Product credits and provider units are different
Product credits are the balance a ClipRecast customer sees. Provider units are the upstream billing unit charged by a model API. The conversion between them includes provider cost, failed-attempt policy, payment fees, storage, support, and operating margin.
ClipRecast currently defines one product credit as US$0.01 of product usage. A route quote then converts a specific duration and workflow into the number of product credits required.
Reserve before calling the provider
When a user approves a generation, credits should be reserved atomically before the job reaches the provider queue. This prevents two browser tabs from spending the same balance and gives the console a precise pending amount.
The provider call should happen asynchronously. The web request returns a job ID; a background worker submits, polls, reconciles, and stores the result.
Refund technical failures consistently
A provider error, unusable output file, or confirmed technical failure can qualify for an automatic credit return. A creative result that is valid but not the user’s preference is different and should not be presented as a guaranteed refund.
An append-only credit ledger makes both cases explainable. Reservations, purchases, refunds, and manual adjustments remain visible instead of silently rewriting one balance field.
Free trials need a cash exposure limit
If every new account receives trial credits, the product owner is underwriting the corresponding provider spend. Before enabling paid generation, set an account grant, per-job maximum, hourly checkout limit, daily paid amount limit, and an emergency provider kill switch.
ClipRecast’s current 1,000-credit workspace grant is an internal product balance. It is not 1,000 free Kling API units. While paid provider execution is disabled, that balance does not create provider spend.
Show the quote in the interface
The user should see duration, model route, required credits, remaining balance, and the refund rule before confirming. Hiding those details may increase the first click, but it also increases disputes and support work.
A healthy credit product optimizes for repeatable gross margin and understandable receipts, not for the biggest number displayed in the header.
This guide describes a product workflow and general information; it is not legal advice.