Running out of credits

When your balance runs low, Appentic emails you, then suspends your projects, and finally deletes them if you don't add credits.

The suspension reserve

Appentic suspends your projects before your balance reaches zero. It keeps back enough to pay for a 20-hour grace period, so your data is kept while you add credits.

Your suspension reserve is 20 hours of your account's running costs, with a minimum of $1. Your running costs include every machine that has been set up and every service in the workspaces you own, including stopped and suspended ones.

For example:

Low-balance alerts

Appentic emails you when your balance falls to your alert balance. Alerts are always on. You choose the balance on the Billing page, under Low-balance alerts:

1. Open the user menu and choose User settings, then Billing.
2. Under Low-balance alerts, move Alert when my balance reaches to the balance you want, from $5 to $100. It starts at $10.
3. Optionally, enter an address in Also send alerts to, for example your payments or ops team. They get the same email.
4. Click Save alerts.

You get one alert each time your balance falls to your alert balance. You get another only after a top-up has lifted your balance back above it. Low-balance alerts are always emailed, whatever your notification settings.

If your alert balance would give you less than 24 hours' warning, for example with large machines, Appentic alerts you 24 hours before suspension instead, so you're always warned.

Paying from the alert

The alert email has a Pay to top up button. It opens a page where you pick an amount and pay on the Stripe checkout page. It doesn't need you to sign in, so whoever gets the alert, including the extra address, can pay from it. The link works for 7 days.

Warnings in the dashboard

Until your balance is back above the alert balance, every dashboard page shows Your balance is low, with an Add credits button.

The Billing page also shows when your projects will be suspended once that is less than 72 hours away: Your projects are suspended in about … hours, with the balance at which that happens.

Suspension

When your balance reaches your suspension reserve, every project in the workspaces you own is suspended. Projects in workspaces where you are only a collaborator are not affected.

When a project is suspended:

• its machines stop, and every service in it goes offline
• visitors to its web services see the maintenance page
• its data stays on the machines' disks
• its service fees stop, but its machines and the storage its volumes and buckets use are still billed, which is what the reserve pays for
• you can't start it, change or add machines, deploy, or create services in it

Its pages show the notice This project is suspended because your credits ran out. Add credits to restore it. with an Add credits link. Appentic also emails you.

You can still sign in, see your projects and add credits.

Getting your projects back

Add credits so that your balance is above your suspension reserve. Your projects then start again automatically, usually within a minute or two, and Appentic emails you when they are back.

The Billing page shows how long you have and the least you need to add: Your projects are suspended and will be deleted in … hours. Add at least … to start them again.

A top-up that leaves your balance at or below the reserve adds the credits but does not restore your projects.

Deletion after 20 hours

If your balance is still not above the reserve 20 hours after suspension, Appentic deletes every project in the workspaces you own. This includes their machines and every service in them, and all their data. It cannot be undone.

Appentic emails you when it happens. Your account and workspaces stay, and you can add credits and create new projects at any time.

What you need to create things

To choose a machine, change to a more expensive machine, or add a service, your balance must be at least the suspension reserve at your new running cost, plus 24 hours of that new running cost.

For example, if your projects cost $144 a month and you add a service with a $2 fee, your new running cost is $146 a month, or $0.20 an hour. You need a balance of at least $4.00 + $4.80 = $8.80.

If your balance is too low, the form tells you the amount you need, for example Add credits to create a database. Your account needs at least $8.80 to run it. On a project's Services page, the Add buttons become Add credits buttons when your balance can't cover even one more service.

Creating a project costs nothing and needs no credits. Changing to a machine that costs the same or less needs no extra credits. While your projects are suspended for non-payment, you can't create anything until you add credits.