How to pay an invoice

Invoices for your hosting are generated and paid in the client area — the billing account that sits alongside, but separate from, the control panel your website actually runs in. If you are looking for where to type in a card number, this is the right place; if you were expecting to find billing inside StackCP, that is the confusion this guide exists to clear up.

Where invoices live

Every invoice your account generates — a new order, a renewal, an upgrade — appears in your client area under its invoicing or billing section. Each one has a status: unpaid, paid, or occasionally cancelled if it was superseded by another. An unpaid invoice is the only kind that needs your attention.

You do not need to go looking for invoices manually most of the time. When one is raised, a copy is emailed to the address on your account, and that email is usually the fastest route in: it links straight to the invoice rather than making you find it in a list.

How to pay an invoice

1. Sign in to your client area

   Use the email address and password you set at checkout. If you cannot remember them, use the password reset link rather than guessing — repeated failed logins can lock the account temporarily.

2. Open the unpaid invoice

   From the invoices list, click through to the specific invoice. It will show the amount due, what it covers, and the due date.

3. Select a payment method

   If you already have a card or other payment method saved on the account, it will usually be offered as the default. You can also pay with a different method for this one invoice without changing what is saved for future renewals.

4. Submit the payment

   Confirm the amount and complete the payment. Most card payments are approved instantly and the invoice updates to paid within the same page.

5. Save the receipt if you need one

   Once an invoice is marked paid, it doubles as your receipt. See how to download an invoice or receipt if you need a copy for your own accounts.

What currency and price you will actually pay

The price shown on the invoice is the price you are charged — there is no separate exchange step to think about. Prices are shown in your local currency at checkout and on every invoice that follows, so what you see on screen is what leaves your account. If you want to understand how the currency itself is decided, see what currency you will be charged in.

If the payment does not go through

A declined payment is usually a bank-side issue rather than anything wrong with your invoice: an expired card, a spending limit, or a bank flagging an unfamiliar transaction for extra verification. Before trying again:

• Check the card has not expired and has sufficient available balance or limit.
• Check the billing address you entered matches what your bank has on file — a mismatch is one of the most common reasons a card is declined online.
• Try a different card or payment method if one is available, rather than repeatedly retrying the same details.
• Contact your bank if you suspect they are blocking the transaction as a precaution — this happens more often with international or unfamiliar merchants than most people expect.

For what happens to your service if an invoice stays unpaid, see what happens if a payment fails.

Paying by a method other than card

Depending on what is enabled on your account, other payment methods may be available alongside card payment — the options offered are shown at the checkout step of the invoice itself, so check there rather than assuming only one method exists. If you need to arrange something not listed, contact support and describe what you are trying to do; a human can tell you what is possible on your account.

Invoices for more than one service

If you run several hosting packages or domains under one account, they may appear as separate invoices or be combined depending on your billing cycle and when each item renews. Either way, each invoice lists exactly what it covers, so check that line before paying if you are ever unsure what a charge relates to. If a charge on an invoice looks wrong or unfamiliar, do not pay it blind — ask support to explain it first.

Keeping this simple going forward

The two habits that prevent almost every billing headache are the same ones that matter everywhere else in life: keep a valid payment method on file, and keep the contact email on your account one that actually reaches you. Everything else — invoices being raised, reminders being sent, renewals going through — happens automatically once those two things are true.