Financial Management FAQ
FAQ about corporate bank transfers
How can enterprise users request a renewal contract for company payment requests?
On the instance list page, click Renew. After an unpaid order is generated, go to Contract Management and select the unpaid order to request a renewal contract. See Contract Management.
How long does a corporate bank transfer usually take to arrive?
China Merchants Bank transfers typically arrive in 1 to 2 business days. Inter-bank transfers take 3 to 5 business days. Actual arrival times depend on the bank.
Why was my ECS instance not renewed after a successful bank transfer?
A successful bank transfer adds funds to your Alibaba Cloud account balance. You must then renew the ECS instance and pay with your account balance.
How do I request an invoice after a successful renewal?
After a successful renewal, go to Invoice Management, select one or more renewal orders, and request an invoice. See Issue an invoice.
What should I do if I selected the wrong renewal term or instance after a successful renewal?
Go to the Expenses and Costs console and choose . In the Actions column of the renewal order, click Details and check the start and end times to determine whether the order is active.
If the renewal order is not yet active, check its refund eligibility. If eligible, request a refund and place a new order.
If the renewal order is active, you can only get a refund by unsubscribing from the entire ECS instance. Proceed with caution.
How do I request a renewal extension for an ECS instance?
If you cannot renew an instance before it expires due to reasons such as internal financial processes, request a 1-day extension.
Why can't I purchase an ECS instance?
Three common reasons:
Identity verification incomplete. Purchases in the Chinese mainland require completed identity verification. Complete verification before retrying.
vCPU quota exceeded. The selected instance type would push your total vCPU count beyond your account's quota limit. Reduce the vCPU count or request a quota increase.
Regional sales limit reached. The selected region may have temporarily reached its ECS sales limit. Try again later or check Available Regions for ECS Instances for regions with available capacity.
Can I purchase an ECS instance without completing identity verification?
No. You must complete identity verification before placing an order.
How do I get an invoice for an ECS instance?
Invoices are issued based on monthly settlement bills. A monthly bill cannot be split into multiple invoices. To request an invoice, go to Invoice Management or the User Center in the Alibaba Cloud Management Console.
Will the system notify me if my account balance is insufficient? When are notifications sent?
If your available credit (including Alibaba Cloud account balance and vouchers) is less than the pending bill amount, your account is determined to be overdue.
Notification rules:
Low balance alert: If your available credit (Alibaba Cloud account balance and coupons) falls below your alert threshold, you receive a low balance alert by text message or email.
Instance release notification: Alibaba Cloud sends a text message and email when an instance is released due to expiration or an overdue payment.
If you enable auto-renewal, the first payment attempt is made at 08:00, nine days before the resource expires. If this attempt fails due to an insufficient balance, the system retries daily until it succeeds or until the day before the resource expires. To avoid service interruptions, monitor your account balance to ensure sufficient funds.
Verify that your contact information is correct to receive notifications.
Even with auto-renewal enabled, an insufficient balance can cause payment failures and disrupt your service.
If my account balance is insufficient, will the data on my pay-as-you-go instances be affected?
If your available credit (including Alibaba Cloud account balance and vouchers) is less than the pending bill amount, your account is determined to be overdue.
If your account has an overdue payment, your instances stop immediately and billing is paused while they are suspended. You cannot use ECS resources until you top up your account, pay the outstanding bill, and restart the resources. Data retention for pay-as-you-go instances depends on the resource type. See Overdue payments.
Alibaba Cloud provides the extended suspension-free benefit. When a pay-as-you-go resource is overdue, you can continue to use cloud services for a certain amount or duration. Normal fees apply during the extended period. For more information, see Extended Suspension-Free Benefit.
Is 100-fold compensation supported?
No. For compensation details, see the Elastic Computing Service (ECS) Service Level Agreement (SLA).
I requested a refund immediately after purchasing an ECS instance. Why was I still charged?
If your ECS instance does not qualify for the five-day unconditional refund, you receive a partial refund for the remaining term. See Unsubscription rules.