible.
The situation
Nobody knows who generated a specific consumption.
What you do
- Checks consumption by user
What you get
The conversation happens with the right person.
The situation
Broad permissions are granted to get past a problem.
What you do
- Grants only what is needed
What you get
Access matches the role.
The situation
A department asks to be able to spend on its own.
What you do
- Separates consumption by department with its own limit
What you get
Each one decides within their own.
This article answers
- limit who can send
- control spend per user
- who can launch a campaign
- permissions and credit consumption