> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nearbase.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Balance & Credits

> How account balance and promotional credits work on Nearbase

## Account Balance

Your Nearbase account has a **cash balance** — a prepaid credit balance you top up manually. When a payment is due (instance creation or monthly renewal), Nearbase deducts from your balance first before charging your saved card.

Keeping a balance topped up means renewals are processed instantly without requiring a card charge each month.

### Topping Up

1. Go to **Billing** in the console sidebar.
2. Click **Add Balance** (or **Top Up**).
3. Select an amount and complete the Stripe Checkout flow.
4. Your balance is updated immediately after the card charge succeeds.

Top-ups are processed via Stripe and appear on your bank statement as a Nearbase charge.

### Viewing Your Balance

Your current balance is displayed at the top of the **Billing** page. The balance panel shows:

* **Cash balance** — funds you have topped up
* **Promo credits** — any promotional credits applied to your account

***

## Promotional Credits

Promo credits are issued by Nearbase (for example, during a promotion, referral, or as a goodwill credit). They behave similarly to cash balance but with two differences:

| Property      | Cash Balance         | Promo Credits           |
| ------------- | -------------------- | ----------------------- |
| Source        | User top-up via card | Issued by Nearbase      |
| Expiry        | Never expires        | May have an expiry date |
| Withdrawal    | Not withdrawable     | Not withdrawable        |
| Payment order | Applied second       | Applied first           |

Promo credits are consumed before cash balance. Any unused promo credits expire on their expiry date and cannot be recovered.

***

## Transaction History

Every balance movement — top-ups, subscription charges, prorated refunds, and promo credit grants — is recorded as a transaction. To view your full transaction history:

1. Go to **Billing → Transactions** in the console.
2. Transactions are listed in reverse chronological order.
3. Each transaction shows the amount, type, date, and a link to the Stripe receipt (where applicable).

***

## Refunds

When you delete an instance before the end of its billing period, the unused portion of the subscription fee is returned to your **cash balance** as a prorated refund. See [Instance Lifecycle](/instances/lifecycle#prorated-refund) for details.

Refunds from Stripe (e.g., disputed charges) are handled separately and may take 5–10 business days to appear.