Customers & Automation
Understanding Spark (AI Credits)
Spark is OpenChair's AI credit system. 1 Spark = 1 cent. PRO venues add 500 non-expiring Sparks per billable bookable team member, pooled up to 5,000.
Last updated 30 August 2026
Spark is OpenChair's credit system for billable business AI tasks. Support, public help and feedback chats, and internal OpenChair operations do not use your Sparks. One Spark equals one cent, and each billable task has a fixed price.
Where to find it. Web: Sidebar → Settings → Billing → Wallet & Usage card. Mobile: Settings → Billing → Wallet section.
TL;DR
- 1 Spark = 1 cent. PRO venues add 500 Sparks per billable bookable team member (up to 5,000), pooled at venue level.
- Included Sparks are used first; Wallet balance covers the rest. Included Sparks reset monthly and unused included Sparks expire.
- When balance runs out, AI features degrade gracefully, conversations and history are preserved.
- Enable auto top-up from Settings → Plan & billing to prevent interruptions during busy periods.
Overview
The Spark system is the credit model for OpenChair's billable AI tasks, with a monthly included allowance for PRO venues and a prepaid Wallet that carries forward for additional usage:
- Gives each billable AI task a simple, transparent price; included support, inbox, safety and internal tasks use no Sparks
- Includes 500 Sparks each month for each billable bookable team member on PRO, up to 5,000
- Consumes included Sparks first, then draws from your prepaid wallet balance
- Provides graceful fallbacks when balance runs out. AI features degrade rather than break
- Supports auto top-up so you never run out unexpectedly
Note
Spark credits are available to all plans. PRO venues receive a non-expiring included allowance. FREE venues can use eligible billable tasks by topping up their wallet.
How Spark pricing works
1 Spark = 1 cent. Pricing is attached to the task, not a broad AI class. Open AI task prices in Plan & billing for the complete current list.
Assistant is priced by the work it performs: a simple conversational reply uses 1 Spark, a contextual answer using relevant venue information uses 2, and deeper analysis uses 5. A turn is never silently upgraded beyond 5 Sparks. Assistant keeps routine quotes, balances and receipts out of the conversation; the completed charge remains available in Plan & billing usage history. If there are not enough Sparks, Assistant preserves your prompt and shows guidance before it runs.
Verified empty results consume the resolved amount because Assistant still completed the requested product-data check. Failed checks, permission errors, unsupported requests, interrupted responses and conflicting results are reversed and do not settle.
Selector steps, photo validation bundled into a recommendation, deterministic nudges, public support/help/feedback chats, inbox assistance, safety checks and OpenChair Backroom work do not use customer Sparks.
Included Spark allowance (PRO)
PRO venues receive an included Spark allowance based on the billable bookable team members allocated to that venue:
| Billable bookable team | Included Sparks |
|---|---|
| 1 bookable member | 500 |
| 2 bookable members | 1,000 |
| 3 bookable members | 1,500 |
| 4 bookable members | 2,000 |
| 5 bookable members | 2,500 |
| 6 bookable members | 3,000 |
| 7 bookable members | 3,500 |
| 8 bookable members | 4,000 |
| 9 bookable members | 4,500 |
| 10+ bookable members | 5,000 (maximum) |
Included Sparks are consumed before Wallet balance. They are pooled at the venue level (not per staff member), reset monthly on the subscription-anniversary day, and unused included Sparks expire. Non-bookable owners, managers, front desk, and admin users do not increase the allowance. Shared bookable team members are allocated once across a multi-venue billing account; moving an existing seat between venues does not create extra mid-period Sparks.
FREE venues do not receive included Sparks, all AI usage draws from the wallet.
Wallet balance
The wallet is a prepaid credit balance that funds billable AI tasks after included Sparks are used (or billable AI tasks available on the FREE plan).
Topping up
On web:
- Go to Settings → Billing.
- In the Wallet & Usage card, find the wallet balance section.
- Choose a quick top-up amount: $10, $20, or $50.
- Or enter a custom amount.
- Click the top-up button to complete payment via Stripe.
On mobile:
- Go to Settings → Billing.
- Tap a quick top-up amount: $10, $20, or $50.
- You are redirected to the web payment page to complete the transaction.
Minimum top-up amounts:
| Plan | Minimum |
|---|---|
| FREE | $10 |
| PRO | $5 |
Auto top-up
Enable auto top-up to automatically recharge your wallet when the balance falls below a threshold:
- In Settings → Plan & billing, find Automatic top-up in the Wallet card.
- Add or confirm the shared billing payment method.
- Set the balance threshold (between $5 and $100).
- Set the fixed top-up amount (between $10 and $500).
- Select Turn on automatic top-up and confirm the consent.
When a paid wallet reaches the threshold, OpenChair charges the shared billing payment method off-session and credits the wallet only after Stripe confirms payment. Failed charges retry after 1 hour and 24 hours, then automatic top-up pauses. To prevent runaway charging, it also pauses before a fourth successful automatic top-up in any 24-hour period.
Tip
Enable auto top-up if you use Assistant or Style Preview regularly. This prevents AI features from being interrupted mid-conversation when your balance runs out.
Checking your usage
Check your Spark usage from Settings → Plan & billing on web or the read-only Plan & billing screen on mobile.
On web
The Wallet & Usage card on the Billing page shows:
- Available Balance: your current wallet balance (with trial credit badge if applicable)
- Sparks used: total Sparks consumed this billing period, broken down by task
- Emails used: email sends against your allocation
- SMS used: SMS sends against your allocation
Owners and managers see venue-wide task usage. Staff see their own task receipts and the usable balance.
On mobile
The Billing screen shows:
- Wallet balance with status indicator:
- Normal: balance above threshold
- Low: balance below threshold (pulsing warning)
- Empty: balance at zero (red badge)
- Trial: trial credit active (blue badge)
- AI task prices with the complete current list
- Read-only balance and usage information; wallet funding remains on web
What happens when Sparks run out
OpenChair uses graceful degradation. AI features fall back to simpler alternatives rather than failing entirely:
| Feature | Fallback behaviour |
|---|---|
| Assistant chat | Chat input disables. Message: balance indicator shows 0 remaining. |
| Assistant action drafts | Falls back to hardcoded message templates (no AI personalisation) |
| SMS auto-response | Sends: "Thanks for your message. Our AI assistant is temporarily unavailable, so the venue will follow up shortly." |
| Smart replies | Feature unavailable until balance restored |
| Style Preview | Shows that included Sparks and Wallet funds cannot cover the preview. |
No data is lost when Sparks run out. Conversations, drafts, and history remain accessible.
Low balance warning
When your wallet balance drops below $5 (500 cents):
- Web: A "Balance running low" banner appears on the Wallet & Usage card with a prompt: "Top up to keep your AI features running smoothly."
- Mobile: The wallet balance card shows a pulsing warning indicator.
- Assistant: An "Add Wallet funds" button appears below the chat input on web.
Trial credit
New venues receive a $5 wallet credit when they create their account. This trial credit:
- Works exactly like regular wallet balance
- Is displayed with a "Trial credit" badge and gift icon
- Can be protected by auto top-up; the first automatic charge waits until trial credit reaches zero
- Is non-refundable
Role access
Only owners can top up the wallet and configure auto top-up; all roles can use AI features.
| Action | Owner | Manager | Staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| View venue-wide usage | Yes | Yes | No |
| View own AI task receipts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Top up wallet | Yes | No | No |
| Configure auto top-up | Yes | No | No |
| Use AI features (consume Sparks) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Platform differences
Wallet management and usage details differ between web and mobile.
| Feature | Web | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Wallet balance display | Usage & wallet in Settings → Plan & billing | Plan & billing in Settings (read-only) |
| Top-up | Inline Stripe payment | Not available |
| Auto top-up configuration | Toggle + threshold + amount fields | Not available (configure on web) |
| Usage breakdown | Full breakdown by task | Read-only prices and own receipts |
| Trial credit badge | Gift icon + "Trial credit" label | Blue "Trial credit" badge |
Troubleshooting
The following covers common issues with Spark credits and wallet management.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Wallet balance shows $0 but I just topped up | Stripe payments take a few seconds to process. Refresh the page after 10 seconds. If the balance still shows $0, check your email for a Stripe receipt confirming the charge. |
| AI features stopped working | Check included Sparks and spendable Wallet funds in Settings → Plan & billing. If both are exhausted and automatic top-up is not enabled, add Wallet funds manually. |
| Auto top-up not triggering | Verify that it is on, the threshold is correct, and the shared billing payment method is valid. For trial credit, charging starts only once the balance reaches zero. |
| Style Preview reports insufficient funding | Style Preview costs 25 Sparks per generation. Ensure you have 25 included Sparks remaining or enough spendable Wallet funds. |
| Cannot find the top-up option on mobile | Mobile shows wallet and automatic top-up status only. Owners manage payment methods and wallet settings in the web app. |
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Common questions
- What does 1 Spark cost?
- 1 Spark = 1 cent. A $10 top-up gives you 1,000 Sparks.
- Do included Sparks roll over to the next month?
- Included Sparks reset monthly on your subscription-anniversary day, and unused included Sparks do not carry over. Wallet funds carry forward.
- Are Sparks the same as SMS or email credits?
- No. Sparks power AI features only. SMS and email have separate allocations, see SMS and Email Allocation and Limits.
- Does Assistant auto top-up if I run out mid-conversation?
- Only if auto top-up is enabled and your balance drops below the configured threshold. Otherwise Assistant preserves your prompt and explains how to continue after topping up.