> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://guides.tryaqueduct.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Developer Quickstart

> 15 minute practical tutorial where we create a metered business model and issue an invoice

## Set up your account and API credentials

**1. Create a new account at dashboard.tryaqueduct.com**

If you would like more accounts whitelisted, reach out to your Aqueduct point of
contact or email [kathy@tryaqueduct.com](mailto:kathy@tryaqueduct.com).

**2. Generate an API from the settings page.**

Use your API key by including it in the header of any requests made to Aqueduct,
which you can test out directly in the API reference.

```bash Terminal
curl --request GET \
 --url https://api.tryaqueduct.com/v1/account-owners \
 --header 'Accept: application/json' \
 --header 'Authorization: Api-Key {Aqueduct-API-Key-Here}' \
 --header 'Content-Type: application/json'
```

## Configure how you want to collect money.

**1. Create a price model in the dashboard.**

On Aqueduct, you express how you collect money using a PriceModel which
expresses how much and how frequently you want to charge them. Price models
contain price functions that can be combined to easily express sophisticated
deals. You can read more about how price models work
[here](https://docs.tryaqueduct.com/reference/learn-how-aqueduct-works).

We'll create a basic usage based price model first and then built it into a full
blown marketplace with split payouts, retainers, and referral fees.

**Scenario:** Cody provides consulting services at \$100 per hour that is
collected monthly.

To handle Cody's billing, we create a price model with:

* One price function of type `per-unit-meter` and meter name `cody-hours-worked`
  and meter rate \$100.
* Billing frequency: `monthly`.

**2. Create a customer.**

Customers are represented as account owners on Aqueduct. The following code
create a customer with name Bobby Buyer and email [bobby@foocorp.com](mailto:bobby@foocorp.com). It will
return the created account owner object with an id.

```bash Terminal
curl --request POST \
 --url https://api.tryaqueduct.com/v1/account-owners \
 --header 'Accept: application/json' \
 --header 'Authorization: Api-Key {your api key here}' \
 --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 --data '
{
    "name": "Bobby Buyer",
    "email": "bobby@foocorp.com"
}
```

**3. Start the subscription.**

Create a product to represent what is being sold. Products are used for
reporting and provisioning. Cody may offer consulting at different price points
to different customers. Cody may also offer multiple product they want to have
reporting on such as remote consulting and in-person consulting.

```bash Terminal
curl --request POST \
 --url https://api.tryaqueduct.com/v1/products \
 --header 'Accept: application/json' \
 --header 'Authorization: Api-Key {your api key here}' \
 --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 --data '{"name":"Consulting"}'
```

Call `/bill` to use the price model to bill the customer. Since the price model
has a recurring billing frequency, it will create a subscription.

```bash Terminal
curl --request POST \
 --url https://api.tryaqueduct.com/v1/bill \
 --header 'Accept: application/json' \
 --header 'Authorization: Api-Key {your api key here}' \
 --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 --data '
{
    "customerId": "{Bobby buyer id here}",
    "priceModelId": "{price model id here}",
    "productId": {product id here}
}
'
```

**4. Send usage events to Aqueduct.**

Call `/billableEvents` to send events that should be billed against to the price
model. The following code tells the price model that code worked 20 hours. At
the end of the month, Bobby will be billed for \$2000 since Cody added 20 hours.
You can preview upcoming amounts in the dashboard.

```bash Terminal
curl --request POST \
 --url https://api.tryaqueduct.com/v1/billableEvents \
 --header 'Authorization: Api-Key {your api key here}' \
 --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 --data '
{
    "eventName": "cody-hours-worked",
    "eventType": "batched",
    "customerId": "{Bobby buyer id here}",
    "data": {
        "count": "20"
    }
}
'
```

**5. Using price models as templates.**

In the example above, we've specified all the variables when we created the
price model and calling `/bill` primarily associated a fully formed price model
with a customer and a product. Price models can be used as templates by only
part of the variables when the price model is created and the rest of the models
when calling `/bill`.

For example, instead of creating a price model specifically for Cody Consultant.
We can create a generalized price model for any consultant and then specific the
specific values that we want for Cody when we call `/bill` to bill specifically
for Cody.

To create a generalized price model:

* One price function of type `per-unit-meter` and leave the meter name and meter
  rate unspecified.
* frequency: monthly To specify the Cody specific information, we would make the
  following `/bill` request with the variables object containing the missing
  variables for each price model id.

```bash Terminal
curl --request POST \
 --url https://api.tryaqueduct.com/v1/bill \
 --header 'Authorization: Api-Key 198b4c91-f4d8-4e8e-9a62-ff535629417a' \
 --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 --data '
{
    "productId": "{product id here}",
    "customerId": "{Bobby buyer id here}",
    "priceModelId": "{price model id here}",
    "variables":{
        "{price model id}": {
        "meter": "cody-hourly-meter",
        "rate": "10000"
        }
    }
}
'
```

## Configure processing payments with Stripe Go to Settings → Payment Settings

**1. Connect your Stripe account by
[providing us a restricted API key](https://aqueduct.notion.site/Stripe-restricted-API-key-49514f80654e4b4c9b959643f3860275).**

We recommend using a restricted API key because it allows you to be more precise
about what permissions you give us than a connect integration and allows us to
support a broader range of Stripe functionality for you. You can use a test api
to play around with how the product works with Stripe.

**2. Provide redirect URLs on payment success and payment cancelled.**

The response from /bill will include a checkout link to show your users. You can
direct your users to pay at that link if payments should be collected
immediately. Otherwise, you can configure Aqueduct to send an email with an
invoice and a request for payment which will happen on the billing frequency
specified.