> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nalpeiron.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nalpeiron.com/zenmeter-docs/zenmeter-and-monetization/usage-based-pricing-and-billing-ubb/metering-vs-billing-who-does-what.md).

# Metering vs billing: who does what

Usage-based billing only works when two distinct jobs are done well. Confusing them is where most home-built setups struggle.

| Job                        | What it covers                                                                                                                    | Owned by                            |
| -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| **Metering & enforcement** | Capture usage events, rate them against your rate card, enforce caps and credit/token burn-down in real time, manage entitlements | **Nalpeiron** (Zentitle / Zenmeter) |
| **Billing & collection**   | Generate invoices, take payment, apply tax, handle dunning, payouts, and revenue recognition                                      | **Your commerce / billing vendor**  |

Nalpeiron is the source of truth for **what each customer is entitled to and how much they have used**, and it rates that usage against your rate card. It does not move money. That separation is deliberate, and for B2B vendors it is an advantage: you keep the payment, tax, and finance systems you already trust, and feed them clean, reliable usage data — the thing legacy systems most often get wrong.

### The integration pattern

End-to-end, UBB on Nalpeiron looks like this:

1. **Purchase / subscribe** — a customer buys through your commerce vendor, self-service checkout, or sales process.
2. **Provision** — that purchase creates or updates the customer's entitlement or subscription in Nalpeiron, via an integration, the API, or a webhook.
3. **Meter & rate** — your app reports usage events; Zenmeter rates them against your rate card and enforces caps and credit burn-down in real time, and Zentitle does the same for installed products.
4. **Expose the numbers** — Nalpeiron makes rated usage, overage, and remaining-credit data available through its APIs and webhooks.
5. **Bill & collect** — your commerce or billing vendor reads that usage to invoice, charge, and handle tax in the system you already run.

Connect your commerce or billing vendor through native integrations — including **Stripe** and **FastSpring** — or through Nalpeiron's APIs and webhooks for anything else, such as your ERP or in-house billing. For developer details, see [Integrating with your app](https://docs.nalpeiron.com/zenmeter-docs/quick-start/integrating-with-your-app) and [Consume a usage feature](https://docs.nalpeiron.com/zenmeter-docs/developers/api-guide/consume-a-usage-feature). Available integrations are listed under [Zenmeter integrations](https://docs.nalpeiron.com/zenmeter-docs/ui-administration/integrations) and [Zentitle integrations](https://docs.nalpeiron.com/zentitle2-docs/ui-administration/integrations), including [Stripe](https://docs.nalpeiron.com/zentitle2-docs/integrations/stripe) and [FastSpring](https://docs.nalpeiron.com/zentitle2-docs/integrations/fastspring).


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