Billing Policy

Straightforward billing terms with no tricks. Here’s exactly how payments, refunds, and account management work at Papa Bear Hosting.

1. Billing Cycles

All Papa Bear Hosting services are billed on a monthly or annual basis, determined at the time of purchase. Monthly services renew on the same calendar day each month. Annual services renew on the same date each year.

Your first invoice is generated at account creation and covers the period from your setup date through the end of your first billing cycle. Subsequent invoices are generated automatically 7 days before your renewal date.

2. Accepted Payment Methods

Papa Bear Hosting accepts the following payment methods:

• Credit/Debit Cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover (processed via Stripe)
• PayPal: Available for monthly plans; not available for custom bare-metal quotes
• ACH/Bank Transfer: Available for annual plans and enterprise accounts (contact billing team)
• Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin and USDC accepted for annual prepayment (contact billing team)
• Wire Transfer: Available for invoices over $1,000 (enterprise accounts only)

All prices are listed and charged in US Dollars (USD). International customers are responsible for any currency conversion fees charged by their bank or payment provider.

3. Auto-Renewal

All services renew automatically unless cancelled. We send renewal reminders via email at 30 days, 7 days, and 1 day before each billing date. You can disable auto-renewal in your client portal at any time before the renewal date.

Failed payments trigger the following sequence:

• Day 0: Payment fails — email notification sent
• Day 3: Second payment attempt
• Day 7: Third attempt — account flagged as past-due
• Day 10: Services suspended (data preserved)
• Day 30: Account terminated and data purged (with 72-hour final warning email)

We don’t want to suspend anyone’s service. If you’re having payment issues, contact [email protected] before the suspension date and we’ll work something out.

4. Refund Policy

4.1 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

New customers who are dissatisfied with our service for any reason may request a full refund within 30 days of their first payment. This applies to:

• All Grizzly Starter, Kodiak Pro, and Polar Bear Elite plans
• New accounts only (one refund per customer, per lifetime)

Custom bare-metal builds and enterprise contracts are excluded from the 30-day guarantee due to hardware procurement costs. These orders are refundable only if we fail to deliver within the agreed provisioning timeframe.

4.2 Standard Refunds After 30 Days

After the 30-day window, we don’t issue prorated refunds for unused portions of a billing period. If you cancel mid-cycle, your service remains active through the end of the period you’ve already paid for.

Exceptions are made at our discretion for:

• Verified extended outages exceeding SLA thresholds (see SLA for credit terms)
• Duplicate charges or billing errors — always refunded in full

4.3 How to Request a Refund

Email [email protected] with your account email and a brief explanation. We process refund requests within 2 business days. Credit card refunds take an additional 3-7 business days to appear depending on your bank.

5. Upgrades & Downgrades

Upgrades take effect immediately. You’ll be charged the prorated difference for the remainder of your current billing cycle.

Downgrades take effect at the start of your next billing cycle. The lower rate applies starting on your next renewal date — we don’t refund the difference for the current period.

Plan changes that require hardware migration (e.g., moving to bare metal) may involve a one-time setup fee, which will be clearly communicated before any changes are made.

6. Taxes

Papa Bear Hosting charges applicable sales tax for customers in US states where we have nexus. Tax rates are calculated based on your billing address. If your organization is tax-exempt, email [email protected] with your exemption certificate before your first invoice.

International customers are responsible for any VAT, GST, or other taxes applicable in their jurisdiction. Papa Bear Hosting does not collect international VAT on behalf of customers.

7. Invoices & Receipts

All invoices are emailed to your account’s primary billing address and are available in your client portal. Invoices include a full itemized breakdown of services, taxes, and any applied credits.

If you need invoices in a specific format for your accounting department (purchase order references, specific company details, etc.), contact [email protected] and we’ll accommodate your requirements.

8. Cancellation

You can cancel any service from your client portal with 30 days’ notice, or contact [email protected]. Cancellation stops future billing — it doesn’t generate refunds for the current period.

Upon cancellation, your data is retained for 14 days to allow you to retrieve backups. After 14 days, all data is permanently deleted from our systems. If you need more time to migrate, let us know in advance and we’ll work with you.

9. Disputes

If you believe a charge is incorrect, email [email protected] within 60 days of the charge date. We investigate all disputes promptly and respond within 2 business days.

We strongly prefer resolving disputes directly. Filing a chargeback before contacting us may result in account suspension while we investigate. We’ve resolved every good-faith billing dispute in our history — please reach out first.

10. Annual Plan Discounts

Customers who prepay annually receive a 15% discount off the equivalent monthly rate. Annual plans are billed in full at the start of the term and are non-refundable after the 30-day money-back period, except in cases of material service failure on our part.