# Billing & Usage Overview

The WatchDog MSP Portal uses a **pay-as-you-go billing model** for all MSP-level services. Billing must be configured **before creating a managed company** , with the exception of NFR tenants. This article explains how billing works, when usage is tracked, and how charges are calculated.

:::tip[]
**NFR Licenses** are excluded from this requirement.
:::

# How Pay-As-You-Go Billing Works
Unlike traditional licensing, WatchDog Security does not require purchasing fixed license quantities. Instead:
- Usage is tracked **daily**
- Charges are calculated from real usage
- Billing occurs at the **end of each billing period**
- One invoice covers the entire MSP (Parent + Child nodes)

# How We Calculate Charges
WatchDog bills based on **daily active licenses** across all managed companies.
<Steps>
  <Step title="Convert Monthly Price to Daily Price">
    Each service has a monthly license price. We convert that into a per-day cost.
      :::note[]
      The platform always uses a 30-day billing normalization to ensure consistent billing across months.
:::
  </Step>
  <Step title="Measure Daily Usage">
      Every day the platform records how many licenses are active across all managed companies and nodes.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Sum the Billing Period">
    At the end of the billing period, all daily charges are summed to produce the final invoice.
      
      $Monthly Charge = Σ (Daily Active Licenses × (Monthly Price ÷ 30))$
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Billing Scenarios
Below are common real-world examples showing how charges behave.


<AccordionGroup>

  <Accordion title="Scenario 1: Licenses Added Mid-Month" defaultOpen>
  
  This scenario shows how billing works when licenses are added partway through a billing cycle. You only pay for the days the licenses were active.

  You start with **0 licenses**, then add **30 licenses** halfway through a 30-day period.

  | Days | Licenses |
  | --- | --- |
  | Day 1-15 | 0 |
  | Day 16-30 | 30 |

  $Charge = 15 × (30 × DailyPrice)$

  **Result:** You are charged for only 15 days of usage — not a full month.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Scenario 2: Licenses Gradually Increase">
  
  This scenario demonstrates how growth is billed progressively. Charges reflect actual usage over time, not the final total license count.

  License usage increases throughout the month:

  | Days | Licenses |
  | --- | --- |
  | Day 1-10 | 10 |
  | Day 11-20 | 20 |
  | Day 21-30 | 30 |

  $Charge = (10 × (10 × DailyPrice)) + (10 × (20 × DailyPrice)) + (10 × (30 × DailyPrice))$

  **Result:** You are billed proportionally as usage grows — there is no retroactive adjustment.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Scenario 3: Licenses Gradually Decrease">
  
  This scenario shows how costs decrease immediately when licenses are reduced. Billing adjusts the same day licenses are removed.

  License usage decreases later in the billing cycle:

  | Days | Licenses |
  | --- | --- |
  | Day 1-20 | 50 |
  | Day 21-30 | 10 |

  $Charge = (20 × (50 × DailyPrice)) + (10 × (10 × DailyPrice))$

  **Result:** Costs drop as soon as licenses are removed — you are not charged for unused capacity.

  </Accordion>

</AccordionGroup>

# When Usage Starts Counting
Usage tracking begins as soon as A **managed company is created**, and **Billable services are active**.

Usage is evaluated daily and aggregated over the billing period. Changes such as adding or removing services are reflected automatically in usage calculations.

## Billing Across MSP Nodes
Billing is aggregated across the **Parent MSP node** and all associated **Child MSP nodes**

There is no pricing distinction between Parent and Child nodes. The Parent MSP is responsible for the total aggregated usage.

# NFR Tenants & Licenses
Each MSP user is provided with **10 NFR licenses** for non-production testing. NFR tenants:

  * Do not require billing to be configured
  * Are intended for evaluation and internal testing
  * Should not be used for customer production workloads

# Configure Billing
This section is used to create the MSP billing profile and add the initial payment method required to enable managed companies and billable services.

:::check Required Permissions
Only users with **Billing Administrator** permission can configure billing.
:::

<Tabs>
    <Tab title="MSP Portal">
        <Steps>
            <Step>
            Sign in to the **[WatchDog MSP Portal](https://app.watchdogsecurity.io/)**
            </Step>
            <Step>
            From the account context switcher, select the MSP Portal
            </Step>
            <Step>
            Using the provided billing banner select **Setup Billing Profile**
            </Step>
            <Step>
            Within the drawer, configure the **Billing Information** and **Payment Method**
            </Step>
        </Steps>
    </Tab>
</Tabs>

# Access Billing Details
The Billing page is the central location to manage ongoing billing operations. From here you can update billing information, change payment methods, review invoices, and view high-level usage for the MSP.

:::check Required Permissions
Only users with **Billing Administrator** permission can access the **Billing** page
:::

<Tabs>
    <Tab title="MSP Portal">
        <Steps>
            <Step>
            Sign in to the **[WatchDog MSP Portal](https://app.watchdogsecurity.io/)**
            </Step>
            <Step>
            From the account context switcher, select the MSP Portal
            </Step>
            <Step>
            From the Left Hand Navigation Menu, select **Billing**
            </Step>
            <Step>
            Review usage, download invoices, or update billing and payment details as needed
            </Step>
        </Steps>
    </Tab>
</Tabs>