The AI assistant in the admin – the chat at the bottom edge that creates characteristics, rules and price tables for you – is billed in AI tokens. Every plan includes an allowance, and if it isn't enough, you buy additional tokens. This article explains how tokens are consumed, where they come from and how to keep track of them.
What a token is
A token is a small piece of text, roughly part of a word. For every request to the assistant, the language model counts how many tokens it read (your message, the state of your component, attached files) and how many it wrote. This gives the consumption:
Consumption = (tokens read + 5 × tokens written) × factor of the AI model
- Written tokens count five times, because they are correspondingly more expensive at the model provider.
- The factor depends on the selected AI model (see below).
Long chats, large components and attached PDFs or images therefore consume more than a short question.
Choosing the AI model
In the admin under Settings → AI, choose under AI model how capable the assistant should be:
| Level | Note in the admin |
|---|---|
| Economical | Uses 0.5× your allowance |
| Standard | Uses your allowance 1:1 |
| Maximum | Uses 2× your allowance |
"More capable models give better answers and use more of your monthly AI allowance." For creating simple characteristics, Economical is often enough; for extensive components or tricky rules, Standard or Maximum is worth it.
There, under AI assistant, you can also switch the assistant off completely. The chat window is then hidden and no data is sent to the AI provider (Anthropic).
Where the tokens come from
Your balance consists of up to three pools. They are consumed in this order:
- Trial tokens – a separate allowance for the trial, if your trial includes one. It expires when the trial ends and when you switch to a paid contract.
- Monthly allowance – included in your plan. It is refilled with every paid invoice; unused tokens expire at that point.
- Top-up tokens – tokens you bought in addition. They never expire and are only drawn on once the monthly allowance is used up.
Allowance per plan
| Plan | Monthly payment | Annual payment |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 1.4 million tokens per month | 14 million tokens per year |
| Professional | 2.2 million tokens per month | 22 million tokens per year |
| Ultimate | 2.8 million tokens per month | 28 million tokens per year |
With annual payment you get ten times the monthly allowance for the whole year – two months for free. The annual allowance is granted once with the annual invoice and expires at the end of the year.
When everything is used up
The assistant doesn't abort work in progress. If the balance isn't sufficient, the rest is deducted from the top-up tokens, which then go negative (red number). The next purchase offsets the negative balance first.
Viewing your balance in the portal
In the Service Portal under Billing → AI Tokens you see your AI token balance:
| Display | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Monthly allowance | What is left of the allowance, "of" the granted amount, "until" the end of the period |
| Top-up balance | Purchased tokens – "Rolls over, never expires" |
| Total available | Sum of all pools |
| Used this period | Consumption of the monthly allowance in tokens and percent, as a bar (green, orange from 70%, red from 90%) |
Recent activity lists the last 20 transactions with date and amount: Monthly grant, Forfeited at period reset, Top-up credit (purchase), Usage and Correction.
The AI Tokens page is visible to the roles Owner, Admin, Editor and Accounting, if AI tokens are enabled for your account.
Warning at 90%
Once you have used more than 90% of the monthly allowance,
- the page shows the notice "You have used more than 90% of your monthly allowance. Consider buying additional tokens below.",
- an email "Your AI tokens are running low" is sent to the billing email address,
- the admin shows a notice with Buy tokens in the AI assistant.
The warning is sent once per period and is reset with the next grant.
Buying tokens
In the Service Portal
- Open Billing → AI Tokens.
- Under Buy additional tokens, choose a package:
| Package | Price |
|---|---|
| 7 million tokens | €25.00 plus VAT |
| 14 million tokens | €50.00 plus VAT |
| 28 million tokens | €100.00 plus VAT |
- Click Buy now.
The amount is charged immediately via your active payment method, and the tokens appear right away under Top-up balance. The invoice is sent by email. Without a billing address, purchasing is blocked ("Please add a company address before buying tokens.").
In the admin
At the right end of the AI assistant's bar, the admin shows your balance (remaining monthly allowance / monthly allowance + top-up tokens). Clicking it opens Buy AI tokens with the same packages. After Confirm purchase, the amount is charged via the payment method stored in the portal. If none is stored, the dialog points you there with Open service portal.
The roles Owner, Admin, Editor and Accounting may buy tokens.
How many tokens do I need?
That depends on how much work you let the assistant do. A good approach: use it normally for a week, then check under Recent activity how much individual requests cost. You can save by
- choosing the Economical level for routine work,
- starting a new chat for a new topic instead of continuing a long chat,
- attaching only the files the assistant really needs.
Troubleshooting
- I don't see "AI Tokens" in the portal – AI tokens are not yet enabled for your account, or your role is Read only.
- Purchasing is blocked – add a billing address under Billing → Invoices.
- "Payment failed" – check your payment method under Billing → Payment methods.
- The monthly allowance is suddenly full again and the remainder is gone – every paid invoice starts a new period; unused tokens expire. Purchased tokens remain.
- The balance is red – you have used more than was available. The next purchase offsets it.