# SMKlog Quote API — FinOps mapping.
#
# How cost maps to usage for a consumer of the SMKlog Quote API, in the shape
# of the FinOps Foundation framework. Written by SMKlog from its own billing:
# the API itself is free to call and rate limited; money moves only when a
# human buys a shipping label on smklog.com, as one Stripe charge per label.
specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
method: authored
publisher: SMKlog (SMKLOG-2022 LLC)
source: https://smklog.com/developers/finops.yaml
provider: SMKlog
providerId: smklog-com
publisherName: SMKlog
serviceCategory: Parcel shipping labels
# The one unit money is counted in: a label. Every other meter is free or a
# pass-through of the carrier's own charge.
primary_unit: label
created: '2026-10-12'
modified: '2026-10-19'
sources:
  - https://smklog.com/pricing
  - https://smklog.com/terms
  - https://smklog.com/api
description: >-
  Quoting is free and anonymous (rate limited per client). A label is bought by a human on Stripe hosted
  checkout at the amount the quote showed; the amount is the carrier price plus the SMKlog service fee, and
  the fee is itemized on the checkout receipt. There is no subscription, no minimum, no API key fee and no
  charge for a quote that leads nowhere.
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Pay per label
  billingFrequency: Per transaction
  billingCurrency: USD
  billingProcessor: Stripe hosted checkout
  invoicing: Stripe receipt per label; a hosted invoice when a carrier bills a post-acceptance adjustment
  contractRequired: false
  freeTier: Every quote, tracking read, checkout-status read and price-index read is free of charge
chargeableUnits:
  - name: shipping_label
    unit: label
    description: One prepaid carrier label for one parcel, bought by a human at checkout.
    price: The amount shown on the rate card at checkout (carrier price plus the SMKlog service fee), USD; itemized on the receipt.
    whoPays: The human completing checkout on smklog.com, never the API caller
  - name: carrier_adjustment
    unit: invoice
    description: A correction a carrier bills after acceptance when a parcel measured or weighed more than declared; passed through at the carrier's charge via a Stripe hosted invoice to the payer's email, with consent given at checkout.
    price: The carrier's adjustment, USD
    whoPays: The payer of the label
meters:
  - name: quote_requests
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    price: 0
    limit: About 80 an hour per client, shared by POST /quote, the MCP get_parcel_quote tool and checkout sessions priced live
    note: Each quote spends a live carrier rating that SMKlog pays for; the limit, not a price, is how that cost is controlled.
  - name: checkout_status_reads
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    price: 0
    limit: 60 an hour per client
  - name: labels_purchased
    unit: label
    aggregation: sum
    price: Per-label amount at checkout
  - name: carrier_adjustments
    unit: invoice
    aggregation: sum
    price: Pass-through of the carrier's charge
costDrivers:
  - driver: carrier, service and lane
    effect: The carrier price is live for the exact box and route; the rate card shows the checkout total per service.
  - driver: packed size and weight
    effect: Dimensional weight and oversize surcharges are inside the quoted amount; a box that measures larger at the carrier is billed as a carrier adjustment.
  - driver: destination country
    effect: Export lanes (CA, GB, DE, AU) price against the carriers that serve them; duties and taxes at the destination are not part of the amount.
allocation:
  tagging: session_id (agent checkouts) and order_id (every label) tie a charge to the shipment that produced it; no account is needed to reconcile.
  recommendation: Reuse quote_id between get_parcel_quote and create_checkout_link so a shipment costs one carrier call, and cache quotes on your side for the 15 minutes a quote_id lives.
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Every price is a checkout total shown before payment; the receipt itemizes the carrier price and the SMKlog service fee.
  - name: Allocation
    description: One charge per label, one order id per charge; adjustments reference the order they correct.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Compare the up-to-five rates returned; the first is the best value, the cheapest is marked by amount.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Carrier adjustments are consented to at checkout and invoiced to the payer, not absorbed into other customers' prices.