Understanding credits — what's paid and what's free

Credits are how vehReports charges for finished documents — and the good news is that almost everything you do day to day is free. This article explains exactly which two actions use a credit, what's free and unlimited, how much credits cost, when they expire, what happens if you run out, who can buy them, and how all of this works over the API. If cost is a worry, start here: you only ever pay for a finished, signed document.

#What uses a credit?

Two things, and only when you finish them: signing off an inspection report and signing a rental agreement. Each one uses a single credit — around £1.

The credit is taken at the single moment of sign-off, never before. Starting a draft, filling it in, adding photos, marking damage, running the licence and DVLA checks inside it, and previewing the PDF all cost nothing. So you only ever pay for a finished, signed, locked document — not for the work that goes into preparing it.

A few things worth knowing:

• One credit per finished document, regardless of size. A quick general inspection and a full multi-page HGV report both cost the same single credit. Marking 20 panels of damage, attaching dozens of photos, or running a licence check inside the same report doesn't add anything.
• Sign-off is permanent. Once you sign off, the report or agreement locks and becomes read-only — the PDF generates and the customer is emailed automatically. You can't edit it afterwards, so the credit buys you a finished record you can stand behind. If something's wrong, you create a fresh report rather than editing the signed one. See signing off, sending and managing a report and signing the agreement and sending a signing link.
• Re-sending costs nothing. Once a report is signed off, you can re-send it by email or SMS and share a signed-PDF link (valid for 30 days) as many times as you like — no extra credit.

#What's free and unlimited?

A lot. The following never use a credit, and there's no cap on how many you run:

• Driver licence checks using DVLA share codes — entitlement, points, endorsements and expiry, all free. See why licence checks are free.
• DVLA vehicle lookups — registration, tax status, make, model, colour and fuel, pulled in automatically when you add a vehicle or refresh it.
• MOT status and history, including the latest recorded mileage.
• Adding and editing vehicles, customers, templates and team members.
• Building and previewing draft reports and agreements — including marking damage, capturing walkaround photos, recording tyres, fuel and mileage, and working through the checklist.

In short: checking, looking up and preparing are always free. Only the finished, signed document costs a credit.

#How many credits do I start with?

Every new company gets a batch of free welcome credits — around 10 — so you can run real inspections and agreements end to end before deciding to top up. They behave exactly like paid credits: you can sign off real reports and real agreements with them, and the customer-facing PDFs and emails are identical. Nothing about the document is marked as a "trial".

This means you can prove the whole flow for yourself — add a vehicle, build a report, mark damage, sign off, and see the customer receive the PDF — without spending anything.

#How much do credits cost?

A credit is £1, and it gets cheaper per credit the larger the pack:

There are two ways to hold credits:

• Top-ups — buy a pack by card whenever you need it. These last 12 months from purchase.
• Subscriptions — a monthly plan that includes a set number of credits each month. Subscription credits roll over while you stay subscribed, so unused ones aren't lost month to month. You can subscribe, swap plans, cancel or resume at any time under Billing.

Full details and the latest figures are in credits, pricing, top-ups and subscriptions.

#Do credits expire?

Top-up credits last 12 months from the date you buy them.

Subscription credits roll over and stay available as long as your subscription is active.

If you'd like to be reminded before any top-up credits reach their 12-month limit, you can switch on an expiring-credits alert under your notification preferences.

#What happens if I run out of credits?

You can carry on working as normal, because almost nothing uses a credit. With an empty balance you can still:

• build and edit draft reports and agreements,
• mark damage, add photos, and complete the checklist,
• run driver licence checks,
• add and refresh vehicles, and add or edit customers.

The only thing that's blocked is sign-off — you can't sign off a report or sign a rental agreement on an empty balance. When you reach that point, vehReports prompts you to top up, your draft is saved, and topping up by card takes a moment. As soon as the credit lands, you carry on signing off exactly where you left off — nothing is lost. The full walkthrough is in credits, pricing, top-ups and subscriptions.

#Can I be warned before I run low?

Yes. Turn on the low-balance alert under your notification preferences so you're warned before you're caught short at a handover. You can turn on an expiring-credits alert in the same place. These are delivered by email or SMS — vehReports doesn't have an in-app message inbox, so pick the channel you actually watch.

#Who on my team can buy credits?

It depends on each person's role:

• Owner — full access, including buying credits, managing the subscription, payment cards and invoices.
• Billing — can manage credits, orders and invoices, and view reports and agreements.
• Manager — can see the balance and credit history, but can't manage billing or buy credits.
• Inspector — works on inspections, agreements and licence checks; doesn't see billing at all.

So if an inspector hits an empty balance mid-handover, they'll be prompted to top up but won't be able to complete the purchase — an Owner or Billing user needs to do that, or hold a buffer of credits in advance. See roles explained and managing billing.

#Does the API work the same way?

Yes — the API follows exactly the same rule as the app. Reading data and running checks are free; only creating an inspection or a rental agreement uses a credit.

So over the API you can list and read vehicles, customers, reports and agreements, run driver licence checks, and read your credit balance, all for free and unlimited. The only credit-consuming calls are creating an inspection report and creating a rental agreement — one credit each, just like signing off in the app. The in-app API documentation marks which calls are free, and there's a credit-balance endpoint so your own systems can check the balance and react before it runs out. See using the vehReports API.

If you'd like your systems notified automatically when credits are bought, run low or are about to expire, you can subscribe to the matching events with webhooks.

#Why are licence checks and DVLA lookups free when they cost something to run?

Because vehReports is built for businesses inspecting, hiring out and checking their own and managed vehicles — fleets, rental and lease operators, dealers and workshops — and we don't want the cost of a check to stop you running it. A licence check or a DVLA lookup is part of doing the job properly, not a chargeable extra, so they're free and unlimited. You only pay for the finished, signed document at the end. There's more on the thinking behind this in why licence checks are free.

#What if I sign off a report by mistake — do I get the credit back?

Sign-off is the deliberate, final step: you clear the "before sign-off" panel, capture the inspector and customer signatures and agree the declaration. Because it locks the document and emails the customer automatically, treat it as the point of no return. If you do sign off something wrong, you can't edit it — you create a new report instead, which uses another credit. The safeguards before sign-off are there precisely to avoid this, so review the draft carefully first. See signing off, sending and managing a report.

#What if I just want to try vehReports without paying?

Use your free welcome credits. They let you run real inspections and agreements end to end — add a vehicle, build a report, mark damage, sign off and watch the customer receive the PDF — at no cost, and the documents are full, real records rather than trials. When you're ready to keep going, top up a pack or start a subscription under credits, pricing, top-ups and subscriptions.