🔍 What Is This Issue?
After your billing date, you may occasionally notice that your account still shows zero tokens even though your subscription is active. This happens when there is a short delay between your payment being processed by your bank or card provider and Search Atlas receiving confirmation of that payment. Until confirmation is received, the platform cannot automatically trigger a token refresh.
This is a temporary situation and does not mean your subscription has lapsed or that there is a problem with your account plan.
⚙️ Why Does This Happen?
Token balances are refreshed automatically once a successful payment is confirmed. Delays can occur for several reasons:
- Bank processing times: Some banks and card networks take extra time to authorise and settle a transaction, especially around weekends or public holidays.
- Card verification checks: Your bank may place a brief hold on the payment while it runs fraud or verification checks.
- Billing retry cycles: If an initial charge attempt did not go through, the billing system will retry automatically. Tokens are only refreshed after a successful charge is confirmed.
- Timing of the billing run: Payments are processed in batches. If your renewal falls at the edge of a billing cycle, there may be a short window before the system updates your token balance.
✅ What You Should Do First
- Wait up to 1 hour. Most delays resolve automatically once payment confirmation is received. Check your token balance again after a short wait.
- Check your payment method. Log in to your Search Atlas account, go to Avatar (top-right) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups, and confirm your card or payment method is valid, not expired, and has no outstanding issues.
- Review your billing history. In the Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing → Invoices tab, check whether the latest invoice shows a status of Paid or Pending. A pending status means the payment has not yet been confirmed.
- Check with your bank. If your invoice shows pending for more than a few hours, contact your bank or card provider to confirm there are no holds or declines on the transaction.
🚀 How to Trigger a Manual Token Refresh
If your payment shows as Paid in your billing history but your tokens have still not refreshed after 1 hour, you can request a manual refresh from our support team. This is the fastest way to restore full access to your account without waiting for the next automated cycle.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.
🛠️ How to Prevent This in the Future
- Keep your payment method up to date. An expired card is the most common reason a payment does not process on time. Update your card details in Avatar (top-right) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups before your renewal date.
- Use a card with sufficient funds or credit. Ensure your account has enough available balance to cover the subscription charge on your billing date.
- Enable bank notifications. Turn on transaction alerts with your bank so you are immediately aware if a payment is declined or held.
- Check your billing date in advance. You can find your next renewal date in the Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups tab of your account settings. Plan ahead if you know your card is due to expire soon.
📊 Summary
Token refresh delays after billing are almost always caused by a short lag between payment submission and payment confirmation. In most cases, waiting up to one hour resolves the issue automatically. If your invoice shows as paid and tokens are still not available, our support team can apply a manual refresh immediately.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.