1. New Customer Timeline: From Checkout to Provisioning (6 Stages)
netcup uses an automated direct-invoicing workflow. Here is the standard progression from order submission to root access:
| Stage | Trigger Timeline | Email Notification / Status | Action Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| ① Order Submission | T + 0 min | Order confirmation / Bestellbestätigung | Submit checkout with your Latin-script contact details. Avoid duplicate submissions. |
| ② CCP Account Issuance | 5–30 min after checkout | Customer Control Panel login details (Kundennummer) | Click the activation link in your email to set a secure password for your CCP account (customercontrolpanel.de). |
| ③ Initial Invoice Generation | Simultaneous with account email | Invoice / Rechnung (PDF attached) | No identity verification or passport upload is required. The initial invoice is attached directly to your new account. |
| ④ Settle Invoice in CCP | Immediate | Visible under CCP > Invoices as Unpaid | Log in to CCP, click Pay now next to the pending invoice, and pay via PayPal or Visa/Mastercard. |
| ⑤ Automated Payment Clearing | 3–15 min after payment | Payment confirmation / Rechnungsbestätigung | System automatically allocates KVM hypervisor resources and triggers operating system deployment. |
| ⑥ KVM Provisioning & SCP Credentials | Immediately upon build | Server Control Panel login credentials | Log in to servercontrolpanel.de with your assigned root password to manage firewall, snapshots, and rDNS. |
2. Checkout Form Field Standards (“New here?” Registration)
When clicking Proceed to checkout, select New here?. Ensure all contact fields match your physical billing details in standard Latin characters:
| Form Field | Recommended Input | Validation Rules & Anti-Fraud Safeguards |
|---|---|---|
| Account type | Select Individual | Selecting Business requires corporate registration documents and tax IDs. |
| First name / Last name | John / Doe (matching payment method) | Must match your payment card name. Fictitious aliases trigger automated rejection. |
| Street & House number | Main Street 124, Apt 4B | Must include a specific house/building number; bare city names are rejected. |
| Postal code & City | 10001 / New York | Postal code must correspond to the city. |
| Country | Your genuine country of residence | IP geolocation should match your billing country. |
| Telephone number | +12125550199 (with country code) | Must include international prefix corresponding to country. |
| E-Mail address | Standard email (Gmail, Outlook, custom domain) | Avoid disposable temp-mail domains; must receive netcup dispatch notices. |
3. 2026 Policy Update: Identity Verification Completely Eliminated
Older tutorials referencing mandatory Stripe camera scans or switching to prepayment are now obsolete:
- No ID or Selfie Uploads: netcup has eliminated third-party identity scanning. International and European customers alike are no longer subjected to passport scanning or webcam biometric checks.
- Direct CCP & Invoicing: After placing an order, netcup creates your CCP customer account and issues an initial invoice. Simply sign in to the CCP, pay with PayPal or a credit card, and your server will be provisioned automatically.
- Standard Anti-Fraud Safeguards: While identity documents are not collected, automated fraud heuristics still monitor address coherence, telephone prefixes, and proxy IP consistency.
4. 0% VAT Invoicing for Non-EU Customers
All prices on ServerFakt are shown at 0% VAT (tax-excluded net) by default, whereas netcup’s German storefront initially displays 19% German VAT until you enter your billing country. Under European tax directives, customers outside the EU (and EU VIES businesses) are billed at 0% VAT net prices:
| Customer Category | Applicable VAT Rate | Billing Calculation | RS 1000 G12.5 (12M) Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-EU Customers (US, UK, Switzerland, China, Singapore, etc.) | 0% (Tax Exempt) | Net Price = German Gross ÷ 1.19 (~16% discount) | €18.26 / mo (0% VAT excl. tax) (vs €21.73 gross) |
| EU Businesses with verified VIES VAT ID | 0% (Reverse Charge) | Enter EU VAT ID in CCP for net billing | €18.26 / mo (0% VAT) |
| German Individuals & Non-VAT Entities | 19% (Standard DE VAT) | Standard gross list price | €21.73 / mo (incl. 19% DE VAT) |
| Austrian / Dutch Individuals | 20% (AT) / 21% (NL) | (Gross ÷ 1.19) × (1 + National Rate) | €21.91 / mo (incl. 20% AT VAT) |
5. Payment Methods & Avoiding Currency Conversion Loss
| Payment Method | Billing Mechanism | Clearing Speed | Practical Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal (Recommended) | Manual invoice payment in CCP | Instantaneous | Supports Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover linked cards. |
| Credit Card | One-time or recurring billing in CCP | Instantaneous | Requires active 3D Secure verification. |
| SEPA Direct Debit | Auto-debit from Eurozone IBAN | 1–2 business days | Ideal for Wise, N26, Revolut EUR accounts. |
| International Wire Transfer | Manual SWIFT to German IBAN | 2–5 business days | High wire fees; not recommended for individual servers. |
Official payment details: netcup Payment Methods.
PayPal Currency Tip: During PayPal checkout, click See currency options and choose Pay in EUR rather than letting PayPal convert to your domestic currency. Your bank’s wholesale exchange rate is typically 3%–4% cheaper than PayPal’s retail markup.
6. 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee & Fixed Renewal Rates
- 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: First-time orders of Root Servers and Webhosting packages include a 30-day satisfaction guarantee via the CCP. (Note: VPS, VPS ARM, and VPS Lite plans are excluded).
- Guaranteed Renewal Rates: Your contracted monthly rate remains locked indefinitely across renewal cycles with no post-promotional price jumps.