Agent WranglersUsage-based billing checklist
Every rule in the usage-based billing playbook, by chapter, required rules first. Each links to its own page with how we built it and how to check it. This is a lot to check. An Expert can check it for you.
Metering
- Required USG-1 Give every usage event a key and count it once
- Recommended USG-2 Meter on the server after the work succeeds
- Recommended USG-3 Keep raw events and derive every total from them
- Recommended USG-4 Accept late events up to a fixed cut-off
- Recommended USG-5 Match your usage totals with the provider before each invoice
Credits and prepaid balances
- Required USG-6 Keep credits in a ledger instead of a balance you overwrite
- Required USG-7 Hold credits before costly work and settle after
- Recommended USG-8 Spend credits in a fixed order and show when they expire
- Recommended USG-9 Decide in writing what happens at a zero balance
- Avoid USG-10 Letting customers spend or cash out credits outside your service
Margins and model cost
- Required USG-12 Keep every metered price above its cost
- Recommended USG-11 Charge each model call's cost to the customer who caused it
- Recommended USG-13 Alert when a customer costs more than they pay
- Recommended USG-14 Recheck margins when a model or its price changes
Spend caps and alerts
- Required USG-15 Let customers cap their spend
- Recommended USG-16 Warn customers before they reach a cap or run out
- Recommended USG-17 Show live usage that matches the invoice
- Recommended USG-18 Let owners set a cap on each member and key
Usage on invoices
- Required USG-21 Credit back usage your own fault caused
- Recommended USG-19 Show each metered charge as its own line
- Recommended USG-20 Let customers download the usage behind each invoice
Agentic payments
- Optional USG-22 Track the agent payment protocols before you build on one
- Optional USG-23 Let agents buy through the same order flow as people
- Optional USG-24 Verify an HTTP 402 payment before doing the work
- Optional USG-25 Keep the buyer's signed approval with each agent order
Show the badge on your project
When your project passes every Required rule, you can show this badge on your site or in your README. It links to this checklist, so anyone can run the same checks.
<a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/usage-billing/checklist"><img src="https://agentwranglers.se/badge.svg" alt="Checked against the Agent Wranglers usage-based billing playbook" width="214" height="20"></a>[](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/usage-billing/checklist)For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/usage-billing/checklist">Agent Wranglers usage-based billing playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.