Credits, quotas, and reservations
The state Valqio checks and updates before product work runs.
Credits, quotas, and reservations are runtime state. They determine whether your app should run product work now, not just how an invoice should look later.
Credits
Credits are prepaid or granted units a customer can spend.
Example: a customer has 1,000 API credits. Each enriched API request costs 1 credit. Valqio checks and spends credits before the API call runs.
Quotas
Quotas are limits over a window or stateful cap.
Example: a plan allows 15,000 requests per month. Valqio compares the new request with the current usage window before allowing more work.
Reservations
Reservations hold value while work is in progress.
Example: an HD render costs 20 credits. Valqio reserves 20 credits before render start, commits them on success, and releases them when the render fails.
Choosing the primitive
Use credits when customers spend a balance. Use quotas when plans define caps. Use reservations when work can start, fail, and need its held value released.
Billing systems can invoice after the fact. Valqio decides whether the work should run before the cost is incurred.