What Happens If You Don't Pay Your Invoice
Understand Galaxy's account statuses (probation and suspension), what each one restricts, and how to get back to normal.
Life happens, and sometimes a payment doesn't go through. Galaxy won't pull the plug the moment that happens, but it will gradually restrict your account if the issue isn't resolved.
This article walks you through each account status, what it means for your apps, and exactly how to fix it.
The Short Version
A failed payment first puts your account on probation (your apps keep running, but you can't deploy or change plans). If it stays unpaid past the grace period, your account moves to suspension (your apps get stopped). Updating your payment method and settling the balance brings everything back automatically.
How This Works
When an invoice fails to charge, Galaxy doesn't suspend you immediately. Instead, it gives you a grace period (currently 7 days) to update your payment method before anything changes for your apps.
Here's the general flow:
- An invoice payment fails.
- Your account moves to Probation. You'll see a banner in the dashboard letting you know.
- If the balance isn't settled within the grace period, your account moves to Suspension. Your apps are stopped.
- Once you update your payment information and the outstanding invoice is paid, your account automatically returns to Active, and (if it was suspended) your apps are restarted.
Looking for Geographic Restrictions?
There's also a separate account status for regions where Galaxy can't legally operate. That's unrelated to payments and is covered in Service Availability and Geographic Restrictions.
Account Status: Active
This is the normal, healthy state. If your payment method is valid and your invoices are paid, you're here. No restrictions, nothing to do.
Account Status: Probation
What it means: Your most recent invoice failed to charge. Galaxy is giving you a window to fix your payment method before anything more serious happens.
What still works:
Existing apps keep running: Probation doesn't touch your running apps. They stay online exactly as they are.
Dashboard access: You can log in, view your apps, check usage, and see your billing information normally.
What's restricted while on probation:
- You can't create new apps
- You can't deploy or redeploy existing apps
- You can't upgrade or downgrade your subscription (no plan changes, no adding databases or addons)
Deploys Are Paused
If you're on probation and try to push a new deploy, it won't go through. Your app keeps running its last successful deploy, but new code won't ship until your account is back to active.
How to fix it: Head to your billing settings and update your payment method, then make sure any outstanding invoice gets paid. Once the payment goes through, your account returns to Active automatically, no waiting, no support ticket needed.
Account Status: Suspended
What it means: The invoice stayed unpaid past the grace period (7 days by default). At this point, Galaxy stops your apps to limit further usage charges while the issue gets sorted out.
What's restricted while suspended:
- All of your apps are stopped automatically
- Your apps stay offline until the suspension is resolved
- You can't create new apps
- You can't deploy or redeploy existing apps
- You can't manually start or stop apps (the start/stop controls are disabled)
- You can't upgrade or downgrade your subscription
Your Apps Are Offline
Suspension stops every app on your account. They're not deleted, and your data isn't touched, but they won't serve traffic until your account is active again.
Dashboard access: You can still log in. You'll see a red banner across the dashboard letting you know your account is suspended. Your apps, databases, and settings are all still visible, just locked for the actions listed above.
How to fix it: Update your payment method and settle the outstanding balance. Once the payment is confirmed, Galaxy automatically reactivates your account and restarts your apps. If you run into trouble or need a hand, contact our support team and we'll help you sort it out.
Quick Reference
| Status | Apps Running? | Deploy? | Start/Stop Apps? | Create New Apps? | Change Plan? | Dashboard Access? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Full |
| Probation | Yes (unchanged) | No | Yes | No | No | Full |
| Suspended | No (stopped) | No | No | No | No | View only |