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John Ajera
John Ajera

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Set Up Billing in GCP

#gcp #gcloud #billing #setup

Set Up Billing in GCP

Before you can use Google Cloud, your project must be linked to an active billing account. This guide shows how to verify and configure billing for a new or existing project

🔧 Step-by-Step Setup

1. Create or Access a Billing Account

  • Go to GCP Billing Console
  • Use an existing billing account or create a new one
  • Requires the Billing Account Creator or Billing Admin IAM role

2. Link Billing Account to Your Project

  • In the Billing Console, choose the billing account
  • Click "Manage billing accounts" > "Add project"
  • Select the GCP project you want to use

3. (Optional) Use CLI Instead 

gcloud beta billing projects link <PROJECT_ID> \
  --billing-account=<BILLING_ACCOUNT_ID>
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To list billing accounts:

gcloud beta billing accounts list
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To check if the project is linked:

gcloud beta billing projects describe <PROJECT_ID>
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✅ Confirm It's Working

Once your project is linked to an active billing account, you're ready to provision resources without encountering errors like:

Error 403: The billing account for the owning project is disabled in state absent, accountDisabled
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💡 Best Practices

  • Ensure billing accounts are not suspended or closed
  • Assign only necessary IAM roles to control billing access
  • For automation, use service accounts with scoped permissions
  • Avoid embedding billing details in code or templates

Proper billing setup is a one-time step that unlocks all GCP services for your project. Handle it early to prevent downstream errors and delays.

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