# Setting up the IBM Cloud account #

As an IBM Cloud account owner or administrator, you sign up for IBM watsonx\.ai and set up payment for services in the IBM Cloud account\.

These steps describe the typical tasks for an IBM Cloud account owner to set up the account for an organization:

<!-- <ol> -->

1.  [Sign up for watsonx\.ai](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/setup-account.html?context=cdpaas&locale=en#sign-up)\.
2.  [Update your IBM Cloud account](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/setup-account.html?context=cdpaas&locale=en#paid-account) to add or update billing information\.
3.  [(Optional) Configure restrictions for the account](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/setup-account.html?context=cdpaas&locale=en#restrict)\.

<!-- </ol> -->

## Step 1: Sign up for watsonx ##

To sign up for watsonx\.ai:

<!-- <ol> -->

1.  Go to [Try IBM watsonx\.ai](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/registration/stepone?context=wx) or [Try watsonx\.governance](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/registration/stepone?context=wx&apps=data_science_experience,watson_machine_learning,cos,aiopenscale&uucid=0cf8ca3f38ace12f&utm_content=WXGWW&regions=us-south)\.
2.  Select the service region\.
3.  Agree to the terms, Data Use Policy, and Cookie Use\.
4.  Log in with your IBMid (usually an email address) if you have an existing IBM Cloud account\. If you don't have an IBM Cloud account, click **Create an IBM Cloud account** to create a new account\. You must enter a credit card to create a Pay\-As\-You\-Go IBM Cloud account\. However, you are not charged until you buy paid service plans\.

<!-- </ol> -->

Lite plans for Watson Studio and Watson Machine Learning are automatically provisioned for you\.

## Step 2: Update your IBM Cloud account ##

You can skip this step if your IBM Cloud account has billing information with a Pay\-As\-You\-Go or a subscription plan\.

You must update your IBM Cloud account in the following circumstances:

<!-- <ul> -->

 *  You have a Trial account from signing up for watsonx\.
 *  You have a Trial account that you [registered through an academic institution](https://ibm.biz/academic)\.
 *  You have a [Lite account](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/account?topic=account-accounts#liteaccount) that you created before 25 October 2021\.
 *  You want to change a Pay\-As\-You\-Go plan to a subscription plan\.

<!-- </ul> -->

### Setting up a Pay\-As\-You\-Go account ###

You set up a Pay\-As\-You\-Go by adding a credit card number and billing information\. You pay only for billable services that you use, with no long\-term contracts or commitments\. You can provision paid plans for all services in the IBM Cloud services catalog, including plans in the watsonx services catalog\.

To set up a Pay\-As\-You\-Go account:

<!-- <ol> -->

1.  From the watsonx navigation menu, select **Administration > Account and billing > Account**\.
2.  Click **Manage in IBM Cloud**\.
3.  Log in to IBM Cloud\.
4.  Select **Account settings**\.
5.  Click **Add credit card** and enter your credit card and billing information\.
6.  Click **Create account** to submit your information\.

<!-- </ol> -->

After your payment information is processed, your account is upgraded and you receive a monthly invoice for billable resource usage or instance fees\.

### Setting up a subscription account ###

With subscriptions, you commit to a minimum spending amount for a certain period and receive a discount on the overall cost\. Subscriptions are limited to service plans in the watsonx catalog\.

Subscription credits are activated using a unique code that you receive by email\. To activate the subscription, you apply the subscription code to an account\. Be careful when selecting the account, because after you apply the subscription to an account, you can't undo it\.

To set up a watsonx subscription:

<!-- <ol> -->

1.  From the watsonx navigation menu, select **Administration > Account and billing > Upgrade service plans**\.
2.  On the **Upgrade service plans** page, click **Contact sales**\.

<!-- </ol> -->

Complete and submit the form to communicate with IBM Sales that you want to set up a subscription account for watsonx\. An associate from IBM Sales will contact you to set up a subscription\. When your subscription is ready, you receive an email from IBM containing a unique subscription code\.

To apply the subscription code to your account:

<!-- <ol> -->

1.  Locate the unique code from the email that you received from IBM\.
2.  Log in to your IBM Cloud account, and select **Manage > Account** from the header\. Be sure to select the correct account\.
3.  Select **Account settings** and locate the **Subscription and feature codes** section on the page\.
4.  Click **Apply code**\.
5.  Copy and paste the code from the email into the **Apply a code** field and click **Apply**\.

<!-- </ol> -->

Your subscription account is active and you can upgrade your watsonx\.ai services\.

## Step 3: (Optional) Configure restrictions for the account ##

Complete these optional tasks to secure your account:

<!-- <ul> -->

 *  Restrict the scope of resources that are available in IBM watsonx to the current account\. See [Set the scope of resources](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/admin/account-settings.html#set-the-scope-for-resources)\.
 *  Restrict access to specific IP addresses to protect the IBM Cloud account from unwanted access from unknown IP addresses\. See [Allow specific IP addresses](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/security-network.html#allow-specific-ip-addresses)\.

<!-- </ul> -->

## Next steps ##

<!-- <ul> -->

 *  [Add users to the account](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/setup-addl-users.html)
 *  [Add more security constraints](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/security-account.html)

<!-- </ul> -->

**Parent topic:**[Setting up the platform for administrators](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/setup-platform.html)

<!-- </article "role="article" "> -->