Credits are how you pay for finished documents in vehReports. The good news for cost control: only two things ever spend a credit, everything else is free, and you only pay at the very end when you sign off. This guide covers what a credit costs, the pack discounts, topping up, subscription plans and rollover, how to read your usage history, and exactly what happens if you hit zero mid-handover.
What a credit is — and what actually spends one
A credit is the unit of payment for a finished document. One credit is worth about £1, and exactly two actions in vehReports use one:
- Signing off an inspection report — 1 credit
- Signing a rental agreement — 1 credit
That's it. The credit is taken at the moment of sign-off, not before, so all the work leading up to it costs nothing.
What's completely free and unlimited
You're never charged for the day-to-day work that fills the document up:
- Driver licence checks — free and unlimited (see why licence checks are free)
- DVLA lookups and MOT history — pulled automatically when you add a vehicle by registration, and on a refresh
- Building and previewing drafts — write up an entire inspection or agreement, add photos, mark damage, and edit it as many times as you like
- Adding and editing vehicles, customers, templates and team members
In other words, you only ever pay for the completed, locked, customer-facing document — never for the building, the checks, or the lookups that go into it. If you want the bigger picture on what's paid versus free, see understanding credits.
Your welcome credits
Every new company starts with a small balance of free welcome credits (about 10) so you can get going, complete your first reports and agreements, and see the whole flow end to end before you spend a penny.
Pricing and pack discounts
Credits are priced at £1 each at the headline rate, and they get cheaper the more you buy in one go. Top-up packs are a one-off card payment — no commitment — and the per-credit price steps down with the four pack sizes:
| Pack | Credits | Price per credit | Discount | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 50 | £1.00 | — | £50.00 |
| Standard | 250 | £0.975 | 2.5% off | £243.75 |
| Pro | 500 | £0.95 | 5% off | £475.00 |
| Volume | 1,000 | £0.90 | 10% off | £900.00 |
A few things worth knowing:
- Top-up credits last 12 months from purchase, so there's no rush to use a larger pack — buying bigger to get the discount is a sensible play if you're confident of your run-rate over a year.
- Prices shown are before VAT; VAT is added on top at checkout where applicable.
- There's no difference between a credit from the Starter pack and one from the Volume pack once it's in your balance — they all spend the same way, one per signed document.
How to top up
Topping up is quick and takes effect immediately.
- Open Billing.
- Choose the pack that suits your volume.
- Pay by card.
- The credits land in your balance straight away — you can sign off the very next document.
If you need to add or change the card on file, or want a copy of an invoice, see managing billing.
Who on your team can buy credits
Topping up and managing payment is restricted by role:
- Owner — full access, including billing
- Billing — can manage credits, orders and invoices
- Manager — can view the credit balance and history, but can't manage payment or buy credits
- Inspector — no billing access (but can still do inspections, agreements and licence checks)
If you're a Manager or Inspector and you've run out, you'll need an Owner or someone with the Billing role to top up. See roles explained for the full breakdown.
Subscription plans and rollover
If you produce reports and agreements regularly, a monthly plan usually works out cheaper than topping up ad hoc — and it removes the risk of running dry at a bad moment. Each plan includes a set number of credits every month for a fixed fee:
| Plan | Monthly fee | Credits each month | Effective value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | £20/month | 20 | £1 per credit — the rollover is the benefit |
| Tier 2 | £100/month | 105 | 5 bonus credits (≈5% effective) |
| Tier 3 | £250/month | 275 | 25 bonus credits (≈10% effective) |
How rollover works
This is the key thing about subscriptions: while you're subscribed, unused credits roll over instead of being lost at the end of each month. A quiet month isn't wasted money — those credits stay in your balance and are there when a busy spell arrives. The longer you stay subscribed, the more a slow patch followed by a rush evens itself out.
Subscription credits and top-ups live together
Subscription credits and one-off top-up packs sit in the same single balance and are spent in exactly the same way — one credit per signed report or agreement. You can run a subscription and top up on top of it during an unusually busy spell; the two simply add together. There's no separate "subscription pot" to keep track of.
Subscribe, switch, cancel or resume
You manage all of this yourself under Billing. From there you can:
- Subscribe to a plan
- Switch to a higher or lower tier
- Cancel the plan
- Resume a cancelled plan
Changes take effect from your billing cycle. The credits you've already accumulated stay in your balance and remain spendable as long as your subscription is active.
Reading your usage and credit history
The Usage page under Billing is your complete, traceable record of every credit in and out.
What it shows
- Every top-up that added credits to your balance — packs you've bought and the monthly credits from your subscription
- Every credit spent — and crucially, each spend is tied to the specific report or agreement it paid for. You can see exactly where a credit went, not just that the balance dropped.
That traceability matters for reconciliation: if you're checking spend against jobs done, you can follow each credit back to the document it covered.
Spotting trends and your run-rate
Usage also includes a summary and a chart of your activity over time. This is the easiest way to judge whether a subscription would suit you better than ad-hoc top-ups — if you see a steady monthly run-rate, a plan at the right tier will usually beat buying packs as you go, and the rollover protects you on quiet months.
Who can see it
- Owner and Billing role — see full billing, including payment and invoices
- Manager — can view the credit history (without managing payment)
- Inspector — no access to billing or usage
What happens when you run out of credits
Running out is designed to be a soft stop, not a wall — and it never costs you any work in progress.
You can keep working
With an empty balance you can still do everything except the final sign-off:
- Create and edit inspection reports and rental agreements
- Run driver licence checks and DVLA/MOT lookups
- Add and edit vehicles and customers, build and tweak templates
None of that uses a credit, so none of it is blocked.
Only sign-off is blocked
The single thing you can't do at zero credits is sign off — completing a report or signing an agreement, because that's the step that spends the credit. When you reach it, you're prompted to top up.
Your draft is safe
You will not lose your work. The draft is saved exactly as it is. Top up — a moment by card — and sign off straight away. Nothing about the report or agreement changes while you sort the balance out. (For the full sign-off flow, see signing off, sending and managing a report.)
Avoiding a dry balance at a handover
The best way to never get caught out at the kerbside is to turn on the low-balance warning. vehReports can email or text you when your balance is running low, giving you time to top up before you're stuck mid-handover. Set it up under choosing your notifications. A subscription with rollover is the other safety net — it keeps a buffer topped up automatically each month.
Common questions
Does a licence check or a DVLA lookup ever use a credit? No. Licence checks, DVLA lookups and MOT history are free and unlimited, whether you do them in the app or via the API. Only signing off a report or signing an agreement spends a credit.
Do my top-up credits expire? Yes — top-up credits last 12 months from purchase. Subscription credits roll over and stay available as long as your subscription is active.
Can I run a subscription and still buy a pack? Yes. They share one balance, so a pack simply tops up your subscription credits during a busy spell.
I'm an Inspector and I've hit zero — what do I do? Ask your account Owner or someone with the Billing role to top up. Your draft is saved, so you can sign off as soon as credits are added. See roles explained.
Do bigger packs give a better credit than smaller ones? The per-credit price is lower, but once bought, every credit behaves identically — one credit, one signed document.
Where do I change my card or get an invoice? Under Billing — see managing billing — cards, invoices and details.