In the Manager your services are billed **prepaid and by the hour** from your account balance. This article explains what happens when your balance runs out: when a service is suspended, how long you have to recover it and when it is permanently deleted.

:::info
Everything described here applies to prepaid, pay-per-hour services: **cloud VPS**, **IPv4 subnets** and **premium IPv6 (/48) blocks**. Keeping enough balance avoids any suspension.
:::

## How billing works

Every active service consumes balance **every hour**, at the rate set when it was ordered. The charge happens **on the hour** and is deducted from the first currency in your consumption order that can cover that hour.

- The **first hour** is charged when the service is created, even if it only covers a fraction of that hour.
- As long as you have enough balance, your services keep running normally.

## Before suspension: balance warnings

Before your balance reaches zero, we email you when your **runway** (the days or hours left based on the cost of your active services) drops below certain thresholds:

| Remaining runway | Warning |
| --- | --- |
| 10 / 7 / 5 days | Top-up reminder |
| 3 / 2 / 1 days | Urgent warning |
| A few hours | Imminent suspension |

:::tip
Enable **auto top-up** in the Balance section so your account recharges itself with your payment method and you never have to worry about running out.
:::

## Suspension for insufficient balance

When an hourly charge comes due and **none of your currencies can cover it**, the service is immediately moved to **billing suspended**. The unpaid hour is recorded as debt and keeps accruing while the service stays suspended.

### What happens to each service

| Service | Effect when suspended |
| --- | --- |
| Cloud VPS | The machine is **paused** (not shut down): frozen as-is, with no data loss. |
| Premium IPv6 (/48) | The block stops being routed to your VPS temporarily. |
| IPv4 subnet | Switches to suspended; released when the service is deleted. |

:::warning
During suspension **no data is lost**. The VPS stays paused and on hold; as soon as you settle your balance it returns to the exact state it was in.
:::

## How to reactivate your services

### By topping up

When you add balance, the system **settles the outstanding debt first** and, if your balance also covers **at least 24 hours** of all suspended services, it reactivates them automatically and resumes the VPS.

:::info
A partial top-up reduces the debt but **does not reactivate** the service: to reactivate you must clear the full debt and prepay at least 24 hours of the suspended services.
:::

### Emergency reactivation

If you need urgent access before you can top up, you can use **emergency reactivation** from the panel:

- Resumes your suspended services for **5 days**.
- Available **once every 30 days**.
- It does not cancel the debt (balance keeps being consumed) and **extends the deletion deadline by 5 days**.

## Permanent deletion

If a service stays suspended for insufficient balance, it is **permanently deleted 15 days** after suspension.

:::danger
Deletion is **irreversible**: the VPS is removed and its IPs are released. Deletion forgives that service's outstanding debt, but **data cannot be recovered**. Top up before the deadline to keep your service.
:::

If you have used emergency reactivation, that 15-day deadline is extended by the 5 days of the window.

## Timeline summary

| Event | Timeline |
| --- | --- |
| Balance depleted → suspension | Immediate (at the hourly charge) |
| Suspension → deletion | 15 days |
| Emergency reactivation | 5 days of access, once every 30 days (+5 days to the deadline) |
| Reactivation on top-up | Requires clearing the debt + 24 h prepaid |

:::success
To avoid suspensions: keep enough balance, watch the runway warnings by email and, if you want peace of mind, enable auto top-up.
:::