> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://alguna.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Unbilled rate card usage

> Usage that matches no rate on a rate card is never billed silently: it shows on the draft invoice and holds the invoice until you price it or accept it

**Unbilled usage** is usage on a [rate card](https://alguna.com/docs/rate-cards/overview) price that no rate prices. Alguna never bills it as free without telling you. It shows on the draft invoice, and the invoice waits for approval until a person prices the usage or accepts it. This page explains when usage is unbilled, what the invoice shows, and how to release it.

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## When usage is unbilled

Usage is unbilled when:

* An event's properties match no cell of the entry's matrix. For example, an event has `model=orion-max`, and the matrix has cells for `orion-pro` and `orion-mini` only, with no wildcard or fallback cell.
* The usage is before the first phase of the entry, so the card has no rates for it yet.

To catch values that you do not price one by one, give the matrix a wildcard or a fallback cell. See the [matrix reference](https://alguna.com/docs/api-reference/v2/subscriptions/pricing-models.md#matrix-pricing).

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## What the invoice shows

The draft invoice shows an **Unbilled usage** notice. For each card price with unbilled usage, it shows the product, the period, the number of events and the usage value.

Example: In November, a customer sends 2,000,000 tokens with `model=orion-max`. Token Standard has no cell for `orion-max`. The draft invoice shows "Unbilled usage: 2,000,000 events match no rate". If those tokens had the `orion-pro` rate of $0.000003, they would bill $6.00. That is the amount you must price or accept.

The invoice bills the usage that does match a cell as usual.

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## The invoice waits for approval

An invoice with unbilled usage does not issue on its own. When it would issue, it waits in pending approval. Approving the invoice is refused while the usage holds it. You have two ways to release it.

### Price the usage

Publish a [phase](https://alguna.com/docs/rate-cards/phases) that adds a cell for the usage. The publish reprices the draft invoice. When no usage on the invoice is unbilled any more, the hold ends.

Example: You publish a phase that adds `orion-max` in `us` at $0.000004. The draft reprices and bills 2,000,000 × $0.000004 = \$8.00 for those tokens.

The phase must cover the period of the usage. A phase can start in the past.

### Accept the usage

If the usage should not be billed, accept it on the invoice. Tick "I understand that this invoice does not bill this usage", then select **Issue without billing this usage**. You need the permission to manage invoices.

The invoice records who accepted the usage and when, and then continues to issue. The notice changes to "Unbilled usage accepted".

You can accept only before the invoice issues, while it is not processing, and only when it has unbilled usage.

### When an acceptance clears

An acceptance covers the invoice while it has unbilled usage. If the invoice later has no unbilled usage, for example after a publish that prices it, Alguna clears the acceptance. If new unbilled usage then appears on the invoice, it holds the invoice again, and a person must look at it again.

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## How you find out

The hold on the invoice is the signal. Alguna does not send an in-app notification or a webhook for unbilled usage yet. Check invoices in pending approval for the **Unbilled usage** notice.

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## Related

* [Rate cards](https://alguna.com/docs/rate-cards/overview): entries, matrices and card prices.
* [Phases](https://alguna.com/docs/rate-cards/phases): publish a phase that prices the usage.
* [Sources](https://alguna.com/docs/rate-cards/sources): a price list that adds new cells for review.


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