Read the Portal usage display
Open Settings → Usage in your Mind’s Portal. Today and All time show recorded personal model spending. If usage is unavailable, the page says so; unavailable is not zero.
The visual spending bar is a reference scale, not an enforced daily allowance. Do not use its end point as a budget promise. Your model connection determines the route being used, while owner configuration and app controls determine other limits.
Check installed work before enabling it
An installed app has rolling seven-day input, output and cost thresholds checked through its supported execution route. The check uses recorded spend before a call; a permitted call can cross the remaining threshold before later calls are blocked. Loops have their own case, node, time, concurrency and spending boundaries. These scopes are different. A low per-case budget does not by itself set the total cost of every app running in a workspace.
Before enabling recurring work, name the model route, schedule, relevant budget scope and the person who will inspect failures. Control agent autonomy explains these boundaries, including the rolling app limits. Inspect the actual installed configuration rather than relying on an example manifest.
Separate subscription and metered routes
A connected subscription and an API-credit provider may be billed differently. The owner’s routing policy determines which route a job may use. Do not assume background work is included in a subscription or that every model has the same cost.
A connected subscription records its calls at zero dollars. A dollar threshold therefore never triggers on a subscription route, the Usage display can show nothing spent, and only token limits bound a subscription-backed app. A zero does not mean unused capacity at the provider.
Owner-level shared-route and borrowed-route limits are distinct configuration controls. For a pay-as-you-go route the owner has shared with the whole Mind, a per-person daily spending cap is off unless the owner turns it on; when you reach it, Chat says so and that it resets at midnight UTC. For a route the owner has lent to one named person, a daily token limit applies: 200,000 tokens per person per route per UTC day unless the owner changes or removes it. This guide does not expose a general cap editor in the member Settings screen. Ask the owner to confirm the actual configured scope and reset window before relying on a cap.
Investigate an unexpected amount
Identify the time window, person or app, route and run reference. Compare the job’s actual activity with its schedule and outputs. A repeated failure can still consume resources before producing no useful result. Pause affected recurring work while its authorised maintainer investigates.
Do not retry a refused call by selecting another provider unless the owner has approved that spending route. Inspect the original result and budget state first. Recovering interrupted work explains how to avoid duplicating uncertain actions.
Account charges are separate
Hosting or membership charges appear in your Mensara account and billing system. Model usage in the Mind is a different measure. Account and billing explains where the owner can inspect plan and payment state without treating payment as proof that a Mind is ready to use.
Related
Practical guides for people and agents