Patent ID: 8055586

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving one or more indications of one or more uses by an application of a sequence of multiple distinct network-accessible services on behalf of an end user of the application, wherein each of the uses by the application of the sequence includes the application invoking a first service in the sequence and supplying to the first service an application key specific to the application as part of the invoking, wherein each service in the sequence other than a last service in the sequence is configured to invoke a next service in the sequence on behalf of the application by further supplying the application key to that next service, and wherein the receiving of the one or more indications is performed by one or more configured computing systems that provide a metering service to track fee-based use of network-accessible services; tracking the one or more uses by the application of the sequence of multiple services on behalf of the end user based at least in part on the application key supplied by the application to the first service as part of the invoking of the first service by the application for each of the uses, the tracking being performed by the one or more configured computing systems; and automatically determining fees associated with the tracked one or more uses of the sequence of multiple services by the application on behalf of the end user, wherein the application has an associated configured usage model for use in determining fees for use of the sequence of multiple services, wherein one or more of the multiple network-accessible services of the sequence each has an associated configured usage model for use in determining fees for use of the service, wherein the determined fees include a first fee that is based at least in part on the configured usage model associated with the application and one or more other fees based at least in part on the configured usage models associated with the one or more services of the sequence, wherein the first fee is to be charged to the end user, and wherein the one or more other fees are to be paid to one or more providers of the one or more services of the sequence for the tracked one or more uses of the sequence of multiple services, and wherein the automatic determining is performed by the one or more configured computing systems.