8. Credits, Pricing & Institutional Subscriptions

Shikshak is designed to be accessible and affordable for every educator in Nepal, with transparent pricing, zero subscription traps, flexible monthly and annual billing with a 20% discount, and a clear distinction between individual classroom pedagogy and institutional school governance.

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Phase 1 launch note: Free, Plus, and Teams Plus are ready for production in Phase 1.

Pro and Teams Pro are shown as "Coming Soon" (visible, priced roadmap tiers, no checkout yet).

See docs/planning/phase1-tool-visibility-spec.md.

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1. Free Tier (Reverse Plus Model)

Shikshak offers a permanent Free Tier so every teacher in Nepal can plan lessons without financial barriers:

What is Included in Free:

• Verified Educator Trial (100 Bonus Credits + 30 Days Plus Access): New accounts start Free with 0 credits and no trial. Completing a quick, one-step Teacher Identity Verification (`/settings`) with a Nepali mobile number and National ID (Citizenship, NID, Passport, or Teacher License) immediately unlocks 100 Bonus Trial Credits and 30 days of full Plus access.
• 20 Free AI Credits Every Month (Forever): Once verified, accounts receive 20 free credits automatically replenished every 30 days after the initial trial period.
• Teacher Identity Credentialing (`/settings`): Teachers verify their identity for institutional trust and verified educator status. No payment proof or credit card is ever required for free access.
• Zero Payment Proof Barrier for Free Users: Payment proof submission through the Fonepay QR is strictly reserved for users actively upgrading or buying credit packs on /credits/checkout. Free accounts are never asked for payment proof.
• Auto-Continuation: After 30 days, your account seamlessly continues on the Free plan (20 credits/month) with zero surprise charges, credit card requirements, or forced lockouts.
• Core Free Classroom Tools:

• Format & Storage:
• Full Microsoft Word (.docx) with Devanagari typography and clean PDF downloads
• 1 MB Cloud Storage quota (~10–15 saved documents)
• Offline Progressive Web App (PWA) functionality for low-bandwidth 2G/3G connectivity

2. Plus Plan — Available Today

For active classroom teachers who need higher volume, presentation slides, homework planning, and full-answer-guide exam papers:

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3. Institutional Plans (Teams Plus & Upcoming Teams Pro)

Individual teacher accounts (Free, Plus) subscribe to teach their own classes — they do not issue official school credentials, substitute colleagues, or schedule school-wide routines. Institutional coordination tools belong to our school tiers:

Teams Plus (Phase 1 Live):

Teams Plus Pricing & Worked Examples:

• School Base Governance Fee: Rs 3,000 / month (or Rs 28,800 / year billed annually, saving 20%).
• Faculty Seat Fee: Rs 94 / seat / month (or Rs 75 / seat / month billed annually at Rs 900 / seat / year, saving 20%). Minimum 10 seats.

#### Concrete Institutional Cost Examples:

• Example 1: 10 Faculty Seats (Teams Plus)
• *Monthly Billing:* Rs 3,000 base fee + (10 × Rs 94) = Rs 3,940 / month
• *Annual Billing (20% off both):* Rs 28,800 base fee + (10 × Rs 900) = Rs 37,800 / year (equivalent to Rs 3,150 / month)
• *Monthly Credits:* 10 seats × 100 credits + 500 extra principal credits = 1,500 credits / month
• Example 2: 20 Faculty Seats (Teams Plus)
• *Monthly Billing:* Rs 3,000 base fee + (20 × Rs 94) = Rs 4,880 / month
• *Annual Billing (20% off both):* Rs 28,800 base fee + (20 × Rs 900) = Rs 46,800 / year (equivalent to Rs 3,900 / month)
• *Monthly Credits:* 20 seats × 100 credits + 500 extra principal credits = 2,500 credits / month

Key Principles of the Teams Credit & Tool Engine:

• Principal Seat Extra Credits: The school principal's active seat automatically receives an extra 500 monthly AI credits (600 total monthly credits on Teams Plus) for administrative oversight, curriculum review, and school-wide coordination.
• Free vs. Paid School Tools:
• *Free School Tools (0 credits):* Official School Notice & Administrative Letter (/app/admin-letter), School Notices (/app/notice-design), and the School Portal (/school). They never consume credits.
• *Paid School Tools:* Daily Teacher Substitution (/app/teacher-substitution, 10 credits) and CDC Annual Academic Calendar (/app/academic-calendar, 50 credits). (Routine Builder 50 credits, SMC Minutes 10 credits, Exam Duty 5 credits are Teams Pro "Coming Soon"; ID Cards 50 credits, Certificates 50 credits, and Admit Cards are Teams Ultra "Coming Soon").
• Per-Teacher Tool Access Delegation: Teachers have NO access to school tools unless the principal explicitly grants access per tool (using the per-tool checkboxes or "Select All" shortcut on /school/teachers). When granted, teachers spend from their own seat credit allowance.
• Inter-Seat Credit Transfers ("Give Credits"): School administrators can instantly move credits from the principal seat (or between any active seats) directly to faculty seats via the "Give credits" button on /school/teachers to top up teachers preparing heavy terminal exam packages.
• Monthly Allowance Reallocation: Principals can customize and adjust each active faculty seat's monthly allowance using the "Adjust Allowances" editor on /school/teachers. The total monthly quota across active seats is strictly preserved (credits are redistributed, never minted). Faculty members see "Set by your school / तपाईंको विद्यालयले तोकेको" directly next to their credits quota on their teacher dashboard (/dashboard).
• School Credit Top-up Packs for Principals: Active Teams school principals can purchase top-up credit packs (1,000 credits for Rs 1,500; 5,000 credits for Rs 7,000; 10,000 credits for Rs 12,000 via /credits/checkout?type=school-topup&pack=<id>) deposited directly into the principal's active seat. Top-up credits roll over at the plan's rate (25% for Plus/Teams Plus) and do not expire separately.
• Server-Authoritative Transparent Checkout: Teams checkout quotes (/credits/checkout) dynamically compute exact fee breakdowns (governance fee, seat fee subtotal, per-seat price, and total amount) on the server.
• Payment & Invoicing: All prices include 13% VAT. Official VAT/PAN invoices are provided. Payments accepted by Fonepay QR or Bank Transfer. Administrators verify school affiliation and payment proofs before activating the institutional license. Interactive seat calculator available at /pricing/teams.

Teams Pro (Coming Soon Roadmap):

For larger colleges and secondary schools needing automated scheduling and term-wide archives:

• 250 Credits / Seat / Month with 50% rollover on every seat.
• Weekly Master Routine & Timetable Generator: Conflict-free 32 credit hours scheduling with full faculty workload distribution.
• School-wide Terminal Exam Bundles: Batch generation and archiving for 1st, 2nd, and Final Term exams across all grades and subjects.
• SMC Meeting Minutes & Municipal Recommendation Letters.
• Exam Invigilator & Guard Duty Roster.
• Peak Exam Priority Execution Queue: Guaranteed zero queue wait times during terminal exam seasons.

4. Payments, Billing & Zero-Waste Deduction Guarantee

Supported Local Payment Gateways:

• eSewa (ईसेवा)
• Khalti (खल्ती)
• ConnectIPS / Mobile Banking

Payment Methods & QR Code Checkout:

• When checking out for credit packs or Teams Plus institutional licenses (/credits/checkout), you scan the Fonepay QR for NEXT STEP INFO TECH TRAINING CENTER (Prime Commercial Bank, Terminal 2222060005354230) with any Fonepay-enabled mobile banking app or wallet, then upload your payment screenshot. Personal credit packs need a verified teacher account.
• After completing your transfer, simply upload a clear screenshot receipt or PDF on the checkout page. An administrator reviews the proof and credits your account promptly within a few hours.

Fair Deduction & Instant Automatic Refund Guarantee:

• Credits are only deducted upon successful generation (5 credits per standard document, 10–50 credits for presentation slide decks depending on slide count range [4–8 slides: 10 credits, 8–12: 15 credits, 12–16: 20 credits, 16–24: 25 credits, 24–36: 35 credits, 36–50: 50 credits for complete text, 15 rich keynote archetypes, quizzes, and vector icons; optional custom AI illustrations are generated on-demand at 10 credits per picture on supported slide layouts], 10–15 credits for multi-set question papers, 0 credits for template tools, 1 credit per question in My Notebook's grounded chat, and 1 credit per answered question in the My Assistant side panel — each charged only after you actually receive an answer).
• Instant Automatic Refund Guarantee: In the rare event that an LLM call fails, times out, encounters a network disruption, or is cancelled via the in-flight abort button, deducted credits are immediately and automatically refunded to your profile balance. There are no support tickets, dispute forms, or manual delays required.
• Custom Source & Notebook Grounding Costs:
• From My Notebook (`मेरो नोटबुकबाट`): Incurs 0 extra fees (charged only the standard base tool credits, e.g. 5 credits for a lesson plan or single-set question paper). Because OCR and indexing were already performed when the note was saved to your notebook, you are not charged twice.
• New File or Smartphone Photo Upload: Costs +1 credit per attached page, slide, or photo (up to 10 pages) to cover visual processing and character recognition.
• Proactive Upfront Credit Validation Across All AI Tools: Every generator form (Lesson Plan, Question Paper, Presentation Slides, TLM Guide, Remedial Plan, Homework Planner, Bulk Chapter Kit, Worksheet, Annual Plan, Chapter Plan, CAS Rubric, Grade Ledger, Routine, Teacher Diary, Attendance Register, Report Remarks, SMC Meeting Minutes, Daily Teacher Substitution, Exam Duty Roster, Official Administrative Letter, Classroom Dynamics, Friday ECA Planner, and AI Card & Notice Designers) checks your live credit balance upfront before you submit. If your current balance is lower than the required amount, the form displays a prominent amber warning card detailing the deficit and swaps or disables the Generate button to prevent futile network requests and error redirects. A direct "Top Up Credits" button links straight to /credits/buy for immediate replenishment.
• Low Credit Notification Alerts: When your remaining credit balance drops to 10 credits or fewer, an in-app alert notification is automatically dispatched to your notification bell, warning you ahead of time so ongoing pedagogical preparation is never unexpectedly interrupted.
• If an electricity power outage (load-shedding), cellular drop, or server timeout interrupts generation, your credit balance is automatically restored.
• Monthly Credit Rollover Calculation (25% on Plus Tier): At your monthly renewal boundary, 25% of any unused credits from your previous cycle are carried forward into your new balance on top of your fresh 100-credit monthly allowance (for example, 200 unused credits rolls over 50 credits, yielding 150 total credits: 50 rolled + 100 fresh allowance). Unused promotional trial credits expire cleanly upon trial completion.
• Proactive Rollover Execution & Self-Healing: Rollover balances are calculated seamlessly both in background billing tasks and whenever visiting /credits, guaranteeing earned rollover credits are safely preserved and visible.
• Asking a question is capped per hour, not per day. Both chats limit you to a fixed number of questions each hour so a stuck retry loop cannot drain a balance overnight. My Assistant allows 40 questions per hour; if you reach the cap, wait a few minutes and ask again — nothing is lost, and your conversation is still saved.
• The free help button is not charged at all. The Shikshak AI help button on the home page costs no credits and needs no account. Every other page gives a signed-in teacher the My Assistant panel instead, and that one *does* use 1 credit per answered question.