Paid but your server isn't ready yet?

What happens between paying and a running server, how to check each step yourself, and exactly when to contact support instead of waiting.

4 min read · Updated Sep 24, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team

You have paid, but your server is not showing up or will not open yet? Setup is automatic and normally finishes within seconds of your payment being confirmed, with the first install of the game files taking a few more minutes. This guide shows what happens in between, how to see which step your order is on, and when to stop waiting and contact support.

What happens after you pay

1. Your payment is confirmed and your invoice is marked Paid.
2. Your order is accepted automatically and your server is created in the location you picked. Your service changes from Pending to Active.
3. The server installs its game files. The very first install and boot take longer than a normal restart.
4. A welcome email follows with what you need to get started.

There is no manual setup step on our side, so a delay usually means one of these steps is still in progress or needs a nudge. Work through the checks below in order.

Check 1: did the payment go through?

The page you saw after paying tells you a lot:

• Payment received! The payment went through and setup has started.
• Payment is processing. Some payments, for example ones your bank asked you to confirm, take a moment to settle. The page says your invoice will update automatically within a minute or two, and you do not need to do anything.
• A message asking you not to pay again, with a Check payment status button. The result was not confirmed while you were on the page. Press the button, and if it still cannot confirm, contact support with your invoice number (it is in Billing & invoices, and fast checkout shows it on a Get help with invoice link).

To see for yourself, sign in at customer.guavahost.com and open Billing & invoices:

• Paid: the payment is done. Go to check 3.
• Payment Pending: the payment is still being confirmed. Give it a few minutes.
• Unpaid: we have not received the payment. If money has left your account anyway, contact support rather than paying again.

Closed the tab halfway through paying? Card and wallet payments are still recorded once they succeed, even with the page closed, so check your invoice before trying again.

Check 2: can you sign in?

If you paid with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Link through fast checkout, your account has no password yet. Look for the Set up your GuavaHost account email and follow Set your password after an express checkout first.

Check 3: what does your server say?

Open My servers in your control panel and find the new server. Its status tells you where it is up to:

• Setting up: the order has gone through, but the server has not been created yet. Click Manage and the page says We're still setting up your server. It updates itself, so give it a few minutes.
• Installing: the server exists and is downloading its game files.
• Offline or Online: the server is ready. Click Manage to open it.

Not on My servers at all? On the Overview, click View all next to Your services to see every service with its billing status. Pending there means the server has not been created yet.

Note down your server's number in case you need support. It is the number at the end of the page address when you open the server, for example customer.guavahost.com/account/servers/123.

Check 4: is it still installing?

A brand new server may still be downloading and installing its game files. The server page says Your server is installing. and updates itself. Larger games take longer. When it finishes, the server is ready but may not be running yet, so press Start at the top of the server page and watch the console. Your first day walks through that first boot, and Server stuck on starting or offline helps if it will not come up.

If a server still says Setting up twenty minutes after your payment went through, its page changes to Your server hasn't finished setting up. That means something went wrong at our end, so contact support rather than ordering again.

When to contact support

Setup is automatic and fast, so do not sit and wait if any of these are true after a few minutes:

• The invoice is Paid but the service still says Pending.
• The service says Active but the server still says Setting up, or its page says Your server hasn't finished setting up.
• You were charged but the invoice still says Unpaid.
• You placed the same order twice by accident.

Reach us from guavahost.com/support by live chat, email or Discord. Include:

• the email address on your account,
• your invoice number (from Billing & invoices),
• the server's number if you have it,
• the game and location you ordered.

Please do not

• Pay again or place a second order. It will not speed anything up, and you may end up with two servers and two charges to untangle.
• Cancel the service to "restart" the order. Cancelling can remove the server entirely. Ask us instead.

Once your server is up, Your first day covers the handful of things worth doing straight away.

Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.

• order
• setup
• provisioning
• payment
• pending
• invoice
• getting started

Still need help? Our team is online 24/7 to answer questions.

Contact support