Find out your Cloud Billing account type and charging cycle  |  Google Cloud (2024)

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Overview

ACloud Billing account defines who pays for a given set of Google Cloud resources,and it can be linked to one or more Google Cloud projects. Your project usage ischarged to the linked Cloud Billing account.

Your Cloud Billing account can be one of two types, which differentiateshow and when you pay for your Google Cloud services and your use ofGoogle Maps Platform APIs:

• Invoiced billing

  If you haveinvoiced billing,you accrue costs first, then receive a monthly invoice. You pay your invoicewith a check or bank transfer. An invoice for a particular month should beavailable by the fifth business day of the following month.

• Self-serve billing

  If you have aself-serve billing account,your costs are charged automatically in one of two ways:

  • A regular monthly cycle (monthly billing)
  • When your account has accrued a certain amount of charges (thresholdbilling)

  Your charge covers both your Google Cloud and Google Maps Platformcosts, as well as any unpaid costs from previous billing cycles.

How the charging cycle is set

• For invoiced Cloud Billing accounts, you typically receive oneinvoice per month and the amount of time you have to pay your invoice(your payment terms) is determined by the agreement you made with Google.
• For self-serve Cloud Billing accounts, your charging cycle isautomatically assigned when you create the account. You do not get to chooseyour charging cycle and you cannot change the charging cycle.

View your Cloud Billing charging cycle

To view your Cloud Billing cycle and find out how and when you arecharged, view the payment overview for your Cloud Billing account:

1. Sign in to your Cloud Billing account in the Google Cloud console.

   Sign in to your Cloud Billing account

2. At the prompt, choose the Cloud Billing accountfor which you'd like to view your charging cycle. The BillingOverview page opens for the selected billing account.

3. In the Billing Overview page, click the Payment overview tab.

4. Find your billing cycle, along with your current outstandingbalance and your last payment date and amount:

   • Invoicing (terms): This Cloud Billing account is an invoicedCloud Billing account, meaning you accrue costs first, thenreceive a monthly invoice. You pay for these costs with a check or banktransfer. An invoice for a particular month should be available by thefifth business day of the following month. The payment terms aredisplayed in parentheses, including the number of days you have topay your invoice (for example, Net 30 days). You are required to pay yourinvoice within the timeframe that you've agreed to with Google,according to terms and conditions.Learn more about paying your invoice.

   • Monthly automatic payments: This Cloud Billing account hasa monthly billing cycle and thelinked payment instrument (such as a credit card or bank account) will be charged automatically onthe second day of every month for charges accrued during the previousmonth.

   • Automatic payments: This Cloud Billing accounthas a threshold billing cycle and thelinked payment instrument (such as a credit card or bank account) will be charged automaticallywhen your accrued Google Cloud costs meet an automatically assignedthreshold amount. In addition, the balance of the charges accrued by theend of the month is charged automatically to the linked paymentinstrument on the first of the next month.

     Learn about threshold billing.

About threshold billing

Threshold billing is an automatically paid Cloud Billing account withan automatically assigned payment threshold. A threshold is alevel of spending that, when met, triggers a charge to your primary paymentmethod (such as a credit card or bank account).

When you are on a threshold billing charging cycle, the following applies:

• You'll be charged automatically on the 1st of each month and any time yourbalance reaches your payment threshold amount.
• Your charge covers your current Google Cloud and Google Maps Platformcosts and any unpaid balance from the previous month, plus tax and fees thatmight apply to some countries.
• The amount charged could exceed the payment threshold amount if the accountaccrues costs very quickly.
• You can be charged multiple times in the same month if your account reachesyour Cloud Billing payment threshold repeatedly over that time.

The following chart shows two typical cases of threshold billing. In the firstcase, the total accrued costs for a month are lower than the paymentthreshold, so you're automatically charged for the balance on the 1st of thenext month, and your payment threshold amount remains the same. In the secondcase, the accrued costs cross the payment threshold before the end of the month,triggering an automatic charge, and possibly increasing your threshold amount.

How your threshold amount is determined

• When you first create a self-service Cloud Billing account, you areautomatically granted a starting payment threshold amount. You do not get tochoose your threshold amount and you cannot directly edit the thresholdamount.
• For Cloud Billing accounts in good standing, if your accrued coststrigger a threshold payment, your threshold amount is automatically raised.This adjustment might happen several times until your account reaches a finalthreshold amount.
• Threshold amounts depend on your account, country, and currency.
• You are not emailed or notified when your Cloud Billing thresholdincreases, but you canfind your current threshold amount any time by going to your billing pages in the Google Cloud console.

Find your payment threshold amount

To find out what your payment threshold is, view the payment overview for yourCloud Billing account:

1. Sign in to your Cloud Billing account in the Google Cloud console.

   Go to your Cloud Billing account

2. At the prompt, choose the Cloud Billing accountfor which you'd like to view your payment threshold. The BillingOverview page opens for the selected billing account.

3. On the Billing Overview page, select the Payment overview tab.

4. On the Payment overview page, your assigned threshold amount is listedin the Your balance card, along with your charging cycle.

   For example, if your Cloud Billing threshold is $100.00, and youhave not yet incurred any costs for the month, you might see a messagethat says Your entire $100.00 payment threshold is available.

You can also view your payment threshold in payment settings, using these steps:

1. In the Billing navigation menu, click Payment settings.

2. View the threshold amount in the Payments account card.

   For example, if your Cloud Billing threshold is $1000.00, youmight see a message that says "You'll be charged automatically on the 1stof each month. If your balance reaches your $1,000.00 payment thresholdbefore then, you'll be charged immediately."

• View your Cloud Billing reports and cost trends
• Get an invoice, statement, or receipt
• Export Cloud Billing data to BigQuery
• View your cost and payment history
• Create, modify, or close your Cloud Billing account