This is the timeline in order using the current default policy. Check the client portal and account notices for the values that apply to your account if the policy changes.
1. Low-credit warnings
Warnings begin when the remaining credit would last 5 days or fewer at the current burn rate. It is a runway, not a dollar floor: $5 is a fortnight on one small server and a few hours on a busy fleet.
The escalation gets more urgent as the runway shortens (5, then 3, then 1 day). A working saved card silences all of it.
2. Zero, and then negative
Hitting $0.00 does not stop anything. Metering carries on and the balance goes negative, which is the grace period.
3. Suspension
Servers are suspended when either is true:
- the balance reaches -$10.00 or lower, or
- the balance has been negative for 7 consecutive days.
A suspended server is powered off. Power actions are refused, for you and for staff, until the balance is settled. The data is still there.
Suspension is per account, not per server
Every server on the account goes down together, because the balance is the account's.
4. Recovery
Add credit. A deposit that brings the balance back to zero or above runs the recovery path immediately, so you should not need a ticket for an ordinary top-up. A partial payment that leaves the balance negative deliberately does not recover the account.
5. Termination review
Seven days after suspension, the account is put in front of a human for a termination decision. Nothing is destroyed by a timer: a member of staff has to approve it. Until then the servers and their disks still exist and settling the balance still brings them back.
After that, the data is gone
Once a termination is approved, the servers and their disks are destroyed and there is nothing to restore from. If you are near this point, open a ticket rather than waiting.