> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.milkstraw.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Activate and track savings

> Turn on Fluid savings with a single click and follow your savings as they go live.

When MilkStraw AI finds on-demand usage it can cover with <Tooltip tip="Long term AWS commitments managed by MilkStraw AI">Fluid savings</Tooltip>, it shows a **Savings plans** card at the top of **Todo** on the **Overview** page. Activating it is the only step you need to take — our team does the rest.

## What you can activate

The card lists up to two plans, each with its estimated monthly savings:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Compute savings plans" icon="microchip">
    EC2 (including EKS, ECS, and Elastic Beanstalk), Fargate, Lambda, and SageMaker.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Datastore savings plans" icon="database">
    RDS, Redshift, ElastiCache, OpenSearch, Neptune, and DMS.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

The estimates come from your AWS usage and refresh every day. See [Supported services](/supported-services) for exactly what each plan covers.

## Activate savings

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Overview page">
    Find the **Savings plans** card at the top of **Todo**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Activate">
    One click activates every plan on the card. You need the Engineer, Admin, or Owner [role](/roles).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a payment method if asked">
    A payment method is required. If none is on file, Admins and Owners see an **Add a payment method** dialog. Click **Save and activate**, and your plans activate as soon as the card is saved. Engineers see "A payment method is required. Ask a billing manager." instead.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Billing members can add a payment method from **Settings** > **Billing** > **Add Payment Method**.
</Note>

Activation is a one-time step. Once a plan is active, it stays active, and we keep managing its commitments for you. If you want to stop, see [Cancellation](/cancellation).

Your first activation also unlocks your [projects](/projects-and-findings).

## What happens next

<Steps>
  <Step title="Confirmation">
    You get a "Savings approved" email. Applying savings usually takes 48 hours to a week, depending on the type of savings.
  </Step>

  <Step title="MilkBoxes join your organization">
    Our team sends <Tooltip tip="Standard AWS accounts that contain Commitment-based discounts">MilkBoxes</Tooltip> to your AWS Organization. They appear as member accounts named like `milkbox-123456`. You don’t need to accept anything: MilkStraw AI sends the invite through your cross-account role and accepts it from the MilkBox. Each time new MilkBoxes arrive, you get a "More savings on the way" email.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Savings go live">
    When your first savings go live, the organization owner gets an email with your expected monthly savings. Every month after that, the owner also gets a summary of what you saved.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Track your savings

The **Savings** page shows your MilkBox commitments and what they save. Every member of your organization can open it. It stays empty until your first MilkBox commitment is active.

* **Contracts**, **Month to date savings**, **Monthly savings**, and **Lifetime savings** summarize your savings. Month to date savings run up to two days ago, because AWS reports costs with a delay. Lifetime savings also include the savings from tasks in your completed projects.
* The **Compute** and **Database** sections list your commitments with their **Monthly savings** and **Coverage**. Coverage shows how much of your savings opportunity your active commitments already capture, including commitments you own.
* Each commitment shows its **Type**, **Service**, **Contract ID**, **Utilization**, **Monthly Savings**, and **Status**: **Active**, **Retired**, or **Returned**. Click a row to open its **Contract Details**.

Your MilkStraw AI fee is based on these MilkBox savings. See [Billing](/billing).


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