What is happening?
This error indicates that billing is disabled in the Google Cloud Project we are trying to push data to. Without billing enabled, we cannot perform the actions necessary for Alvie services to run.
Error: Billing has not been enabled for the project GCP Project ID. Please go to Google Cloud Platform and ensure billing is in place, or use a different project.
Why did this happen?
Sandbox Mode: The project is new and hasn't been linked to a billing account yet (GCP defaults these projects to a "Sandbox" with a 60-day table expiration).
Expired/Closed Billing: The linked billing account has expired, been closed, or has a failed payment method.
Dataset Expiration: Alvie detects a 60-day expiration date on the dataset, which is a primary indicator of a project running without billing enabled.
Follow these steps to resolve the issue:
1. Enable billing for a new project
When you create a new project, you are prompted to choose which of your Cloud billing accounts you want to link to the project. If you have only one Cloud billing account, it is automatically linked to your project.
If you do not have a Cloud billing account, you must create one and enable billing for your project before you can use many Google Cloud features. To create a new Cloud billing account and enable billing for your project, follow the instructions in Create a new Cloud billing account.
2. Enable billing for an existing project
1. Sign in to the 'Manage billing accounts' page in the Google Cloud console.
2. Select the 'My projects' tab to view a list of projects and the associated Cloud billing account for each project.
3. From the list of projects, locate the project for which you want to re-enable billing. Tip: In the ‘Billing account' column, for projects that are not linked to a billing account, look for 'Billing is disabled'.
4. In the project row, open the ‘Actions menu' (:), select 'Change billing', then choose the desired destination Cloud billing account.
If you are unable to select 'Change billing,' you do not have the necessary permissions to make this change. Refer to the GCP documentation Permissions required for this task for more information.
5. Click 'Set account'.
6. (Optional) After linking a project to a billing account, you can lock the link to prevent the project from being unintentionally moved to a different billing account or the link from being deleted.
Prevention & Tips To avoid seeing this error again:
Lock Billing: After linking, consider locking the billing link in GCP to prevent accidental disconnection.
Check Permissions: Ensure you have the "Project Billing Manager" or "Owner" role in GCP to make these changes.
If you encounter any further issues or need additional assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to the Alvie support team.