# Quickstart

From zero to a working ledger in about ten minutes.

> Checkout is not yet open: the steps below describe how the product works
> at launch. Today, the [demo console](/demo) is the way to explore.

## 1. Create an account

Pick a tier on the [pricing page](/pricing) and complete checkout. Tiers are
priced on billable tokens per month, never on footprint, and certificate
retirements are bundled: there are no per-credit charges.

After payment you land on a welcome page that shows your **console key
exactly once**. Copy it somewhere safe immediately: only a hash is stored,
so it cannot be shown again. If it is lost, write to
info@tahosasystems.com from your billing email and it will be rotated.

## 2. Sign in to the console

Open the [console](/console) and paste your key. Everything in the console
is scoped to your account: charts, certificates, connections, invoices, and
the full connection setup guide.

## 3. Get usage flowing

Three paths, in order of preference (details in
[Connecting usage](/docs/connecting-usage)):

1. **Managed connection** (best): in the Managed connections card, choose
   Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google, paste a read-only admin credential, and
   press Sync window for your first pull. After that, a daily sync runs
   automatically.
2. **Metering API**: push daily aggregates from your own infrastructure
   with one authenticated call. See the
   [metering API reference](/docs/metering-api).
3. **Self-report**: enter monthly token totals from your provider's usage
   dashboard in the Report usage card. No code, no credentials.

## 4. Read your dashboard

Footprint bars rise to P90, the retirement accrual basis; the shade change
marks the median, and whiskers span the 90 percent plausible range. The
retirement strip below shows whole units retired per month, kept
deliberately separate from the estimates. See
[Reading the console](/docs/console).

## 5. What happens automatically

- Managed connections re-sync daily (a trailing three-day window, replaced
  idempotently, so provider reporting lag is absorbed).
- At each monthly close, the period's obligation accrues at P90, whole
  units are retired (buffer first, supplier orders for shortfall), your
  certificate is issued, and your subscription covers it all. At least half
  of the subscription is spent acquiring certificates, and the achieved
  share is printed on the certificate.
- Billing is managed by your Stripe subscription; the Manage billing button
  in the console opens the customer portal for card changes or
  cancellation.

## If something looks wrong

- A connection showing `error` displays the provider's message in the
  Connections card; re-adding with the same label rotates the credential.
- Estimation never blocks your AI usage: the platform holds no proxy
  position in your traffic, so a lapsed sync or subscription affects your
  ledger, never your tools.