# Financials

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## Description

The **Financials tab** shows the **real cost** of running a specific mentorAI—broken down by **time period, provider, model, and even user**.
Use it to monitor spending, compare weeks or months, and identify savings opportunities (e.g., switching models) without guesswork.

## Target Audience

**Instructor · Administrator**

## Features

#### Headline Cost Metrics

View **Weekly Cost**, **Monthly Cost**, and **Total Cost** with comparisons to the previous week or month.

#### Cost per Day

A **daily chart** that lets you hover to view exact dates and spending amounts.
Filter by **Today**, **7 Days**, **Past Month**, or a **Custom Range**.

#### Cost by Provider

Breaks out spending across **LLM providers** (e.g., *OpenAI → Gemini*), especially useful when evaluating provider switches.

#### Cost by LLM

Shows cost per **specific model** (e.g., *GPT-5 Latest*, *GPT-4.0 Mini*)—ideal for optimizing mentorAI’s **LLM-agnostic configuration**.

#### Cost per User

A table listing **User**, **Total Cost**, **Sessions**, and **Last Active**—revealing heavy usage patterns and cost drivers.

#### Flexible Time Filters

All charts and tables automatically respect your **selected timeframe**.

## How to Use (step by step)

#### Open Analytics → Financials

- In the mentor header, click **Analytics**, then select **Financials**.


#### Read Headline Metrics

- Review **Weekly**, **Monthly**, and **Total Costs**, and note the **week-over-week** or **month-over-month** comparisons.


#### Inspect Cost per Day

- Use **Today**, **7 Days**, **Past Month**, or **Custom** filters.
- Hover over the chart to see the exact per-day spending.


#### Compare Providers

- Open **Cost by Provider** to see how spending shifts when you switch vendors (e.g., *OpenAI → Gemini*).


#### Optimize by Model

- Check **Cost by LLM** to identify high-cost models versus more economical options that still deliver quality.


#### Identify Cost Drivers (Users)

- In **Cost per User**, sort by **Total Cost** or **Sessions** to find heavy users.
- Confirm that high usage aligns with course goals and expected outcomes.


#### Decide & Iterate

- Adjust your **mentor’s LLM/model**, **tools**, or **prompts** as needed.
- Recheck **Financials** after several days to verify savings and efficiency improvements.


## Pedagogical Use Cases

#### Budget Tracking

Monitor weekly and monthly spend to ensure programs stay within allocated budgets.

#### Model Selection Strategy

Use **Cost by LLM** to run high-stakes mentors on premium models and routine mentors on more cost-efficient ones.

#### Cohort Management

**Cost per User** helps highlight outliers for targeted guidance—encourage efficient usage among high-spending learners.

#### Program Reporting

Share clear **cost trends** and **provider/model breakdowns** with institutional stakeholders.

#### A/B Cost–Quality Tuning

Compare **daily costs** before and after switching models or tools to validate savings while maintaining learning outcomes.

Use **Financials** to make **data-driven decisions** about providers, models, and usage—ensuring your mentors remain both **effective and fiscally responsible**.