Spending caps

Spending caps define the base virtual allowance for your organization, app connections, and product users. A cap acts as a spend ceiling, not a prepaid deposit.

You configure and monitor spending caps directly in the Zorveus Dashboard.

Configuring caps in the dashboard

To set up or update spending caps for an application:

1. Open the Zorveus Dashboard and navigate to Apps.
2. Select your application and open Connection settings.
3. Under Spending caps, configure:
   • Cap amount: Maximum reference-priced virtual spend permitted during the period (such as $50.00).
   • Period: Choose daily, monthly, or lifetime.
   • Allowance overrun policy: Choose how Zorveus handles requests that exceed remaining allowance.
4. Save your changes. New limits take effect immediately across all edge gateways.

The dashboard displays a live progress bar for each active cap showing current period spend, remaining base allowance, and the next reset timestamp.

Cap scopes

Zorveus supports three cap levels:

• Organization cap: Configured in Settings -> Billing. Restricts aggregate AI spend across all apps and keys in the organization.
• App-connection cap: Configured in Apps -> Connection settings. Restricts total spend through that connection and its API keys.
• Product-user cap: Sets an individual customer base allowance on that key. You can monitor individual customer spend under Product Users in the dashboard.

When multiple caps apply, every limit must have sufficient remaining allowance for a request to proceed. Lowering a cap does not reverse or alter settled usage.

Allowance formula and consumption order

When an inference key has a configured cap, total spendable allowance combines the remaining base cap with any active product-user credits:

remaining allowance = remaining base allowance + available product-user credits

The remaining base allowance is:

remaining base allowance = max(0, cap amount - completed period virtual spend - active reservations)

Base cap is consumed first

When requests arrive, Zorveus consumes allowance in this order:

1. Remaining base allowance on the inference key.
2. Available product-user credits (oldest expiring grants first).
3. Uncovered virtual spend (in non-blocking track-only mode or request overruns).

Configured monthly cap:        $10.00
Virtual spend so far:           $8.00
Remaining base allowance:       $2.00
Available user credits:         $5.00

Incoming request estimate:      $3.00
Base allowance reserved:        $2.00
Credits reserved:               $1.00
Remaining credits after call:   $4.00

The base cap covers the first $2.00. The excess $1.00 is deducted from user credits.

Uncapped connections

If no cap is configured on an app connection in the dashboard:

• Virtual allowance is unlimited.
• Inference requests pass through without allowance rejections.
• Virtual spend is recorded in your dashboard analytics.
• Zero product-user credits are consumed.

Product-user credits extend a configured cap. They do not restrict spending when an app connection is uncapped.

Allowance overrun policies

In your app connection settings in the dashboard, the Allowance overrun policy controls what happens when a model response exceeds remaining allowance:

If an enforced request exceeds remaining allowance before calling the provider, the gateway rejects the call with HTTP 403 Forbidden (zorveus_product_user_allowance_insufficient or zorveus_cap_exceeded). The dashboard logs the rejection in your usage events.