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Tasks and Usage

What Counts as a Task?​

Flow uses task-based billing based on how many tasks you use each month. Your monthly task allowance depends on the plan you signed up for through the Epos Now App Store.

The dashboard shows your current usage, refresh time, and the date your usage resets.

In simple terms, a task is the work Flow successfully completes for a run.

Fetching Data​

Flow does not charge tasks for fetching data unless your Flow is running on a fast schedule (faster than hourly).

In most cases:

  • Flow fetches the data
  • Flow applies your filters
  • tasks are only charged for the successful updates, deletes, or exports that happen afterwards

The exception is sub-hourly schedules.

Filtering​

Filtering the data is included for free and does not count towards your tasks.

Actions​

Update and Delete Flows​

For update and delete flows, each successful action on a matching record counts as 1 task.

That means:

  • Flow fetches the data
  • Flow applies your filters
  • Flow takes action only on the records that pass the filters
  • each record successfully updated or deleted counts as 1 task

If a record has multiple field updates in the same flow, that still counts as 1 task for that record when the final action succeeds.

Example: Updating Products​

Let’s say you have a flow to update product cost and selling prices.

  • you have 100 products in Epos Now
  • 25 products pass the filters on your flow
  • Flow updates those 25 products

In this example, the task usage would be:

  • 25 tasks for the 25 products that were successfully updated

That is 1 task per product updated.

Export Flows​

For export flows, every 25 rows exported per file uses 1 task.

That means:

  • 1 to 25 rows in a file = 1 task
  • 26 to 50 rows in a file = 2 tasks
  • 51 to 75 rows in a file = 3 tasks

Example: Exporting Products​

Using the same example:

  • you have 100 products in Epos Now
  • 25 products pass the filters
  • Flow exports those 25 rows to one file

In this case, the export would use:

  • 1 task for the file output

So export flows are often much lighter on tasks than update flows for the same number of matching records.

Sub-Hourly Scheduled Runs​

Sub-hourly schedules are schedules that run more often than once per hour, such as every 5, 10, 15, or 30 minutes.

For these schedules, if a run fetches data but no records pass the filters, Flow charges fetch tasks based on how many primary records were fetched and evaluated.

This is to fairly charge for very frequent runs that are still doing work and adding load, even when no data ends up being updated, deleted, or exported.

info

Sub hourly schedules are available on request. Please contact support if you would like these enabled on your account.

How Fetch Tasks Are Calculated​

For sub-hourly runs where no records pass the filters:

fetch tasks = ceil(primary records fetched / 500)

The rounding works like this:

  • 0 fetched = 0 fetch tasks
  • 1 to 500 fetched = 1 fetch task
  • 501 to 1000 fetched = 2 fetch tasks
  • 1001 to 1500 fetched = 3 fetch tasks

What Are Primary Records Fetched?​

Primary records fetched means the number of main objects returned by the data fetch step before Flow applies filters or actions.

This is the dataset size that Flow evaluates for the run.

Example: Sub-Hourly Run with No Matches​

If a flow runs every 15 minutes and:

  • fetches 600 products
  • none of those products pass the filters

then the run uses:

  • 2 fetch tasks
  • 0 action tasks
  • 2 total tasks

If Records Do Pass the Filters​

If records do pass the filters on a sub-hourly run, then no tasks are charged for the Fetch.

Task Breakdown​

You can think of task usage for a run in three parts:

  • fetch tasks: used for sub-hourly runs when records are fetched but nothing passes the filters
  • action tasks: the normal tasks used for updates, deletes, or exports
  • total tasks: the final task usage for that run

Do Failed Tasks Count?​

Failed updates, deletes, and exports do not count as successful action tasks.

For sub-hourly schedules, fetch tasks can still apply when Flow successfully fetches and evaluates records but nothing passes the filters.

Do Simulations Count?​

No. Simulated runs are for testing and previewing your flow setup. They do not count towards your billed task usage.

Simulation and preview can still be used to estimate task usage before activation, including fetch-task estimates for sub-hourly schedules.

What Happens When I Reach My Task Limit?​

Flow can notify you by email when you are approaching your task limit.

Once you hit the task limit, Flow stops processing further tasks until your usage resets or you upgrade your plan.

You can also set task usage notification thresholds in the dashboard.

If this happens during a run, you will see that reflected in the Runs page so it is clear why the flow stopped.

When Does Usage Reset?​

Your usage resets on the billing day for your Flow app in the Epos Now App Store.

Do Unused Tasks Roll Over?​

No. Unused tasks do not roll over into the next billing period.

Can I Upgrade or Downgrade?​

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade through the Epos Now App Store. Upgrades are pro-rated and downgrades take effect from the next billing date.

Where Were My Tasks Used?​

To see how your tasks were used, take a look at the Runs page.

This shows the task usage for each run, and you can then open the logs for the matching run to review what happened during that run.