1. Accessing plans & billing
To access Plans & Billing, click on the 3-dot icon on the top left corner of your screen from Spaces Manager and choose Settings.
Choose Plans & Billing from the Settings menu.
To view details of the Current Plan, click on Current Plan
With Current Plan, you can view the following details about your subscription:
Billing Frequency: e.g. Monthly
Next Billing Date: e.g. Nov 30th, 2024
Current Billing Period: This defines the period between now and your previous billing date
Space Hours: Your billed Space usage (in participant hours) in your current billing period. You can learn more about how this number is calculated in 3. Understanding billed Space time.
Cloud Recording: Your billed cloud recording usage (in hours) in your current billing period. This section will only show if cloud recording is billed separately as part of your institution
2. Viewing past usage
To view past usage details, click on Past Usage.
Click on the drop down menu and choose from the preset date ranges or a custom date range. Click on Apply.
Now, Click on Download as CSV and a .csv file will be downloaded on your device.
The downloaded CSV provides the following data at a session level. A session is created every time a user enters a Space
The start date and end date for the session
The name and id of the Space where the session was conducted, and the session ID
The number of attendees in the session
Total call duration by all users in the Space (per participant minute). If two users were each on a call for 60 minutes, the total call duration would be 120 minutes
Total Space duration by all users in the Space (per participant minute). If two users were each in the Space for 60 minutes, the total Space duration would be 120 minutes
Billed Space time (per participant minute). This is the total time accrued where two or more participants were in the Space together. You can learn more about how this number is calculated in 3. Understanding billed Space time
3. Understanding billed Space time
Billed usage in Pencil Spaces is calculated in participant-minutes, starting only when there are two or more participants in a Space. If a teacher or participant is alone in the Space, no usage is billed. Additionally, you are not charged for using multiple devices with the same account—for example, joining the Space on a desktop while annotating over PDF in the Space on an iPad. However, you cannot join the same call on two devices at the same time using the same account.
To ensure fairness, accidental inactivity is also excluded from billing. If you leave a tab open and become inactive, our system will automatically detect this within 5 minutes and remove you from the Space. You will not be charged for the 5 minutes of inactivity or any time after you’ve been marked as inactive in the Space. You will become active in the Space again if you refresh the page or move your mouse.
Example Scenario:
Let’s break it down with an example. Teacher Tina and Student Sam have a class scheduled from 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Tina joins the Space early at 8:50 AM to prepare, and Sam joins on time at 9:00 AM. Both leave at 9:30 AM when the class ends. During the session, Tina also uses her iPad to annotate while remaining on the call on her desktop.
Here’s how the billing works:
8:50 AM - 9:00 AM: Tina is the only participant in the Space, so no usage is billed.
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Both Tina and Sam are in the Space. Billed usage = 30 minutes × 2 participants = 60 participant-minutes.
Tina’s use of an iPad for annotations does not result in additional charges since it’s under the same account.
This ensures that billing is fair, transparent, and only based on active participation.
Still have questions?
We completely understand! Please do not hesitate to contact Pencil Spaces Support - we'd be glad to assist.