The Microsoft Network automatically charges users a monthly fee for using its services and a monthly base fee for additional blocks of time for the subscription services that users choose. If users spend time connected to a service beyond the allotted number of minutes they purchase with a subscription, The Microsoft Network assesses them a usage charge.
For example, a subscription to Forum XYZ may give users up to 20 minutes of connect time per month. Users will be charged an additional fee for the time they spend online in excess of 20 minutes.
Before users download a file, the Microsoft Network gives users information about whether there is a fee for copying it. If users download a file that has a fee, they will see the filename and the charge for downloading it.
All charges appear in a billing statement, which shows a user's current balance and all charges to the account by date. Payments and credits are shown as negative values. If there is a tax on any charge, it is figured automatically and included in the total. Users will be billed monthly; the billing date corresponds to the date they signed up for The Microsoft Network.
For more information about billing, see online Help in The Microsoft Network.