How the WarpDesk Credits System Works

Credits are the ledger under everything transactional in WarpDesk. Understanding them takes about two minutes and saves a lot of confusion later.

What a credit is

A credit is a unit of paid capacity. One credit ≈ one month of Family-tier features for one household, or one bundle of premium actions on the free plan. It is not a currency you can withdraw.

Where credits come from

Three paths: your plan's monthly stipend, credit packs you buy, and ads you choose to watch. Every path deposits into the same balance.

Where credits go

Each renewal, each premium action, each seat over the free limit. The ledger is visible in the billing screen, itemized per event.

The math on the free plan

The free plan comes with enough credits to keep a two-person household running. Beyond that it's an active choice: earn, subscribe, or top up.

Why credits and not just seats

Because household usage is spiky. A month with a new streaming service costs more than a quiet month. A ledger model handles that better than fixed seats.

Refunds and expiry

Purchased credits don't expire. Plan-stipend credits reset each renewal. Ads-earned credits sit in the same balance as purchased ones — same behavior.

When you hit zero

Non-essential premium features gate. Reads, existing vault entries, and existing inbox mail stay available. You never lose data because your balance ran out.

A worked example

A family on the free tier with 35 credits per month spends ~5 on inbox retention, ~10 on premium vault features, and banks the rest. If they add a fifth member they consume the buffer and get a heads-up on the dashboard.

The philosophy behind it

We wanted the free tier to be genuinely usable, not a nag-screen for the paid plan. Credits let us do that without spinning up a separate business model.