{
 "id": "13.4",
 "title": "Budget",
 "department": "Finance",
 "department_slug": "finance",
 "direction": null,
 "branded": false,
 "status": "needs-you",
 "owner": "Param",
 "last_verified": "Mon Oct 26",
 "holds": "Monthly spend by category",
 "urls": {
  "html": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/finance/budget",
  "markdown": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/finance/budget.md",
  "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/finance/budget.json"
 },
 "other_directions": [],
 "tldr": {
  "headline": "No budget exists yet, so here is a first one to accept",
  "points": [
   {
    "icon": "money",
    "text": "Nothing is set or recorded; the November ceilings are built from the product's own caps."
   },
   {
    "icon": "spark",
    "text": "Cloud and Vertex AI ride on Google credits, $20,763 left on 16 Oct."
   },
   {
    "icon": "warn",
    "text": "Anthropic's key has been out of credit since 20 Oct."
   },
   {
    "icon": "chart",
    "text": "Proposed ceilings: cloud $400, Vertex AI $600, treg $150, Apify $70."
   },
   {
    "icon": "check",
    "text": "Any new paid tool gets a budget line before its first payment."
   }
  ],
  "stat": {
   "value": "600",
   "label": "proposed Vertex AI ceiling, USD"
  },
  "decide": "Accept the November ceilings, and drop the treg day cap to $15 to match?",
  "mood": "waiting"
 },
 "sources": [
  "brew origin/main a559de6: tools/prod-env.sh:9, deploy.sh:21, shelf.js:69, budget.js:13-15",
  "handbook content/finance/spend-caps.md, content/finance/credits.md, content/finance/vendors-and-bills.md, content/ai-and-models/cost-per-brand.md",
  "memory: brew-gemini-provider, brew-apify-watch, brew-go-live-2026-10-17, brew-pro-switch-and-flush, brew-live-stores, no-spend-while-building"
 ],
 "open_questions": [
  "**Accept the November ceilings?** Proposal: yes as written; treg at $150 a month is well under its $40 a day cap and about fifteen times the $10 a brand estimate for seven brands.",
  "**Lower the treg day cap to match?** Proposal: set `TREG_DAY_CAP_USD` to $15 on production, so the code cap and the budget agree.",
  "**Who approves spend over a ceiling?** Proposal: Param only, by a yes in chat recorded in the spend ledger."
 ],
 "parts": {
  "Answer": "How much Brew may spend each month, by category; no budget has ever been set and no monthly spend is recorded, so the categories and ceilings below are a proposal built from the product's own caps, for Param to accept or change.",
  "Today": "| Fact | Source |\n|---|---|\n| No budget or monthly spend figure exists in any source | [src: content/finance/spend-ledger.md Today] |\n| Cloud and AI on Vertex are paid by Google credits, $20,763 left on 16 Oct | [src: memory brew-gemini-provider] |\n| Outside data is capped at $40 a day of treg on production | [src: brew/tools/prod-env.sh:9] |\n| Apify is capped at $10 a brand a month; the Starter plan was bought on 23 Oct | [src: brew/shelf.js:69] [src: memory brew-apify-watch] |\n| First builds are capped at $250 a day across brands | [src: brew/tools/prod-env.sh:9] |\n| Draft pictures run up to 1,500 a day, about $58 at worst on Flash | [src: brew/deploy.sh:21] |\n| Sloosh is on a Pro plan; finals are capped at 300 credits a day | [src: memory brew-go-live-2026-10-17] [src: brew/budget.js:13] |\n| The Anthropic key is out of credit since 20 Oct | [src: memory brew-pro-switch-and-flush] |\n| Seven brands live: five partners and two test brands | [src: memory brew-live-stores] |",
  "Tomorrow": "| Item | Version | Tag |\n|---|---|---|\n| A monthly budget by category, set by Param | v1 | New |\n| Caps in the product tied to that budget | v1 | Changes |\n| A budget line per paying brand, from its plan | v1, after pricing | New |",
  "How we do it": "The proposed budget for November 2026. Worst case figures are the caps multiplied out, not forecasts; the proposed ceiling is what Param would allow.\n\n| Category | What is in it | Worst case the caps allow a month | Proposed ceiling | Paid from |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Cloud | Cloud Run, Cloud SQL, storage | not capped in code | $400 | Google credits |\n| AI on Vertex | Plays, briefs, cards, drafts | builds $250 a day, pictures about $58 a day | $600 | Google credits |\n| Outside data, treg | Reads, listening, watchers | $1,200, from $40 a day | $150 | Card or top up |\n| Apify | Marketplace and quick commerce scrapers | $70, from $10 times seven brands | $70 | Apify plan |\n| Finals | Sloosh credits | 300 credits a day | the Pro plan only | Sloosh plan |\n| Email | Resend | not capped in code | the current plan only | Card |\n| Domains, DNS, hosting | Cloudflare, Firebase | not capped in code | the current plans only | Card or credits |\n| Anthropic | Claude on our key | none while out of credit | $0 during the partnership | Card |\n\nThe proposed ceilings for cloud and AI are starting points with no spend history behind them; the first measured month replaces them.\n\n1. Param sets the ceilings; this table then becomes the budget.\n2. Each month the spend ledger is compared with it; any category over its ceiling goes to Param that week.\n3. A new paid tool needs a line here before the first payment [src: memory no-spend-while-building].",
  "Numbers": "| Metric | Definition | Where measured | Status |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Spend against budget | Spend a month by category over its ceiling | Spend ledger | Proposed |\n| Cash spend a month | Spend not paid by credits | Spend ledger | Proposed |\n| Credit spend a month | Spend paid by Google credits | Cloud Billing credits | Proposed |",
  "Open": "1. **Accept the November ceilings?** Proposal: yes as written; treg at $150 a month is well under its $40 a day cap and about fifteen times the $10 a brand estimate for seven brands.\n2. **Lower the treg day cap to match?** Proposal: set `TREG_DAY_CAP_USD` to $15 on production, so the code cap and the budget agree.\n3. **Who approves spend over a ceiling?** Proposal: Param only, by a yes in chat recorded in the spend ledger."
 }
}