Billing FAQ
This FAQ covers the billing edge cases people hit most often: how cancellation reclaim works in dollars, what subscription_reset and subscription_reclaim entries mean, what happens to bots and credits during a deferred downgrade, and how Stripe's automatic payment retry interacts with platform access.
For background, the Billing Overview explains the subscription + credits model and the Credits page walks through the ledger in depth.
Credits and Balance
What is a credit?
One credit equals one US dollar ($1). Credits are prepaid — they're added to your balance on subscription deposit, manual top-up, or trial start, and deducted hourly as bots and backtests consume compute resources.
How are credits deducted?
Hourly, based on what your running workloads actually consume — CPU time, memory, network egress, and storage. Stopped bots cost nothing. The Organization Usage page shows live consumption and projected end-of-period cost.
When does my organization get suspended?
Whenever the credit balance reaches zero, or the subscription is cancelled or expires. While suspended:
- All running bots are stopped immediately
- New bot starts, backtests, and hyperopt runs are blocked
- You can still sign in, view data, add manual credits, and resubscribe
What is the low-credit-balance alert threshold?
A low_credit_balance alert fires when your balance drops below $5.00. This is a system alert — pre-configured for every organization and routed to the admin role by default. Adjust delivery channels and recipients on the Alerts page.
Can I still create bots when my balance is zero or my subscription is cancelled?
Yes — bot creation requires no credits or active subscription. Only starting a bot or running a backtest requires both. You can configure bots, attach strategies, and set up exchanges any time; they'll just stay in the unstarted state until you resume.
Do unused subscription credits carry over to next month?
No. At each renewal the system clears any leftover subscription credits before depositing the new month's allowance. Manual top-ups are unaffected and roll over indefinitely.
The reset amount on the ledger is:
cleared = MAX(0, subscription_deposited_this_period − usage_this_period)
Worked example
| Time | Manual | Subscription | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of month (Pro plan) | $100 | $60 | $160 |
| Used $5 this month | $100 | $55 | $155 |
Renewal — subscription_reset $55 | $100 | $0 | $100 |
subscription_deposit $60 | $100 | $60 | $160 |
Manual credits never moved; subscription credits reset to a fresh $60.
This is the no-rollover policy — subscription credits are a monthly allowance, not an accumulating bank.
What is subscription_reset in my transaction history?
The negative ledger entry written at each billing renewal to clear leftover subscription credits before the new period's deposit. If there were no leftover subscription credits, a zero-amount sentinel is written instead so the operation is idempotent on retry.
What is subscription_reclaim in my transaction history?
The negative ledger entry written when subscription-provided credits are reclaimed at cancellation. As with subscription_reset, a zero-amount sentinel is written if there's nothing to reclaim.
Subscriptions
What happens to my credits when I cancel my subscription?
Subscription-provided credits (the monthly auto-deposits) are reclaimed. Manually deposited credits are preserved but locked until you resubscribe.
Reclaim is calculated FIFO — usage is assumed to consume subscription credits first:
net subscription credits = MAX(0, total_subscription_deposits − total_usage_deducted)
new balance = MAX(0, current_balance − net_subscription_credits)
Example. You have $20 balance ($30 in subscription deposits, $15 in manual deposits, $25 used). Net subscription credits = MAX(0, 30 − 25) = $5. New balance = $20 − $5 = $15 — your manual credits stay.
I have $20 on my balance but I'm suspended. Why?
Your subscription was cancelled. The org is suspended because there's no active subscription, even though manual credits are still on the balance. Resubscribe on Organization → Billing and your manual balance becomes spendable again.
How do I resubscribe after cancelling?
Go to Organization → Billing & Plans. After cancellation every plan card shows a Subscribe button (instead of "Current Plan"), so you can resubscribe to the same plan or pick a different tier. Your previous Stripe customer ID is reused, so saved payment methods are still available.
What happens if my payment fails?
Stripe begins its automatic retry schedule and the subscription moves to past_due. A payment_failed alert fires. During the retry window:
- Existing bots keep running — you don't lose access mid-retry.
- New bot starts and backtests are blocked —
past_duedoes not allow new workloads.
If a retry succeeds, the subscription returns to active and full access is restored. If all retries are exhausted, the subscription is cancelled and the standard cancellation flow runs.
What does "canceling" status mean?
You clicked Cancel Subscription but the cancellation takes effect only at the end of the current billing period. The subscription is still effectively active (canceling substatus) — bots keep running, you still get the period's credits if a renewal hasn't happened yet, and the billing page shows the date the subscription will actually end.
Is there a free trial?
Yes — new users can try the Pro plan free for 7 days. A payment method is required at sign-up but is not charged during the trial. You receive $60 in trial credits and full Pro feature access.
See Plans & Pricing — Free Trial and Credits — Trial Credits for the full lifecycle.
What happens when the trial ends?
If you have not cancelled, the trial automatically converts to a paid Pro subscription at $29.99/mo (or the yearly equivalent if you selected yearly billing). On conversion:
- Trial credits are cleared
- A fresh $60
subscription_depositis applied - Your first Stripe invoice is generated
If you cancelled during the trial or the trial expires without a valid payment method, trial credits are reclaimed, running bots are stopped, and no charge is made.
Can I cancel the trial?
Yes — any time during the 7 days from Organization → Billing → Cancel Subscription. Trial credits are reclaimed immediately, no charge is made, and your data (strategies, backtests, history) is preserved. You can subscribe to any plan later.
What happens when I downgrade?
Downgrades are deferred to the end of the current billing period. Until renewal you keep full access to your current plan's features. At renewal:
- Available features adjust to the new plan's limits (max bots, live trading access, etc.)
- The credit deposit at renewal matches the new plan's amount
- You may need to reduce active bots or strategies to fit within the new plan's limits
See Plans & Pricing — Downgrading for the step-by-step.
Can I cancel a pending downgrade?
Yes. On Organization → Billing, find the Available Plans grid and click Switch Plan on your current plan (the one already active). The pending downgrade is cleared and the current plan continues unchanged.
Billing Alerts
What billing alerts are available?
| Alert | Trigger | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| Organization Suspended | Balance reaches zero or subscription cancelled | Critical |
| Organization Reactivated | Suspended org restored after payment | Info |
| Low Credit Balance | Balance drops below $5.00 | Warning |
| Payment Failed | Stripe invoice payment fails | Warning |
| Payment Succeeded | Subscription payment processed | Info |
| Subscription Cancelled | Subscription period ends or is deleted | Warning |
| Plan Changed | Plan upgraded or downgraded | Info |
| Trial Started | Free trial begins | Info |
| Trial Ending Soon | Trial expires in 3 days | Warning |
| Trial Converted | Trial converts to paid subscription | Info |
| Trial Expired | Trial expires without converting | Warning |
How do I configure billing alerts?
Billing alerts are system alerts — pre-configured for every organization and cannot be deleted. You can manage delivery from the Alerts page:
- Recipients — email addresses, specific users, or roles (e.g., all admins)
- Enabled / disabled — toggle alerting on or off per rule
- Cooldown — minimum time between repeated firings
- Delivery mode — immediate or batched
By default, all billing system rules notify the admin role. See Alert Rules for delivery configuration details.
Enforcement
What operations require an active subscription?
| Operation | Active subscription + credits |
|---|---|
| Start bot / restart bot | Yes |
| Run backtest | Yes |
| Run hyperopt (Pro+) | Yes |
| Create bot runner | Yes |
| Create bot (configuration only) | No |
| View billing page | No |
| Add manual credits | No |
| View invoices and history | No |
What subscription statuses allow running bots?
| Status | Can run bots | Feature access |
|---|---|---|
active | Yes | Yes |
canceling (deferred cancel) | Yes (until period end) | Yes |
past_due (payment retry) | No (blocks new starts) | No (new starts blocked) |
canceled | No | No |
| No subscription | No | No |
When a payment fails, the subscription moves to
past_due. New bot starts and backtests are blocked, but Stripe retries automatically — if a retry succeeds, the subscription returns toactiveand access is restored without intervention. Existing bots that were already running before the failure continue to run during the retry window.
Related guides
- Billing Overview — Subscription + credits model, suspension, plan changes.
- Plans & Pricing — Plan comparison, yearly discounts, trial details.
- Credits — Consumption rates, transaction types, top-up flow.