🔍 Overview
This article covers the most common billing questions we receive: what happens after you cancel a plan, how refunds are processed, why you may be stuck on the onboarding page, and how AI credits work across your account.
❓ Why Am I Stuck on the Onboarding Page?
If you see the onboarding page every time you log in and cannot access any tools, this usually means one of the following:
- Your subscription is inactive. If a payment failed or your plan was cancelled, your account loses access to the platform tools and defaults to the onboarding view until an active plan is in place.
- Your account is in a pending state. After a cancellation or a failed renewal, the system may hold your account in a limited state while the billing cycle resolves.
- A new plan has not been activated yet. If you recently signed up again or changed plans, access is restored once the payment is fully confirmed.
To resolve this, ensure you have an active, paid subscription. Navigate to your account menu by clicking your avatar in the top-right corner, then go to Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Manage Subscription) to review your current plan status and complete any outstanding payment.
💰 How Refunds Work
Search Atlas operates on a subscription model. Here is what you need to know about refunds:
- Refunds are not automatic upon cancellation. Cancelling a plan stops future charges but does not automatically trigger a refund for the current or previous billing periods.
- Refund eligibility is reviewed case by case. Factors such as usage, the timing of the cancellation, and the specific plan purchased are all considered when a refund request is evaluated.
- Partial refunds may apply. In some situations, a partial refund for unused time may be issued at the discretion of our billing team.
- Processing time. Once a refund is approved, it typically takes 5–10 business days to appear on your original payment method, depending on your bank or card provider.
If you cancelled a plan (such as a $399 or $99 plan) and believe you are owed a refund, you will need to contact our team directly so your account and usage history can be reviewed. Refunds are never issued without a manual review — they will not appear automatically.
🔄 How to Reactivate Your Account
If your account is inactive or you cancelled and want to regain access, follow these steps:
- Log in to Search Atlas and click your avatar in the top-right corner.
- Select Billing from the dropdown menu.
- Navigate to the Plans & Top-ups section (Manage Subscription).
- Choose a plan that fits your needs and complete the checkout process.
- Once payment is confirmed, your account will be reactivated and you will have full access to all tools included in your plan.
If you previously had data, projects, or configurations saved, these are typically retained and will be accessible again after reactivation, provided the account has not been permanently deleted.
🤖 AI Credits: Pricing and Usage
AI credits power AI-driven features across the Search Atlas platform, including content generation, AI writing tools, and other automation features.
- Credits are included with your plan. Each subscription tier comes with a set number of AI credits per billing cycle. The higher your plan, the more credits you receive.
- Credits reset monthly. Your AI credit balance refreshes at the start of each new billing cycle. Unused credits do not carry over to the next month.
- Additional credits can be purchased. If you exhaust your monthly allocation, you can purchase additional AI credit top-ups from the Billing section of your Settings.
- Credit consumption varies by feature. Different AI tools consume different amounts of credits per use. More complex outputs (such as long-form content) use more credits than shorter tasks.
- Cancelled plans and credits. If your plan is cancelled, any remaining AI credits in your balance are forfeited and are not refundable as cash.
To check your current AI credit balance, go to your avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups where your usage and remaining credits are displayed.
🛠️ Common Billing Issues and Quick Fixes
- Payment failed: Update your payment method via avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Add Payment Method), then manually retry the charge.
- Charged after cancellation: Check the cancellation confirmation date versus your billing renewal date — charges that processed before cancellation took effect are not automatically refunded.
- Duplicate charge: Contact our team immediately with your transaction details for investigation.
- Wrong plan activated: Our team can review plan changes and advise on the best resolution.
💬 Need Further Help?
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.