# AI credits

Mays's AI features use AI credits from each location's balance. What uses them, how many your plan adds every month, how to check a balance and how to buy more.

For: Admins, Managers · On: Web · [Help Center](https://www.mays.app/help) › [Account & billing](https://www.mays.app/help/account-billing) · Last updated October 20, 2026 · Mays Team

Mays's AI features use AI credits. Every location has its own balance: your plan adds credits each month, and you can buy more whenever you need them.

## What uses credits

Each time one of these features does some AI work, it takes credits from a location's balance. Next to each feature is the name it has in the **Usage by Feature** list on the location's **Billing & Credits** tab.

| Feature | In Usage by Feature |
| --- | --- |
| **AI photo verification** scores photos on completed tasks | **Photo Verify** |
| **The AI Assistant** answers questions in the app's **Chat** tab | **Chat** |
| **Mays AI**, the assistant button in the corner of every web page | **Dashboard Chat** |
| **AI agents** | Names starting with **Agent:**, for example **Agent:Catering** |
| The scheduling assistant's suggestions for requests and cover | **Scheduling** |
| [Reading a schedule from a photo](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/schedule-from-a-photo) | **Scheduling-Vision** |
| The dispute evidence coach | **Disputes** |
| Reading the text in a photo uploaded to the Knowledge Base | **Document Ocr** |
| The AI onboarding assistant | **Onboarding Agent** |

A short answer uses a few credits. Longer conversations and photo checks use more.

**Which location pays?** A photo check comes out of the balance of the location the task belongs to. A question to the AI Assistant or Mays AI comes out of the balance of the location where the person asking works.

## How many credits you get

| Plan | Credits for each location |
| --- | --- |
| **Free trial** | 1,000 to start with. The trial doesn't add more each month. |
| **Basic** | 5,000 every month |
| **Pro** | 25,000 every month |
| **Custom package** | Whatever your package sets |

Companies with custom pricing have their own packages, and each custom package sets its own monthly credits. Your plan card on **Settings → Billing** shows the amount. If your organization pays one bill, you change your plan yourself with **Upgrade** or **Downgrade** on **Settings → Billing**, and a plan Mays sets before you subscribe gives its monthly credits once you subscribe. With billing per location, a location that already pays keeps its current package and its credits until it's changed on that location's **Billing & Credits** tab, and locations that subscribe after the change get the new package.

A paid plan gives every location its monthly credits when your subscription starts, and again each time a month's payment goes through.

**Monthly credits don't carry over.** Each time a month's payment goes through, the location's monthly credits are reset to the plan's amount, for example 5,000 on Basic. They aren't added on top of what's left. **Credits you bought are kept** until you use them, and Mays uses the month's credits first. So a Basic location with 2,000 bought credits left starts the new month with 5,000 + 2,000 = 7,000.

## Check a balance

**For all locations:** go to **Settings → Billing** (admins). **Total Credits** adds up every location's balance, and the **Location Credits** table shows each location's:

- **Balance**, which turns red below 100;
- **Monthly Used**;
- **Lifetime Used**.

![Total Credits 1,931 across all locations, Total Used 69, 2 active locations, and the Location Credits table with North at 1,000 and South at 931 credits, 69 used this month](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__ai-credits__01-location-credits.552d7c4182.png)

**For one location:**

1. Go to **Locations & Users → Locations**.
2. Open the location.
3. Open the **Billing & Credits** tab.

The tab shows:

- **Balance**: the credits remaining.
- **This Month**: credits used this month, out of the monthly allowance. The allowance shows 0 until your first paid month.
- **Lifetime**: all credits the location has ever used.
- **Usage by Feature (last 30 days)**: calls and credits for each feature.

![The South location's Billing & Credits tab: AI Credits — South, a balance of 931 credits remaining, This Month 69 of 0 allowance, Lifetime 69, Usage by Feature with Chat 22 credits, Dashboard Chat 32 credits and Photo Verify 15 credits, and the Buy Credits button](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__ai-credits__02-location-billing-tab.28bcecf1a3.png)

Managers can open this tab for the locations they're assigned to, check the balance and usage, and buy credits there. That's the **Pay for and buy AI credits for their own locations** permission, which managers have by default; admins can buy for any location. Anyone without it, or on a location they aren't assigned to, sees *Ask an admin* instead of **Buy Credits**.

## When a location runs out

AI features pause at a location when its balance runs out. They also pause when the free trial ends without a plan.

- The AI Assistant in the app replies that it can't answer because the location is out of AI credits.
- Mays AI on the web says *Your organization is out of AI credits.* (or names the location, with per-location billing) and links to billing.
- Photos aren't checked, so photo tasks stay completed without an AI score, marked **Not checked by AI (no credits)** on the web. The first skipped photo in a billing month notifies the location's escalation manager (or your admins) and emails the billing contact, and a **Photo checks are paused: out of AI credits** banner shows on **Settings → Organization** and the task's details. See [AI photo verification](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/ai-photo-verification).

Everything else keeps working. Buy credits or choose a plan to turn AI back on.

## Buy more credits

Credits come in packs of **10,000**, **50,000**, **100,000** or **500,000**. The bigger packs cost less per credit. Each pack's price and discount are shown where you buy it.

**For one location:**

1. Open the location's **Billing & Credits** tab.
2. Click **Buy Credits**.
3. Pick a pack.
4. Pay in Stripe's secure checkout.
   - If there's already a card on file, Mays asks you to confirm the payment with that card instead: the location's own card with per-location billing, or the organization's card with one bill for all locations. Choose **Use a different card** to enter another one.

You come back to the location with *Payment received — your AI credits have been added.*

**For every location at once (admins):**

1. Go to **Settings → Billing**.
2. Under **Buy Credits (All Locations)**, click **Buy Now** on a pack.
3. Pay in Stripe's secure checkout.
   - If the organization already has a card on file, Mays asks you to confirm the payment with that card instead. Choose **Use a different card** to enter another one.

The pack is split evenly across your active locations. If your organization is billed per location, this section isn't there, so buy credits on each location instead.

A receipt goes to the location's billing email and to your admins. Recent purchases are listed at the bottom of **Settings → Billing**.

## Good to know

- **Credits can't be moved between locations.** Mays support can move credits, add them or give a refund for you. Write to us, see [Getting help and support tickets](https://www.mays.app/help/getting-started/contact-support).
- **Credits belong to the location, not the person.** Someone who works at two locations uses the credits of one of them.
- **Inventory's AI features don't use credits:** reading invoices, counting by voice or photo, drafting recipes and suggesting matches. See [Vendor invoices](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/vendor-invoices).
- **Training quizzes don't use credits either:** having the AI write a quiz from your knowledge base is free. See [Creating training modules](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/create-learning-modules).
- **The AI phone receptionist doesn't use credits.** It's an add-on with its own monthly price. See [AI phone receptionist](https://www.mays.app/help/catering-phone/ai-receptionist-ivr).
- **ChatGPT, Claude or Grok connected to Mays don't use credits:** the AI runs on your own plan with them. See [Connect Mays to ChatGPT, Claude or Grok](https://www.mays.app/help/ai-automation/connect-mays-to-chatgpt-or-claude).
- **AI photo verification** is switched on or off for the whole organization. See [AI photo verification](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/ai-photo-verification).

## Related articles

- AI & automation: [Connect Mays to ChatGPT, Claude or Grok](https://www.mays.app/help/ai-automation/connect-mays-to-chatgpt-or-claude) — Connect Mays to ChatGPT, Claude or Grok and ask about your locations from there — schedules, timecards, attendance, approvals, checklists, temperatures, stock, sales by day or hour, orders and product mix, labor targets, a suggested schedule for next week, inventory items and what to order — and, if your admin allows it, let it make changes you confirm, like adding a shift, approving time off, adding inventory items, uploading vendor invoices and knowledge-base documents, writing knowledge-base articles or sending a purchase order — or set up a whole new store in one go. Exactly the access you have in Mays. Disconnect any time.
- Account & billing: [Plans, the free trial and locked modules](https://www.mays.app/help/account-billing/plans-and-free-trial) — Every organization starts with a 30-day free trial of all plan modules, then picks Basic or Pro (or your company's own package, if Mays set up custom pricing). What each plan includes, what the add-ons are, what a locked module means, and how each location's package decides its features.
- Account & billing: [Billing per location, payment methods and invoices](https://www.mays.app/help/account-billing/per-location-billing) — Pay for Mays with one card for the whole organization, or let each location pay for itself. Where to update your card, find invoices and receipts, and what each location's billing emails mean.
- Tasks & checklists: [AI photo verification](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/ai-photo-verification) — Let AI check every photo your team submits on a task. It flags weak photos for the manager to review, or rejects them straight away once you trust it. Each check uses AI credits.
- Team & roles: [Add and manage locations](https://www.mays.app/help/team-roles/add-and-edit-locations) — Add your stores to Mays, keep their address, phone, email and time zone up to date, and find each location's billing, phone receptionist and scheduling settings.
- Getting started: [Getting help and support tickets](https://www.mays.app/help/getting-started/contact-support) — Open a support ticket from Help in the web app, follow the Mays team's replies and answer them, or send a support request from the contact page at mays.app/contact, or call us.
- AI & automation: [Asking Mays AI on the web](https://www.mays.app/help/ai-automation/mays-ai-on-the-web) — Mays AI is the round button in the corner of every web page. Ask it about today's tasks, who's on shift, sales, temperatures or labor cost, or have it build a report you can save.
- AI & automation: [The AI Assistant in chat](https://www.mays.app/help/ai-automation/ai-assistant-in-chat) — Start a chat with the AI Assistant from the app's Chat tab. It answers from your knowledge base, looks up your tasks (and, for managers, sales and who's on shift), and can read a photo you take.
- AI & automation: [Set up faster with the AI setup assistant](https://www.mays.app/help/ai-automation/ai-setup-assistant) — Upload the checklists you already use, in PDF, Word, Excel or a photo, and Mays AI drafts your checklist templates, departments and roles for you to review and save.
- Inventory: [Vendor invoices](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/vendor-invoices) — Record what vendors delivered and charged. Scan or photograph an invoice, upload its PDF, share it from your phone or email it in, and the AI drafts it; check the lines next to the document, then post it to add the stock and update your prices.
- Knowledge & training: [Creating training modules](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/create-learning-modules) — Turn your knowledge base articles and documents into a short quiz. The AI drafts the questions from your own text, you review and edit them, then publish the module for your team.
- Catering & phone: [AI phone receptionist](https://www.mays.app/help/catering-phone/ai-receptionist-ivr) — The AI phone receptionist answers a location's phone. It reads out answers you've written, texts callers your address, and puts them through to a real person when it can't help.
- Scheduling: [Import a paper schedule from a photo](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/schedule-from-a-photo) — Upload a photo of a paper or whiteboard schedule and the AI turns it into draft shifts. Check who's working what, create the shifts and publish as usual.

## Still need help?

Send us a support request and a real person on the Mays team will get back to you.

[Contact support](https://www.mays.app/contact?topic=support) · [Call +1 (561) 286-3939](tel:+15612863939)

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/help/account-billing/ai-credits