💳 Understanding OTTO Site Top-Up Charges on Agency

If you manage clients on an Agency plan, you may see a charge for additional OTTO site capacity. This is a recurring top-up, although its first payment may be prorated. This article explains what the charge covers and how to review it.

💡 What Is an OTTO Site Top-Up?

Your Agency plan includes an OTTO SEO site allowance. If you need more capacity, you can purchase a recurring OTTO site top-up without changing your base plan. When your available allowance is exhausted, adding another OTTO site is blocked until additional capacity becomes available.

🔍 Why Did I Receive a Charge Like $686?

A larger top-up amount usually happens because one or more of the following occurred during your billing cycle:

• Multiple sites were added at once. The charge is a combined total, not a price for a single site.
• Additional OTTO site slots were purchased beyond your included allowance. Those purchased slots are billed as recurring top-ups, whether or not every slot is currently being used.
• The initial top-up payment may be prorated when you purchase additional OTTO site capacity mid-cycle. It covers the remaining portion of the top-up’s monthly billing period; subsequent payments cover the recurring capacity.
• A single top-up purchase can cover several additional OTTO site slots. Do not assume that separate purchases were combined because they happened close together; review the invoices and purchased quantities to identify what each charge covers.

The amount depends on the additional capacity purchased, your applicable OTTO pricing tier or negotiated rate, any discounts, and any first-payment proration based on when the capacity was purchased.

🧮 How the Amount Is Typically Calculated

While exact rates depend on your plan, a top-up generally follows this logic:

1. The platform checks OTTO site usage against your available allowance, including purchased capacity. Recurring top-up charges are based on the capacity you purchased, not an automatic count of sites exceeding your base plan.
2. Additional OTTO site capacity is priced using your applicable OTTO site-count tier or negotiated rate. Included and eligible complimentary sites can contribute toward the pricing tier without becoming paid top-up sites.
3. The total is adjusted for the days left in your current billing cycle, if applicable.
4. The final amount is charged to your payment method on file.

📋 How to Review What Your Charge Covers

1. Open your billing or subscription settings inside the platform.
2. Find the invoice or payment entry that matches the charge date and amount.
3. Check the line item description for references to OTTO or additional sites.
4. Compare the charge date with the dates you added or activated sites in your account.
5. Review your OTTO site list and available allowance to understand capacity usage. To verify the charge, check the purchased OTTO top-up quantity under Services and compare it with the invoice. Purchased capacity can remain billable even when some slots are unused. **Code references** - Quota gate: content-assistant/app/ca/api/v2/views/otto\_project.py:356–361. - Recurring purchase, quantity and proration: linkgraph/app/customer/api/payment/serializers.py:9330–9412. - Monthly billing and proration: linkgraph/app/core/billing/topup\_pricing.py:34–79,98–116. - Tier pricing: linkgraph/app/core/billing/otto\_tier\_pricing.py:15–26. - Billing tabs: customer-frontend/src/modules/billing/v1/components/billing/invoice-list/index.tsx:218–231.

✅ Tips to Avoid Unexpected Charges

• Check how many OTTO sites your plan includes before activating OTTO on a new site.
• Review your site list regularly and remove any sites you no longer manage.
• Let your team know before they add new client sites, since each activation may affect your billing.
• Keep your billing contact details current so you receive invoices and notifications.

🧾 What to Have Ready if You Need a Closer Look

If the charge still doesn't make sense after reviewing your account, gather the following so the review goes faster:

• The exact charge amount and date
• The last four digits of the payment method used
• The names of any sites you recently added or activated OTTO on
• Whether anyone else on your team has access to add sites

💬 Need More Help?

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be instantly connected with a member of our team. Share the details above and we can walk you through exactly what the charge covers on your account.