Step 3: Manage Storage and Payments on Permanent.org as a Photo Manager

Step 3: Manage Storage and Payments on Permanent.org as a Photo Manager

This is step 3 of the getting started guide for Photo Managers. Read on to learn how to manage storage and payments on Permanent.org, or use the navigation links below to navigate to other steps in this guide.
  1. Introduction
  2. Step 1: Creating Your Account
  3. Step 2: Creating and Managing Your Clients' Archives
  4. Step 3: Manage Storage and Payments on Permanent.org
  5. Step 4: Build Your Client's Archive
  6. Step 5: Hand Off Your Client's Archive


Managing storage and payments on Permanent

Permanent storage fees are a one-time fee of $10 per gigabyte. There are no subscription fees, and creating a Permanent account is free for everyone. Learn more about our storage fees and our endowment model here.

By default on Permanent.org, the amount of storage used is determined by the user who is uploading to Permanent. For instance, if you upload files to your client’s archive, the storage for those files comes out of your account’s storage balance. However, if you’re managing multiple archives for multiple clients, it could be difficult to determine how much storage to bill your client for.

Anyone viewing an archive on Permanent.org does not need to buy storage. Storage is only necessary for uploading files to an archive.

There are two different ways to manage storage and payments for your clients on Permanent, and each has different considerations depending on how you and your client prefer to work:
  1. Purchase your own storage and bill the client for storage used
  2. Use the client’s pre-purchased storage using the archive payer feature

    Purchase your own storage

    The default storage and payment option on Permanent is for each user to be responsible for the storage for the files that they personally upload. Since most photo managers do the majority of the uploading for their clients, this default option will likely work well in most scenarios. 

    This may work best for you if:
    1. Your client feels uncomfortable navigating a new digital platform
    2. You want to minimize the involvement your client has during your work
    3. You don’t want to wait for your client to purchase additional storage
    4. Your client prefers a single bill for your services

    If you choose to purchase your own storage and bill your client for the storage used, here is a sample workflow for how you might manage the storage and payments:
    1. Determine how much storage your client needs on Permanent.org. This is best done after you have collected and digitized all the material and put it on one device. You can check the amount of space the materials take up by looking at the size of the folder or folders on your computer.
    2. Take the amount of space you calculated in step one and round up to the nearest gigabyte (Permanent storage comes in whole gigabyte increments). Navigate to the storage menu in your account, then purchase the amount of storage you need for your client’s materials (learn more about how to purchase storage here).
    3. Upload your client’s materials to Permanent. If you are working in batches of materials and working on multiple projects at once, you may want to keep your own log of how much you’ve uploaded so you can calculate a total when the project is finished. 
    4. Add your Permanent storage transaction to your client’s bill.
    5. If you have any leftover storage (in whole gigabytes) included in your client’s bill, you can transfer that storage to your client’s account when you’re finished. Learn more about how to transfer storage here.

    Use your client’s storage with the archive payer feature

    You can also set up your archive so that your client is in charge of supplying the storage for the archive. This is called setting an archive payer. This may be a good option for you and your client if:
    1. Your client is already a Permanent.org member and already has purchased storage
    2. You do not wish to bill your client for Permanent storage
    3. Your client wants to keep any leftover storage you do not use
    4. You are working collaboratively with your client to add materials to an archive
    5. You are working with many different clients and want them to manage their own storage

    You can learn how to set up your client as an archive payer in this support article. If you choose to set your client as the archive payer, here is a sample workflow for how you might manage the storage and payments:
    1. Determine how much storage you expect to need on Permanent for your client’s materials
    2. Have your client create a Permanent account and add them as a member of the archive
    3. Have your client purchase the amount of storage you need to upload their materials
    4. Have your client set themselves as the archive payer following these instructions
    5. Upload your client’s materials. You’ll see that the storage comes out of the client’s storage total and not yours


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