Payment process

How billing works at ArduMaker: balance per Company, monthly fee for reserved resources, pay per use and accepted payment methods.

Version 1 · Updated on 2026-09-20

Billing, collection, Default, credits and refunds

How billing works, in short. Each Company has its own Balance. Services with a fixed monthly price are charged on the 1st of each month and prorated by day. Usage-based Services are charged as they are consumed. If the Balance is not enough, it may go slightly negative and, beyond that limit, the registered card is charged automatically. If a debt cannot be collected, the Services are paused and, after 25 days, deleted. This Procedure forms part of the Agreement described in the Terms and Conditions.

Summary of the key points

• One Balance per Company, used first to pay every charge of that Company.
• Fixed monthly fees on the 1st of each month, prorated by day when a Service starts, changes
• plan or ends mid-month.
• No surprise bills on VPS: the plan price includes its resources, with no traffic or request
• charges.
• Usage-based Services (WhatsApp, Router IA, Search API) are charged per use, with configurable
• spending limits.
• Authorized Negative Balance of between EUR 5 and EUR 100, depending on your payment history,
• before the card is charged.
• If a charge fails: up to 8 attempts, a pause of all the Company's Services after 3 consecutive
• failures, and deletion after 25 days in Default. The debt remains.
• Getting out of Default costs more the longer it takes: on top of the statutory late-payment
• interest, a surcharge of 85% of the debt is applied once per arrears cycle (Section 10.8), because
• the Services stayed reserved and running for 25 days that nobody paid.
• Getting out of Default is simple: add Balance to cover the debt and paused Services come back
• automatically.
• The Balance is a prepayment, not a deposit: it pays for Services and is not refunded in cash
• (Section 12), without prejudice to the right of withdrawal of Section 13.
• Consumers in the EU and EEA have a 14-day right of withdrawal (Section 13).
• Verification may be requested at any time before accepting a payment method, a top-up or a
• refund.

1. Purpose and scope

1.1 Purpose. This Procedure explains how ArduMaker calculates, charges and collects the price of the Services, what happens when a payment fails, and how credits, refunds and withdrawals work.

1.2 Definitions. Capitalised terms have the meaning given in the Terms and Conditions and in Section 2.

1.3 Precedence. For billing, collection, credits and refunds, this Procedure prevails over the main body of the Terms and Conditions, in accordance with its Clause 2.3, without prejudice to the mandatory rights of Consumers.

2. Key concepts

• Balance: the amount available in a Company to pay for its Services. It can be positive or,
• within the Authorized Negative Balance, negative.
• Fixed Monthly Fee: the monthly price of the Resources that remain reserved for the Customer,
• such as a VPS plan, whatever their actual use.
• Usage Charges: the price of Services charged according to actual consumption, such as WhatsApp
• messages, Router IA tokens or Search API operations.
• Billing Date: the 1st day of each calendar month.
• Proportional Charge: the part of a Fixed Monthly Fee corresponding to the days remaining in
• the month when a Service is activated or upgraded mid-month.
• Proportional Credit: the part of a Fixed Monthly Fee corresponding to the days not used when a
• Service is deleted or downgraded mid-month.
• Authorized Negative Balance: the negative amount a Company may reach before automatic
• collection starts.
• Collection Attempt: each automatic attempt to charge the registered payment method.
• Debt: any amount due and unpaid, including a negative Balance.
• Default: the situation of a Company from the first failed Collection Attempt until its Debt is
• paid in full.
• Promotional Credit: Balance granted by ArduMaker free of charge, through promotions, school
• agreements, compensation or goodwill.

3. Prices, currency and taxes

3.1 Applicable price. The applicable price is the one shown in the Dashboard at the time of each Order or, for Usage Charges, at the time of use. Prices on the website, in the blog or in the documentation are informative. For the Search API, the price table shown in the Dashboard prevails.

3.2 Currency. Prices are expressed and charged in euros (EUR), unless the Dashboard indicates otherwise. Any currency conversion fees applied by the Customer's bank or card issuer are borne by the Customer.

3.3 Taxes. Prices shown to Consumers include all applicable taxes. Taxes, including VAT, are applied according to the Customer's status and location and are shown before the Customer confirms an Order. Business Customers established in another Member State of the European Union with a valid VAT number may be invoiced under the reverse charge mechanism, where applicable.

3.4 No hidden fees. There are no setup fees. The Fixed Monthly Fee of a VPS includes the resources of its plan, the automatic backups, the Dashboard tools and the MCP server, without any charge for traffic, requests or usage. The only Services with Usage Charges are those identified as such in the Dashboard.

4. Payment methods

4.1 Accepted methods. ArduMaker accepts payment by card and the other methods enabled in the Dashboard at any given time. Payments are processed by Stripe.

4.2 Card data. ArduMaker does not receive or store full card numbers or security codes. Card data is handled by Stripe in accordance with the PCI DSS standard. ArduMaker keeps only the information described in the Privacy Policy, such as the card brand and its last four digits.

4.3 Authorization for automatic charges. By registering a payment method, the Customer authorizes ArduMaker to charge it, without requesting new consent for each charge, for: the Fixed Monthly Fees; the Proportional Charges; the Usage Charges; the Debts; and any other amount due under this Procedure. This authorization remains in force until the Customer removes the payment method. The Customer's bank may require strong customer authentication for some charges; in that case, the Customer must complete it for the charge to succeed.

4.4 Valid method or sufficient Balance. The Customer must always keep either a valid payment method or sufficient Balance to cover its charges, and must update its card before it expires. Removing a payment method does not cancel any Debt or authorization for amounts already due.

4.5 Payments by third parties. When a third party pays for a Company (for example, a client paying the Company of a freelancer), the holder of the Company remains responsible for the payment. When a school pays for its students under a school agreement, the agreement determines who is responsible for each amount.

5. The Balance

5.1 One Balance per Company. Each Company has its own Balance, which is used only to pay the Services of that Company. The Balance of one Company cannot be used for another, unless the Dashboard offers that function.

5.2 Composition. The Balance is made up of the Customer's top-ups, the Proportional Credits, the refunds of billing errors and any Promotional Credits.

5.3 Order of payment. Every charge follows this sequence: (i) it is paid from the Balance; (ii) if the Balance is not enough, the Balance becomes negative, within the Authorized Negative Balance of Section 9; and (iii) when the negative Balance would exceed that limit, the registered payment method is charged automatically for the amount needed, in accordance with Section 10. ArduMaker may also charge the registered payment method before the limit is reached, for example on the Billing Date.

5.4 Nature of the Balance. The Balance is a prepayment for ArduMaker Services. It does not bear interest, is not a deposit or electronic money, cannot be transferred to other persons, and has no cash value: it is spent on Services and is not refunded, as set out in Section 12. The only exceptions are the correction of a billing error (Section 12.3) and the right of withdrawal of a Consumer (Section 13).

5.5 Duration. The Balance does not expire while the Account is open. Promotional Credits may expire according to the conditions under which they were granted.

6. Fixed Monthly Fees

6.1 Billing in advance. Fixed Monthly Fees are charged in advance for each calendar month, automatically, on the Billing Date.

6.2 Activation mid-month. When a Service is activated after the 1st of the month, a Proportional Charge is made at the time of activation for the days remaining until the end of that month. From the next Billing Date, the full Fixed Monthly Fee applies.

6.3 Deletion mid-month. When the Customer deletes a Service before the end of the month, it receives a Proportional Credit in its Balance for the full days not used.

6.4 Change of plan. When the Customer changes plan, the difference between the old and the new price is prorated by day from the moment of the change: an upgrade generates a Proportional Charge and a downgrade a Proportional Credit. The new price is shown before the change is confirmed.

6.5 Calculation by day. Proration is calculated by dividing the Fixed Monthly Fee by the number of days of the month concerned and multiplying the result by the number of days affected, rounded to the nearest cent.

6.6 Paused Services. While a Service is paused because of Default or a breach by the Customer, its Resources remain reserved, and ArduMaker may charge the corresponding Fixed Monthly Fee.

7. Usage Charges

7.1 Services concerned. Usage Charges apply, among others, to: WhatsApp messages, conversations, SMS and calls, according to the rates of Meta and Twilio and the price shown in the Dashboard; Router IA, according to the tokens consumed and the price of each model; and the Search API, according to the operations performed.

7.2 Metering. Consumption is measured by the Platform and can be consulted, itemised, in the Dashboard.

7.3 Charging. Usage Charges are deducted from the Balance as they accrue, or in aggregated charges, as shown in the Dashboard. The costs of the Search API accumulate on each Search API token (the key used to authenticate requests) and are charged when they exceed EUR 0.50.

7.4 Spending limits and alerts. The Customer can configure spending limits and alerts for the Services that offer them. ArduMaker applies them as configured. Requests already in progress when a limit is reached may cause a small excess, which is also payable.

7.5 Keys and credentials. All consumption generated with the Customer's API Credentials is payable by the Customer, including consumption generated by its Agents and with leaked keys until the Customer revokes them, unless the leak was caused by ArduMaker.

7.6 Changes in third-party prices. When the price of a model, of WhatsApp or of another Third-Party Service changes, the new price applies from the moment it is shown in the Dashboard.

8. Promotions, discounts and the school program

8.1 Promotions. Promotions, including discount links, show their price schedule before activation (for example: first month free, then a reduced price for some months, then the list price). The months are counted from the activation of the Service. Changes from one step to the next are charged by day. The conditions of Annex B.15 of the Terms and Conditions apply.

8.2 School discounts. School discounts (fixed, time-limited, stepped, flexible quota, paid by the school and promotional link) are applied automatically when an eligible student logs in, in accordance with the school's agreement and Annex B.14 of the Terms and Conditions. When the school pays, its share is charged to the school, and the student pays the difference, if any.

8.3 End of the promotion or discount. When a promotion or discount ends, the list price applies automatically, and the Service continues active unless the Customer deletes it. For school benefits, ArduMaker gives at least 7 days' notice before the first charge at the list price.

8.4 Reversal. If a promotion, discount or school benefit was obtained through false information, multiple Accounts or the exploitation of an error, ArduMaker may withdraw it and charge the list price for the period improperly obtained, in accordance with the Terms of Use.

9. Authorized Negative Balance

9.1 What it is. To avoid interruptions due to small amounts, the Balance of a Company may become negative up to a limit before automatic collection starts.

9.2 Limit. The limit ranges from EUR 5 to EUR 100 and is calculated automatically according to the history of successful payments of the Company over the last 6 months. The current limit is available on request.

9.3 A courtesy, not credit. The Authorized Negative Balance is a courtesy of ArduMaker and not a loan or a credit facility. ArduMaker may reduce it to the minimum of EUR 5 at any time, and may withdraw it entirely while a chargeback, a fraud investigation, a failed Verification or a suspension for Abuse is pending.

9.4 Payment. The negative amount is a Debt that is paid with the next top-up or charge.

10. Automatic collection and Default

10.1 Start of collection. When the negative Balance exceeds the Authorized Negative Balance, the Platform automatically charges the registered payment method for the amount needed.

10.2 Retries. If a Collection Attempt fails, it is retried every 60 hours for the first 3 attempts and then every 5 days, up to a maximum of 8 attempts in total. The Customer receives a notification by email for every failed attempt.

10.3 Consequences. A Company enters Default with the first failed Collection Attempt. From then on, the following consequences apply:

10.4 Indicative timeline. Counting from the first failed attempt (day 0), the attempts take place approximately on day 0, day 2.5, day 5 (pause of the Services), day 10, day 15, day 20, day 25 (deletion of the Services) and day 30. Attempts that remain after deletion continue to try to collect the Debt.

10.5 Final copies after deletion for Default. Before deleting a server for Default, the Platform makes a final copy of it, in accordance with Clause 15.4 of the Terms and Conditions. The final copy is kept for 90 days from deletion, during which the Customer may request it, after Verification if ArduMaker requires it. Delivering the copy does not waive the Debt, which remains due. After 90 days, the final copy is permanently erased. Services other than servers, such as mailboxes, may not have a final copy, so the Customer should settle the Debt, reactivate its Services and export its data before the deletion date.

10.6 Collection of the Debt. The Debt remains due after deletion. ArduMaker may send reminders, use debt collection agencies or take legal action, and may offset the Debt against any positive Balance that the same Customer holds in another Company, after notifying the Customer.

10.7 Late-payment interest and costs. ArduMaker may charge:

• (a) to Business Customers: the statutory interest for late payment in commercial transactions
• and the fixed compensation of EUR 40 per late invoice provided by Decree-Law 62/2013, plus the
• reasonable recovery costs that exceed that amount; and
• (b) to Consumers: the statutory civil interest from the due date, and the reasonable and
• documented recovery costs only to the extent permitted by law.

10.8 Arrears and reactivation surcharge. In addition to Section 10.7, ArduMaker charges a surcharge for the cost of keeping the Services running while they are unpaid and of putting the Company back in working order.

• (a) Amount. 85% of the Debt outstanding at the moment the surcharge is applied.
• (b) When. Once per arrears cycle, and never twice for the same cycle: when the Services of the
• Company are deleted after 25 days in Default, or earlier if ArduMaker decides to apply it.
• (c) How it appears. As a charge on the Balance of the Company, itemised in the Dashboard with
• the description "Arrears and reactivation surcharge". Every notice that states the Debt breaks
• this amount out separately, so the Customer can see what part of the Debt is the surcharge.
• (d) What it covers. The Services stay reserved and running for up to 25 days after the first
• failed collection, all of it unpaid; reactivating a Company after that has a real cost for
• ArduMaker.
• (e) When it is released. The surcharge is part of the Debt and is paid with it. The cycle
• closes when the Balance returns to zero or above; from then on, a new arrears cycle calculates its
• own surcharge on its own Debt.
• (f) Consumers. For Consumers, this surcharge applies only to the extent permitted by the
• applicable consumer protection law, and never beyond the reasonable and documented recovery costs
• that the law allows to be passed on. Where the law caps it, the cap prevails over letter (a).
• (g) Disputing it. The surcharge can be disputed like any other charge, under Section 16.

11. How to resolve a Debt

To get out of Default:

1. Go to the Dashboard and open the Payment tab of the Company.
2. Add enough Balance to cover the Debt, with the registered card or another accepted method.
3. The paused Services are reactivated automatically.
4. The retry counters are reset.

Deleted Services cannot be reactivated. If the Customer cannot pay the full Debt, it may write with the [BILLING] tag to propose a payment plan, which ArduMaker may accept at its discretion.

12. Credits and refunds

12.1 The Balance is not refunded in cash. The Balance is a prepayment for ArduMaker Services, as set out in Section 5.4. It is spent on Services and it is not paid back: neither the Customer's own top-ups, nor the Proportional Credits for deleted or downgraded Services, nor Promotional Credits, nor amounts paid by schools or third parties. This does not affect the right of withdrawal of Section 13, the correction of billing errors of Section 12.3, or any mandatory right of a Consumer under the applicable law.

12.2 Closure of the Account. When the Customer closes its Account, the unused Balance is lost. The Customer can avoid that by spending it before closing: the Balance does not expire while the Account is open (Section 5.5), so there is no deadline that forces the decision.

12.3 Billing errors. Amounts charged in error are returned to the Balance or, at the Customer's request, to the original payment method. An error is not a refund of the Balance: it is the correction of a charge that should not have been made.

12.4 Termination by ArduMaker or for Abuse. If ArduMaker terminates the Agreement for convenience or discontinues a Service, the remaining Balance may be used on the other Services of the Customer until the Account is closed. If the Agreement is terminated for Abuse, ArduMaker may offset against the Balance the amounts allowed by Section 14.3 of the Terms of Use, which, for Consumers, are limited to undisputed or adjudicated amounts.

12.5 Service failures. Unless an Individual Agreement provides otherwise, failures of the Services do not give rise to automatic credits. ArduMaker may grant credits at its discretion. Consumers keep their statutory remedies, including a price reduction for lack of conformity.

12.6 Consumption. Usage Charges for consumption actually made are not refunded, except in the case of error.

12.7 Timing. Where a refund is due under Section 12.3 or Section 13, it is initiated within 14 days. The time it takes for the money to appear depends on the payment provider and the Customer's bank.

13. Right of withdrawal for Consumers in the European Economic Area

13.1 Right. A Consumer resident in the European Economic Area may withdraw from the contract of a paid Service within 14 days from the day of the Order, without giving any reason.

13.2 Immediate start. Because Services are delivered within minutes, before confirming the Order the Dashboard asks the Consumer, through a separate box that is not ticked in advance, to expressly request that the Service start during the withdrawal period and to acknowledge that it will pay for the Service provided if it withdraws. ArduMaker confirms that request on a durable medium. If the Consumer made that request and then withdraws, it must pay an amount proportionate to the Service provided until it communicated the withdrawal, calculated by day, plus the Usage Charges consumed.

13.3 Top-ups. If a Consumer withdraws within 14 days of a top-up, the unused part of that top-up is refunded.

13.4 How to withdraw. The Consumer may withdraw through the withdrawal function available in the Dashboard, or by sending an unequivocal statement to developer@ardumaker.com with the [BILLING] tag. The model form in the Annex to this Procedure may be used, but it is not mandatory. It is sufficient to send the communication before the withdrawal period expires.

13.5 Confirmation and refund. ArduMaker confirms receipt of the withdrawal on a durable medium without undue delay. It refunds the amounts due within 14 days of receiving the withdrawal, using the same payment method, without any fee for the Consumer.

13.6 Business Customers. The right of withdrawal does not apply to Business Customers.

14. Chargebacks and payment disputes

14.1 Contact us first. Before opening a chargeback or payment dispute with the bank, the Customer is asked to contact ArduMaker with the [BILLING] tag, because most issues are resolved faster this way. This does not limit any right the Customer has with its bank or payment provider.

14.2 During a chargeback. When a chargeback is opened, the disputed amount is deducted from the Balance of the Company. If, as a result, the negative Balance exceeds the Authorized Negative Balance, Sections 10 and 11 apply from that moment. ArduMaker may provide the card issuer with the evidence of the Services provided.

14.3 Unjustified chargeback. If the chargeback is unjustified, the amount and the fees charged by the payment provider become a Debt, and case C20 of the Terms of Use applies. A fraudulent chargeback is Level 3 Abuse (case C26).

14.4 Justified chargeback. If the chargeback is justified, ArduMaker accepts it, corrects the charge and restores the Balance, and the chargeback has no other consequence for the Customer.

15. Invoices

15.1 Issue. ArduMaker issues invoices for the amounts paid, in electronic format and in accordance with Portuguese tax law. Invoices are available in the Dashboard or are sent by email.

15.2 Billing details. The Customer must enter its correct billing details (name or company name, tax ID or VAT number and address) before paying. Invoices already issued can be corrected only as far as tax law allows.

16. Review and disputes of charges

16.1 Review. The Customer should review its charges regularly. Every charge and consumption is itemised in the Dashboard.

16.2 Deadline. Business Customers must dispute a charge within 30 days of the date on which it was made. After that period, the charge is deemed accepted, except for errors that could not reasonably have been detected. Consumers keep their statutory rights.

16.3 Review of the dispute. ArduMaker answers within 15 Business Days. The undisputed part must be paid in the usual way. ArduMaker may suspend the collection of the disputed amount while the dispute is under review.

16.4 Errors in the Customer's favour. Errors in the Customer's favour must be reported in accordance with Clause 11 of the Terms and Conditions and are corrected in accordance with its Clause 11.6.

17. Price changes

17.1 Fixed Monthly Fees. ArduMaker gives at least 30 days' notice of any increase in the Fixed Monthly Fees of Services already contracted. The Customer may delete the affected Services before the new price applies, without any cost other than the Services used.

17.2 Usage Charges. Usage Charges that depend on Third-Party Services follow Section 7.6.

17.3 Promotions in progress. Promotions already activated keep their price schedule until they end.

18. Custom development

18.1 Proposal. Custom development projects are paid in accordance with their proposal, which sets the price, any advance payment, the milestones and the payment deadlines.

18.2 Late payment. If a payment is late, ArduMaker may pause the work, and the delivery of the deliverables and the transfer of their intellectual property may be withheld until full payment, in accordance with Clause 17.7 of the Terms and Conditions. Section 10.7 applies to the late-payment interest and costs.

19. Security of payments and Verification

19.1 Verification. ArduMaker may request Verification at any time, in accordance with Clause 7 of the Terms and Conditions, in particular before accepting a new payment method, a top-up or a refund, or after a chargeback.

19.2 Preventive measures. To prevent fraud, ArduMaker may refuse a payment method, limit the amount of top-ups, require prepayment of a Service, or hold a payment or refund while it is reviewed.

19.3 No card data by email. ArduMaker never requests card numbers, security codes or passwords by email, chat or telephone. Payment data is entered only in the payment forms of the Dashboard.

20. Contact

For any question about billing, payments, invoices or refunds: developer@ardumaker.com, with the [BILLING] tag at the beginning of the subject line.

Annex — Model withdrawal form

Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.

To: Franco Nicolas Dorrego (ArduMaker), [TO COMPLETE: professional address], Porto, Portugal — developer@ardumaker.com

I/We hereby give notice that I/We withdraw from my/our contract for the provision of the following service:

• Service and Company concerned:
• Ordered on:
• Name of the Consumer(s):
• Address of the Consumer(s):
• Email of the Account:
• Signature of the Consumer(s) (only if this form is sent on paper):
• Date:

Delete "I/We" and "my/our" as appropriate.