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

---
title: Pay a Compute invoice
description: >-
  Pay a current Compute invoice as an authorized billing person: open the hosted
  payment action, or use the transfer instructions printed on the invoice
  itself.
route: /docs/compute/billing/pay-an-invoice
page_id: docs-compute-billing-pay-an-invoice
page_type: howTo
content_layer: guided documentation
surface_profile: guided_docs
audience: Authorized billing people settling a Compute invoice
voice: D
reader_question: How do I actually pay a Lithi Compute invoice?
primary_action: Open the hosted payment action
source_locale: en-US
source_status: APPROVED
source_version: docs-compute-billing-pay-an-invoice-en-us-2026-09-05-v1
last_updated: '2026-09-05'
robots: index
claim_registry_pinned: true
claim_registry_resync: "npm run governed:tsx -- scripts/build-compute-public-claim-registry.ts --write"
---

## Before you start

Paying is a human act. A person with a billing role opens the payment and approves it on the payment provider's own page.

You need two things: that billing role, and the current version of the invoice. An old copy of an invoice is not enough to pay against.

There is no debit operation anywhere in the Compute API. Nothing Lithi runs can move money out of your account.

## A work key can never start a payment

A work key holds work scopes only — quote, run, batch, status and result. Finance scopes are never mintable on it.

So an agent or a service identity that submits work cannot open a payment, cannot approve one and cannot change a payment record. That separation is deliberate, and it is not configurable.

## Open the hosted payment action

1. Open your current invoice and check its amount, currency and due date.
2. Open the hosted payment action from the invoice, if one is available.
3. Complete the payment on the provider's page and keep the reference it returns.

The hosted action is reported as `unavailable`, `ready`, `opened`, `expired` or `revoked`. Only `ready` can be opened, and `expired` or `revoked` means you request a fresh action rather than reusing a link.

## If no hosted action is available

Use the transfer instructions printed on your current invoice. They are part of the invoice record, so they can be checked against it.

Never take bank details from an email, a chat message, a support ticket or a forwarded document. Lithi support will never send you bank details and will never ask you for them.

## Never enter payment details anywhere else

Bank details, verification codes and mandate approvals belong on the provider's hosted page and nowhere else. They do not pass through Lithi, the portal or your own AI agent.

If any page or message asks for those details outside the hosted action, stop and confirm with your finance owner before continuing.

## Confirm the payment is recorded

A completed payment does not immediately show as paid. Lithi's payment record advances only when a current read-back from the payment provider confirms the funds.

Keep the provider reference with the invoice while that confirmation catches up. If a status still looks wrong afterwards, [payment states](/docs/compute/billing/payment-states) explains what each state proves and what it does not.

Where the payment status remains unclear, share your organization name, the invoice reference and what looks wrong. Never share a key, a payload or bank details in that message.