# How You Get Paid (and What You Pay For)

The word "billing" covers **two completely separate money flows** in Suger, and mixing them up is the most
common source of confusion for new customers. This page explains both in plain language.

---

## The two money flows

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    subgraph A["Flow A — marketplace revenue (money paid TO you)"]
        buyer[Your buyer] -->|pays| cloud[Cloud marketplace<br/>AWS / Azure / GCP]
        cloud -->|disburses, minus marketplace fee| you[You / your bank]
        cloud -.->|records the transaction| suger1[Suger]
    end
    subgraph B["Flow B — AI-feature usage (money you pay Suger)"]
        you2[You] -->|use AI features| suger2[Suger AI]
        suger2 -->|metered per model, monthly invoice| stripe[Stripe invoice<br/>free credits applied]
    end
```

## Flow A — marketplace revenue (the cloud pays *you*)

When a buyer purchases your product on a cloud marketplace, **the cloud provider collects the payment**,
keeps its marketplace fee, and **disburses the rest to you**. Suger records the transaction so you can see
and reconcile it, but the money moves from the cloud to your bank — not through Suger.

A key timing detail: revenue is recognized when the cloud **disburses** it, which can be a different period
than when the sale closed.

→ Track this in [Multi-Channel Revenue](/revenue/), and read
[Cloud Commits and Drawdown](/get-started/commit-drawdown/) for how enterprise cloud commitments interact
with marketplace purchases.

## Flow B — AI-feature usage (you pay *Suger*)

If you use Suger's **AI features**, that usage is metered per model and provider and billed to you on a
**monthly Stripe invoice** — with monthly free credits applied automatically. A customer who doesn't use AI
features owes nothing here. This is money you pay **to Suger**, and it is entirely separate from the
marketplace revenue above.

→ See [Billing](/get-started/billing/) for how AI usage is metered, credited, and invoiced.

---

## Quick comparison

| | Flow A — Marketplace revenue | Flow B — AI-feature usage |
|---|---|---|
| **Who pays whom** | Cloud marketplace pays **you** | **You** pay Suger |
| **What it's for** | Your customers' purchases of your product | Your usage of Suger's AI features |
| **How it's collected** | Cloud disburses to your bank | Monthly Stripe invoice (free credits applied) |
| **Where to look** | [Multi-Channel Revenue](/revenue/) | [Billing](/get-started/billing/) |