When invoices are due, and what happens if you don't pay

What this is#

How our billing schedule works: when you get an invoice, when it's due, and what happens at each stage if it isn't paid.

The schedule#

• New orders: the first invoice is due immediately. Your service starts once it's paid.
• Renewals: we generate the renewal invoice 14 days before its due date, so you have two weeks to pay.
• On the due date: we send a payment reminder.
• 1 to 3 days overdue: if it's still unpaid, we send an overdue notice each day.
• 3 days overdue: the service is suspended. Your data is kept.
• 10 days overdue: if it's still unpaid, the service is terminated and the data is permanently deleted.

Suspension vs termination#

• Suspended: the service is offline but your data is kept. As soon as you pay the overdue invoice, the service is automatically reactivated, usually within a few minutes, with nothing else to do.
• Terminated: the service and its data are deleted permanently and can't be recovered. Make sure an invoice is paid before it's 10 days overdue if you want to keep the VPS.

Things worth knowing#

• Don't let an invoice reach 10 days overdue. Suspension is recoverable, termination is not.
• Need your data but can't pay? While the service is still suspended, we'll unsuspend it for 24 hours so you can download your data before the service is terminated.
• Done with the service? Cancel it instead of letting it terminate. The Cancellation tab still works while a service is suspended, and an immediate cancellation also cancels the unpaid invoice, nothing left to pay, no further notices. It's the clean way to walk away (grab your data first, cancellation deletes it).
• No double-charge on auto-renew. If a service is set to renew automatically and you also pay its invoice yourself, we won't charge again for that period. See Automatic renewals.
• Clear old invoices before ordering more. Outstanding invoices should be paid before you place new orders.
• Keep your email reachable. Reminders and overdue notices go to your account email, so make sure you receive our mail and that your address is current on Account Details.

Want to pay early?#

The renewal invoice is generated 14 days before the due date, so if your renewal is close, it's probably already sitting in your invoices waiting. Beyond that, two different things people mean by "paying early", each with its own path:

• Prepay months, so the renewal moves forward. Pay for your service in advance is self-service: add 1 to 24 months at your current price, pay the one-time invoice (account credit works too), and renewal invoices simply start arriving that much later. This is the one to use to renew your VPS now, spend down credit, or cover an absence.
• Just want the upcoming renewal invoice raised early, with your due date staying where it is, say your accounting closes on a particular day? Contact us and we'll generate it ahead of the 14-day window so you can pay it whenever suits you. Paying this way doesn't change your due date or shorten your term.

Related self-service while you're arranging dates: move your renewal to a day of the month that suits you, or line several services up to renew together.

Troubleshooting#

• My service was suspended. Pay the overdue invoice and it reactivates automatically within a few minutes. See Viewing and paying an invoice.
• The VPS is back after paying, but my website or app isn't. Reactivation boots the VPS fresh, and services that were never set to start on boot stay down. The one-minute fix is in My website didn't come back after a reboot or unsuspension.
• Can I restore a terminated VPS? No. Termination permanently deletes the VPS and its data, so neither the service nor anything on it can be restored, by you or by us. Open a ticket and we'll help you set up a fresh one; if your old IP is still free, we can usually put it on the new service.
• I didn't get the invoice or the reminders. Check your spam folder and that your account email is correct. Open a ticket if our emails aren't reaching you.

Still need help?#

You can open a support ticket. So we can help on the first reply, it's worth mentioning:

• the invoice number or the service involved,
• whether the service is suspended, or you're trying to avoid a due date,
• a screenshot of any notice you received.

Related questions#

• "When is my invoice due?"
• "What happens if I don't pay my invoice?"
• "My VPS was suspended, how do I get it back online?"
• "Can I get temporary access to my suspended VPS to download my data?"
• "Can you raise my invoice early so I can pay it now?"
• "Can I pay my renewal in advance, or renew my VPS right now?"
• "How do I prepay my VPS for several months?"
• "Was my data deleted when my service was terminated?"
• "Can I restore a terminated VPS?"
• "When do you generate my renewal invoice?"
• "I don't want the service anymore, do I have to pay the overdue invoice?"