The report is due, a Work or Codex task stops, and somebody sees “out of credits.” Another person opens the workspace dashboard and sees a number that seems to say there is room left. Do you buy credits, change a seat, or wait for a reset?

First find out which number each screen is measuring. A Business seat's included usage and the workspace's shared credit balance are separate. OpenAI's Business FAQ says zero workspace-credit use does not mean nobody has used ChatGPT or Codex: the included allowance is used first. The reverse is also worth checking: a credit warning does not, by itself, tell you why this particular task stopped.

Here is a short incident check you can hand to the workspace owner before anyone spends money.

1. Confirm the workspace and the person who stopped

Start with the unglamorous possibility that two people are looking at different workspaces. OpenAI says the workspace switcher can move between a personal and Business environment, and even similarly named Business workspaces can be distinct. Ask the affected member to confirm the active workspace and have an owner confirm the seat assigned to that member. Buying Premium capacity does not automatically put every member on a Premium seat.

Write down the exact task, feature, model or mode, the warning as shown, the time and time zone, and the active workspace. Avoid sending a screenshot with customer documents or private prompts just to prove that a warning appeared.

2. Read the included allowance for the blocked experience

Next look at the member's usage view for the experience that actually stopped. OpenAI's Business models-and-limits guide says Work and Codex usage depends on model and task size. Premium has more included use than Standard, but a higher seat is not a universal promise that every feature will keep running. Reaching a limit in one experience does not mean every ChatGPT feature is unavailable.

Read the period and reset time shown for that allowance. Do not treat a weekly, monthly and workspace-credit number as three views of the same balance. If the member has a banked Codex reset, OpenAI says a full reset refreshes the five-hour and weekly Codex windows. It is not a published fix for an unrelated monthly limit, credit control or account-specific error. Check what the reset screen says before using a one-time reset.

3. Check credits and controls only if the task needs them

When included use is exhausted, eligible work may continue from shared workspace credits if the workspace has credits and its controls permit the spend. OpenAI's Business credit guide separates that shared balance from included seat usage. Owners can check the balance and automatic reload; owners and admins can review monthly credit limits by seat type and per-user overrides. A per-user override takes precedence over the seat-type limit.

That gives you three different findings:

  • The relevant included allowance is exhausted and no permitted credits are available. The owner can decide whether to wait, use another available option, or authorize additional credits for work that justifies the cost.
  • Credits exist, but a seat-type or per-user control blocks more spending. The owner or admin can review the control; do not switch it off by reflex.
  • The message still conflicts with the active workspace, assigned seat, relevant allowance and credit controls. Record it as an unresolved discrepancy, not as proof that a particular product bug or purchase is the answer.

If the third case remains, OpenAI's FAQ advises checking the selected workspace and contacting Support. Send the exact warning, time and time zone, relevant workspace identifier, seat type and a redacted view of the meters or settings. That gives Support something specific to investigate without pretending a public guide can inspect your account.

Keep the purchase decision separate

Once the immediate task is understood, decide whether this was a one-off interruption or a recurring capacity problem. Our five-person Business budget helps set a planned credit ceiling. If the same person's important work repeatedly reaches an included limit, the Premium-seat assignment check weighs a higher recurring seat cost against credits and a smaller workflow.

For today's incident, the useful note fits on one line: workspace and seat; blocked experience and allowance period; credit balance and controls; exact message and time. That is more actionable than a single dashboard percentage, and it is the right starting point before the team pays to solve the wrong problem.