In this guide, we’ll walk you through setting up a plan in Orb to help you manage your usage-based pricing. Plans define how you structure your pricing, whether based on usage metrics, fixed pricing, or a combination of both.

Step 1: What Are Plans?

Plans in Orb represent a template of prices to which you’ll subscribe customers. An example set of plans might be:

• Free Plan: Limited features, free of charge.

• Starter Plan: Basic paid plan.

• Growth Plan: More features, higher pricing.

Step 2: Creating a New Plan

1. Go to the Plans Page in Orb and click Create Plan.

2. Name the Plan: For example, you can name it “Starter.”

3. Optional External Plan ID: This ID can be used in the API if you need to reference the plan externally, but you can skip this for now.

Step 3: Defining Pricing Types

In Orb, you can choose between two types of pricing models for your plan:

• Usage-based Pricing: Powered by billable metrics that track usage (e.g., API calls).

• Fixed Pricing: A flat fee charged regardless of usage.

Usage-Based Pricing

1. Select Usage-Based Pricing and choose a Billable Metric to track usage. In this example, we’ll use a metric that counts API calls.

2. Billing Cycle: Set how often customers will be charged (e.g., monthly).

3. Optional Additions:

   1. Minimum Spend: Set a minimum charge (e.g., customers must pay at least $10 regardless of usage).

   2. Maximum Spend: Cap the amount a customer can be charged.

   3. Discounts: Add a discount by percentage, fixed amount, or usage amount.

Step 4: Pricing Models

Orb supports several pricing models:

• Unit Pricing: Charge a flat rate per unit (e.g., $1 per API call).

• Tiered Pricing: Charge different rates based on tiers of usage (e.g., $0.50 per call for the first 1,000 calls, then $1 after that).

• Package Pricing: Charge in increments, where partial usage of a package is considered a full package until the next one is reached.

• Bulk Pricing: Unlock a different rate for all units after a threshold has been reached

• Matrix Pricing: Set prices based on multiple factors (e.g., region and machine size).

For simplicity, we’ll choose Unit Pricing and set the price to $1 per API call.

Step 5: Adding a Fixed Price

If your plan also includes a fixed charge, such as a platform fee:

1. Choose Fixed Price and name it (e.g., “Platform Fee”).

2. Set the price (e.g., $10 per month).

3. Choose whether this charge will be billed in advance or in arrears.

   1. In advance: The fee is charged upfront at the start of the billing cycle.

   2. In arrears: The fee is charged at the end of the billing cycle, along with usage charges.

Step 6: Additional Options

• Payment Terms: Choose when payment is due (e.g., on issue, net 7 days, net 30 days).

• Trial Period: Offer a trial period where customers are charged 0% for a set number of days (e.g., the first 7 days are free).

• Discounts, Minimum Spend, and Maximum Spent: You can add plan-level discounts or define minimum/maximum spend limits across multiple prices.

Step 7: Finalizing the Plan

1. Preview: Before creating the plan, review a preview of how it will appear.

2. Create Plan: Once everything is set up, click Create to publish the plan.

With these steps, you’ve successfully set up a pricing plan in Orb that combines usage-based and fixed pricing. This allows you to flexibly bill your customers based on how they use your service while maintaining the ability to charge fixed fees.