Billing Cycles

Types of Billing and Billing Cycles

Billing cycles are the periods between each invoice you receive. Hostwinds offers several different lengths of billing cycles outlined below:

• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Semi-Annually
• Annually
• Biennially
• Triennially

Hostwinds utilizes different billing styles to create invoices for clients. Using these, we can provide services at the best price possible. Most Hostwinds' billing practices lie within Anniversary Billing and, to a lesser degree, Hourly Billing.

The following describes how our Billing Cycles work.

How Anniversary Billing Works

In short: The day of the month you started an account with Hostwinds is the date billed from then on.

A deeper explanation: The due dates of all newly purchased products match the same day of the month that you first became a Hostwinds client by default.

Furthermore, all newly purchased services have their first invoice prorated so that your Anniversary Date becomes that service's due date.

For example, if you become a client of Hostwinds on September 1st and then later purchase a new service on October 30th, the first invoice you receive would list only the 30th through October 31st.

Hostwinds does this so that the service you ordered on October 30th is due on the 1st of each month. Thus, Hostwinds matches your recurring due date and consolidates your services into one easier-to-understand invoice.

How to change your Billing Cycle

Note: To make any changes to your billing cycle, you must log in to the Hostwinds Client Area.

From the Client Area home page, click the Billing dropdown link on the top menu of the dashboard. Selecting the Manage Billing Dates link in the dropdown moves you to the Billing Cycle Management page.

You will see all the services and add-ons that use billing cycles to generate invoices from here. The table shows:

• The Products/Services that are in use. Note: Addons are attached to their parent Service/Product using a dropdown in the respective Service/Product's row.
• Pricing of the service and the cycle length for which we charge you.
• The upcoming billing due date.
• The status of the Product/Service is shown.

On each of the Service/Product rows, an Actions dropdown link provides you with the option to change your billing cycle or change the next due date of the charge.

To change your billing cycle, select the appropriate link from the Actions dropdown and choose from the list of cycles available. Note that we outlined these choices earlier in this article.

Change your due date by clicking the appropriate Actions dropdown link.

You can change your billing cycle at any time here. However, changing your billing cycle will create an invoice for the next renewal (on the selected billing cycle). You must pay this invoice on the same day before you can change your cycle, and as soon as you have paid your invoice, the billing cycle changes to your new preferences.

Additionally, you can set all your Service/Product billing at the top of the table to charge you on your anniversary date. You can use the calendar to change the date that you are billed. In doing so, you will need to pay the current amount owed.

How Hourly Billing works

In short: You are only billed for the exact hours you use a service.

A deeper explanation: Hourly billing only bills you for the time that your service is in use. This way, you can use this service for as long as you need and not have to pay for it any longer than the time of possession.

Hourly Billing Invoices come due on the 1st of each month following the use of the products. These will be seen in your Invoices, not your billing cycle statements.