---
id: KB-CD-002
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/credits-and-billing/what-uses-credits-and-what-does-not
idioma: en
categoria: creditos
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CD-001, KB-AD-001, KB-CD-020]
citadoPor: [KB-CD-003, KB-PR-006, KB-CD-015, KB-CD-021, KB-CD-004, KB-CD-005, KB-CD-006]
---

# What uses credits and what does not

_The list of what consumes, so you can work it out before starting._

**Responde a:** how many credits does a signature use · what consumes credits · how much does sending a document cost · i am running out of credits

Almost any action the platform performs for you consumes a credit: sending a notice, creating a process, uploading a document, reading with AI, sealing. What does not consume is looking at what is already inside.

| Action | Uses credits? |
| --- | --- |
| Sending a document for signature | Yes |
| Sending a notice: email, SMS or WhatsApp | Yes, one per request even if it goes to several |
| Creating or duplicating a process | Yes |
| Uploading a document | Yes |
| Reading a document with AI | Yes |
| Certifying evidence or sealing | Yes |
| Generating a report | Yes (downloading it, no) |
| Viewing, filtering and downloading what is already inside | No |
| A third party signing or delivering | No, never costs them anything |

> [!NOTE]
> Cost follows the action, not the recipient: a bulk send to two hundred people consumes the same as to one. That is what makes large batches worthwhile.

## Before a large send

If you are about to send four hundred amendments, check the balance first. Running out mid-way breaks nothing — what went out went out — but it means redoing the selection.

**Do they expire?**

Not with time. But they cannot be spent if the licence lapses, so in practice they depend on keeping it current.

**Can they be shared between teams?**

The balance belongs to the organisation; teams draw from the same pool.

**What happens if they run out halfway?**

What already went out continues. The rest waits for balance.

## Ejemplos

**A company works out the cost of sending the annual amendment to 320 employees.**

- Counts 320 signature sends
- Adds SMS only for the 40 without a work email

→ They know the cost before starting, instead of discovering it halfway.

**A feature is avoided for fear it consumes.**

- Checks what consumes before deciding

→ The decision uses the fact rather than the suspicion.

**An action is repeated in case it was not done.**

- Checks first whether it already happened

→ You stop paying twice for the same thing.

**Nobody knows whether consulting consumes.**

- Checks the list of what consumes

→ The team works without holding back.

**The year is planned counting activities that do not consume.**

- Adjusts the forecast to what does consume

→ The estimate moves closer to reality.

**A process change drives consumption up unintentionally.**

- Reviews which activities the new process adds

→ The cost is visible before rollout.