Billing, GST invoices and payment methods
Everything is billed in rupees, with 18% GST shown as its own line. Add your GSTIN before you pay and the invoice is ready for input tax credit. Below: how to pay, how invoices are taxed, how renewals and refunds work, and what happens if a payment fails.
Before you start
- Your client area login: the email address and password you ordered with.
- For business invoices, your 15-character GSTIN and the legal name exactly as it appears on your GST registration certificate.
- For automatic renewals, a card or UPI app that allows online and recurring payments.
Ways to pay
You pay for the whole term up front: 1, 12, 24 or 36 months for hosting, monthly or yearly for servers, and per year for domains and SSL. Hosting, email and VPS are usually ready within 15 minutes of the payment being confirmed.
| Method | How it works | Automatic renewal |
|---|---|---|
| UPI | Scan the QR code or enter your UPI ID, then approve in any UPI app | Yes, with a UPI AutoPay mandate, where your bank supports it |
| RuPay cards | Debit or credit card, confirmed with an OTP from your bank | Yes, card saved as a token |
| Visa and Mastercard | Debit or credit card, confirmed with an OTP from your bank | Yes, card saved as a token |
| Net banking | Log in to your bank and approve the payment | No, pay each invoice |
| Wallets | Pay from a supported wallet balance | No, pay each invoice |
Card details are entered on the payment gateway's own page. Under RBI rules a saved card is stored only as a token, so we never see or keep your full card number.
Step by step: Add your GSTIN for tax invoices
-
Open your account details
Sign in to the client area and open Client areaAccountAccount Details.
-
Enter the business details exactly as registered
Put your legal name in Company Name and your GSTIN in the GSTIN (tax ID) field. Make sure the billing address is in the state where the GSTIN is registered. The first two digits of a GSTIN are its state code, for example 27 for Maharashtra, 07 for Delhi, 29 for Karnataka and 33 for Tamil Nadu.
Company NameYourbrand Technologies Pvt LtdGSTIN27ABCDE1234F1Z5StateMaharashtra ▾Postcode (PIN)411001Save ChangesCancelState code 27 in the GSTIN matches the billing state, Maharashtra.
Example values only. Use the name and GSTIN from your own GST certificate; check them on the GST portal if unsure. -
Save, then order or renew
The GSTIN is printed on every invoice raised after you save it, including renewals. Each team or client with its own GSTIN needs its own client account.
Add it before the invoice is raised. An issued tax invoice can't simply be edited. If one went out without your GSTIN or with a wrong address, write to billing@virtualcloud.in in the same month and we'll tell you what can be corrected.
How 18% GST appears on your hosting invoice
GST on our services is 18%. Whether it appears as one tax or two depends on the place of supply, which is the state in your billing details (or your GSTIN's state):
- Same state as ours: CGST 9% plus SGST 9%.
- Any other state: IGST 18%.
The total is identical either way. For example, Orbit web hosting on a 12-month term at ₹189 a month:
| Line | Other state | Same state |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit, 12 months (12 × ₹189) | ₹2,268.00 | ₹2,268.00 |
| IGST 18% | ₹408.24 | — |
| CGST 9% + SGST 9% | — | ₹204.12 + ₹204.12 |
| Total payable | ₹2,676.24 | ₹2,676.24 |
Invoices carrying your GSTIN are reported in our GST returns, so they show up in your GSTR-2B for input tax credit. To check a figure before you order, use the GST calculator.
Download invoices and receipts
Every invoice is emailed to your account's address and kept in Client areaBillingMy Invoices. Open one and click Download PDF. An unpaid invoice is a request for payment; once it shows Paid, it's the tax invoice for your records.
Want invoices to reach your accounts team as well? Add them as a contact on your account with invoice emails turned on, rather than sharing your login.
Auto-renewal, UPI AutoPay and upgrades
We email a renewal invoice before each due date, with reminders before and after it. Hosting renews at the renewal price printed next to each plan, which is the 1-month price, and our hosting deals on longer terms still work out cheaper than monthly billing, renewals included. You can pay each invoice yourself, or let renewals charge automatically:
- Saved card or UPI AutoPay. Set it up in the client area while paying an invoice. Your bank notifies you at least 24 hours before each automatic charge, and under RBI's e-mandate rules a charge above ₹15,000 needs your approval each time, with an OTP or UPI PIN.
- Switching it off. Remove the saved card in the client area, or cancel the mandate in your UPI app. Renewal invoices still arrive; you just pay them yourself.
- Upgrades and downgrades. An upgrade applies straight away and you pay only the prorated difference for the rest of your term. A downgrade applies from the next renewal, if your usage fits the smaller plan. See Renew, upgrade or cancel a service.
Refunds, and what happens if a payment fails
Money-back periods by product:
| Product | Money-back period |
|---|---|
| Web, WordPress and reseller hosting; business email | 30 days |
| VPS | 7 days (licences excluded) |
| Dedicated servers, domains, SSL certificates, software licences, setup fees | Not refundable |
If a free domain came with your hosting, its first-year price is deducted from a hosting refund. SLA service credits are paid as account credit. The full terms are in the refund policy.
If a renewal isn't paid, the service isn't deleted straight away. This is the timeline for hosting, email and servers:
Before the due date: invoice and reminders
Pay any time from the client area. An automatic charge, if set up, is attempted on the due date.
7 days overdue: service suspended
Sites, mail and servers go offline, but nothing is deleted. Paying the invoice restores the service automatically once the payment is confirmed.
30 days overdue: service terminated
The account is closed. Its data is kept for 7 days in case you change your mind, then permanently erased.
Domains follow registry rules instead. Renew before the expiry date: once a domain passes into redemption, getting it back costs a restore fee on top of the renewal, ₹6,999 for gTLDs such as .com and ₹4,999 for the .in family (+ GST).
Troubleshooting
Money left my account, but the invoice still says Unpaid
Don't pay again. Confirmations from UPI and net banking are sometimes delayed. If the invoice still shows Unpaid after an hour, email billing@virtualcloud.in with the invoice number and the bank's reference (for UPI, the 12-digit UTR in your app's payment history). If the payment failed at the bank's end, your bank reverses it automatically, usually within a few working days.
My card keeps getting declined
Indian banks switch off online use on many cards by default. Turn on online / e-commerce transactions in your bank's app, check the per-transaction limit, and complete the OTP step before it times out. UPI is the quickest alternative.
My GSTIN isn't on the invoice
The invoice was raised before the GSTIN was saved, or the field was left empty. Add it in Account Details for future invoices, and email billing@ within the same month about the one already issued.
I was charged IGST but expected CGST + SGST (or the reverse)
The state in your billing details decides the split. Check that it matches the state code at the start of your GSTIN, correct it in Account Details, and tell us about any invoice that needs reissuing.
I'm not receiving invoice emails
Check your spam folder and the address in Account Details. Add billing@virtualcloud.in to your contacts. Every invoice is also in BillingMy Invoices, whether or not the email arrived.
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Tickets and email are answered 24/7 in English and Hindi. Include the invoice number and, for a payment, the bank or UPI reference. Never send card numbers or passwords.