Cloud Search overage billing FAQ

Here are answers to questions you might have about overage billing for your standalone Google Cloud Search account.

Questions

Open all   |   Close all

Why are you billing for overage charges when you weren’t previously?

Your Cloud Search contract includes overage charges, which are part of the standard Cloud Search billing plans. Actual usage and the contract terms for overages determine the charges.

During the first few months of your contract, Google was developing systems to automatically bill for overage charges and so didn’t collect them. Now that the automated billing systems are in place, you receive any applicable overage bills on a monthly basis.

What activities count for billing purposes, and how can I calculate billable count?

Your Cloud Search billing quota includes 3 types of activities: Queries, indexed items, and search applications. The calculations for each activity are:

Activity	Billing calculation
Query	A Cloud Search query counts toward your billing quota if you perform the query using the Cloud Search Query API and its response has HTTP status code 200 OK. Queries you perform using cloudsearch.google.com or the Cloud Search apps for Android and iOS do not count toward billing. The total number of qualifying queries in a given month represents your query consumption for that month.
Indexed item	An indexed Cloud Search item counts toward your billing quota if it meets both of these conditions: The item type is CONTENT_ITEM or CONTAINER_ITEM. Its indexing status is ACCEPTED or MODIFIED. Synonym items also count. Items with the type VIRTUAL_CONTAINER_ITEM do not count toward billing. To determine indexed item consumption, Google takes a daily sample of the number of qualifying items present in your Google Workspace account over a given month and calculates the average.
Search application	Third-party Cloud Search search applications count toward your billing quota. To determine search application consumption, Google takes a daily sample of the number of applications present in your Google Workspace account over a given month and calculates the average.

For the overage thresholds and rates that apply to your subscription, refer to your Cloud Search Platform contract or your Google Account team.

How can I check our usage to avoid an overage or adjust our budget for an anticipated overage?

Use the Cloud Search Stats APIs to check your billable usage. Specify the start and end date of a billable month and see the usage in the API response field.

• Query usage—Use stats.getQuery API and see the usage in the totalQueryCount field.
• Indexed item usage—Use stats.getIndex API and see the usage in the averageIndexedItemCount field.
• Search application usage—Use stats.getSearchapplication API and see the usage in the averageSearchApplicationCount field.

For more details, go to What activities count for billing purposes, and how do you calculate billable count?

How can I make sure the usage data in the bill is accurate?

Google’s event-tracking capabilities make sure that we count your query, document, or search application usage accurately. If you have concerns about the billable numbers, reach out to your Google point of contact or Google Workspace support.

How often do I receive an overage bill, and what are the payment terms?

For each month where you have an overage, you receive a bill within 15 working days in the following month.

Can our organization move to another Cloud Search package to avoid paying overages?

Yes. If you believe that your usage can consistently remain above the quota for your current Cloud Search package, you may move to a more suitable package at any time—even in the middle of the contract. For details, reach out to your designated Google point of contact.

_{Google, Google Workspace, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.}