# How account credit works > What VPSNine account credit is, where it comes from, which invoices it pays and in what order, and what it can't do. Source: https://vpsnine.com/help/account-credit-and-invoices ยท Updated: 2026-10-21 Account credit is money held on your VPSNine account, in US dollars, that pays your invoices before you're asked to pay anything. Every new invoice (a renewal, an add-on change, a new server) takes what it can from your credit the moment it's issued, so with enough credit on the account, renewals pay themselves. ## What you need - Nothing to set up: every account has a credit balance, shown as **Account credit** on the [billing overview](https://vpsnine.com/help/billing-overview). ## Where credit comes from - **Top-ups** you [add yourself](https://vpsnine.com/help/add-funds), $5 to $1,000 at a time, with Bitcoin or PayPal. - **Payments that couldn't pay an invoice in full**: an overpayment (the extra), a payment that arrived after its invoice closed, or one for less than the invoice after its checkout ran out. [Payment methods](https://vpsnine.com/help/payment-methods#a-payment-went-wrong) has the cases. - **Refunds made as credit**, for example a [money-back](https://vpsnine.com/help/money-back-guarantee) refund you asked to have as credit, or an order we couldn't build. - **Credit from us**, for example after a maintenance window. - **[Referrals](https://vpsnine.com/help/referral-program)**: $10 when someone you referred pays for their first server. - **Credit returned from an invoice** that was voided after credit paid part of it, for example when its server was deleted. ## What credit pays, and in what order 1. **A new invoice** takes what it can from your credit as soon as it's issued. If credit covers it, the invoice is paid there and then, and you get the usual email. 2. **Credit that comes in** while you have invoices open pays them straight away, oldest first. 3. **What's left** of an invoice after credit is what you pay with Bitcoin or PayPal. [Screenshot: A receipt for a renewal of $24.99 paid entirely from account credit: an account credit line of -$24.99, a total of $0.00 and Paid with account credit] A renewal paid in full from account credit: the credit shows as its own line on the receipt. If an open invoice ever shows credit you haven't used, choose **apply my credit** on it. Once credit has lowered an invoice, a Bitcoin checkout you opened before is for the old amount: choose **pay with Bitcoin** again for a fresh one. ## What credit can't do - **Pay a top-up.** That would only move money around. - **Be paid out or moved.** Credit pays VPSNine invoices only; it isn't transferable to another account. - **Be refunded as money by itself.** If you think some of your credit should be refunded, [open a billing ticket](https://my.vpsnine.com/support/new?category=billing). When you delete your account, you have to agree to give up any credit left. On a [team](https://vpsnine.com/help/teams), credit belongs to the account, not to the person who added it, and pays the account's invoices whoever is logged in. ## Check it worked [Credit history](https://vpsnine.com/help/credit-history) lists every change to your credit with the balance after it. Each invoice paid from credit shows an **account credit** line, and its receipt says "Paid with account credit". ## Troubleshooting - **A renewal took credit you were saving.** Credit always pays first; there's no way to hold it back. Keep the amount you need for renewals, and [see what's coming](https://vpsnine.com/help/billing-overview) in the next 30 days. - **Credit didn't pay a top-up invoice.** It never does; pay the top-up with Bitcoin or PayPal. - **Your credit went down after a PayPal dispute.** If a PayPal payment for a top-up is reversed or refunded through PayPal, the credit it added is taken back, as much as you haven't spent. ## Next steps - [Add funds to your account](https://vpsnine.com/help/add-funds) - [Read your credit history](https://vpsnine.com/help/credit-history) - [Download invoices and receipts as PDF](https://vpsnine.com/help/download-invoices-as-pdf) - [Add your company details and VAT ID to invoices](https://vpsnine.com/help/invoice-company-details-and-vat-id) - See the plans your credit can pay for on the [plans page](https://vpsnine.com/plans).