Creating Sub-Accounts

Provision sub-accounts for your customers with API keys and spending controls

Create a Sub-Account

TypeScript

import Zavu from "@zavudev/sdk";

const zavu = new Zavu({ apiKey: "zv_live_xxx" });

const { subAccount } = await zavu.subAccounts.create({
  name: "Client ABC",
  externalId: "client_123",
  creditLimit: 100000, // $1,000.00 in cents
  metadata: {
    plan: "enterprise",
    region: "us-east",
  },
});

// Save this — only shown once
console.log("API Key:", subAccount.apiKey);

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Name of the sub-account (max 200 characters)
externalId	string	No	Your own reference ID for tracking
creditLimit	integer	No	Spending cap in cents. 0 or omitted = no limit
metadata	object	No	Arbitrary key-value pairs for your own use

Response

The API key is only returned in the creation response. Store it securely.

{
  "subAccount": {
    "id": "jx7abc123def456",
    "name": "Client ABC",
    "externalId": "client_123",
    "status": "active",
    "totalSpent": 0,
    "creditLimit": 100000,
    "metadata": {
      "plan": "enterprise",
      "region": "us-east"
    },
    "apiKey": "zv_live_sub_xxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "createdAt": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

The apiKey field is only included in the creation response. If you lose it, you’ll need to create a new API key for the sub-account.

Credit Limits

Credit limits act as a spending cap in cents. When a sub-account’s totalSpent reaches the creditLimit, all messaging is blocked.

Credit Limit	Behavior
Omitted or 0	No spending cap — uses full team balance
100000	Blocks messaging after $1,000.00 spent
500	Blocks messaging after $5.00 spent

Credit limits protect your balance from unexpected usage. You can update or remove them at any time via PATCH /v1/sub-accounts/:id.

External IDs

The externalId field lets you map sub-accounts to your own system:

// Create with your internal customer ID
const { subAccount } = await zavu.subAccounts.create({
  name: "Acme Corp",
  externalId: "cust_abc123", // Your CRM customer ID
});

This is useful for:

• Mapping sub-accounts to your CRM records
• Billing reconciliation
• Audit trails

Metadata

Store arbitrary key-value data with the sub-account:

const { subAccount } = await zavu.subAccounts.create({
  name: "Client ABC",
  metadata: {
    plan: "enterprise",
    billingEmail: "[e-mail]",
    salesRep: "[e-mail]",
  },
});

One Main Account Rule

Each team is limited to one main account. All additional projects must be sub-accounts.

Team "My Company"
├── Main Account ← created automatically when the team is created
├── Sub-Account: Client A ✓
├── Sub-Account: Client B ✓
└── Main Account ✗ (rejected — use a sub-account or create a new team)

If you try to create a second main account, the API returns an error:

{
  "code": "invalid_request",
  "message": "Team already has a main account. Create a sub-account instead, or create a new team for another main account."
}

Next Steps

Managing Sub-Accounts

Update credit limits, rotate API keys, and monitor spending

Deletion & Deactivation

Deactivate sub-accounts and understand the grace period