--- title: "Google Cloud Private Offer Proration and Deadlines" url: https://www.fours.com/resources/blog/google-cloud-private-offer-proration/ canonical: https://www.fours.com/resources/blog/google-cloud-private-offer-proration/ type: Blog description: "Google Cloud private offer proration and deadlines: the three-month acceptance cap, Pacific end-of-day dates, start and term limits, and when to prorate." --- # Google Cloud Private Offer Proration and Deadlines > Canonical HTML version: https://www.fours.com/resources/blog/google-cloud-private-offer-proration/ 1. [Home](/) 2. [Resources](/resources/) 3. [Blog](/resources/blog/) 4. Google Cloud Private Offer Proration and Deadlines # Google Cloud Private Offer Proration and Deadlines Why a Google Cloud private offer seems to end a day after the contract, how far out the acceptance deadline can go, and what proration does to the first installment: every date rule, in Google's own words. 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"Summarize with Perplexity") Table of Contents - [What are the date rules on a Google Cloud private offer?](#what-are-the-date-rules-on-a-google-cloud-private-offer) - [How far out can the acceptance deadline be?](#how-far-out-can-the-acceptance-deadline-be) - [Why does a Google Cloud private offer’s end date look a day off?](#why-does-a-google-cloud-private-offers-end-date-look-a-day-off) - [What does proration do on a Google Cloud private offer?](#what-does-proration-do-on-a-google-cloud-private-offer) - [Should you turn proration on?](#should-you-turn-proration-on) - [What does Fours check before an offer reaches Google?](#what-does-fours-check-before-an-offer-reaches-google) - [Frequently asked questions](#frequently-asked-questions) - [Takeaways](#takeaways) _Google Cloud private offer proration is an option on monthly-billed private offers that has Cloud Marketplace prorate the charges for the first installment. It sits among the dates every offer carries: an acceptance deadline no more than three months after publishing, a start and an end on Pacific calendar days, and a seven-year ceiling that includes renewals. This cheat sheet gives each rule in Google’s words, and what Fours checks before an offer reaches Google._ * * * On October 8, 2026, Acme’s deal desk builds a Google Cloud private offer for Globex: $3,000 a month, billed monthly, for a contract that runs from January 1 through December 31, 2027. Globex’s procurement team wants until January 31 to sign. Its finance team asks whether the first month will be prorated, and Acme’s integration team asks why the API says the offer ends on January 1, 2028. Google’s date rules settle all three before anyone negotiates. The acceptance deadline can be no more than three months after publishing, so January 7 at the latest, and a scheduled start must come after the deadline, so a January 1 start needs a deadline of December 31 or earlier. A 12-month term ends “on the same day of the month after this duration”: January 1, 2028, the day after the contract’s December 31. And a contract that starts on the 1st has no partial first month for proration to change. ## What are the date rules on a Google Cloud private offer? **Google sets a rule for every date on a private offer and anchors each one to the Pacific calendar day.** The cheat sheet gives each rule in its source’s words and what to do about it; the rows that name Fours describe Fours’ own checks, from its documentation. Date The rule, and whose it is What to do **Acceptance deadline** Google’s API reference: “not more than 3 months from the time of publishing” Published October 8, 2026, the last deadline date is January 7, 2027. Fours refuses a later Expiry Date at create and submit, before anything reaches Google, and names the last date you can use. **Expiry time** Google’s Producer Portal guide: the offer “expires at 11:45 PM US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8)” on the date you select. Google’s API guide: a 2026-12-31 deadline is “12:00 AM Pacific Time on 2027-01-01” Tell the buyer 11:45 PM Pacific on the deadline date, and expect the API to show the following day. **Extending the deadline** Google’s Producer Portal guide: “within three months of when you extend the offer.” Google’s API reference: “at most 3 months from the time of publishing” Plan on the earlier date, three months from publishing. The buyer keeps the same offer URL. **Deadline on a replacement** Google’s Producer Portal guide: “before the current offer’s end date,” and before “the start date of the current offer’s next installment” Set it before the running offer’s next installment, inside the three-month cap. **Scheduled start** Google’s Producer Portal guide: “later than the date that you entered as the offer acceptance deadline.” Google’s API reference: “Cannot exceed one year from the time of publish” A December 31 deadline allows a January 1 start at the earliest. Producer Portal offers a scheduled start once automatic offer approval is on. **Term end** Google’s API reference: a term in months “will end on the same day of the month after this duration,” or on the month’s last day when that date doesn’t exist Give monthly, quarterly and annual offers a duration, not an end date; Google requires one. A 12-month term from January 1, 2027 ends January 1, 2028. **Total length** Google’s API reference: “including all renewal terms, cannot exceed 7 years”; “As of May 2024, we no longer allow unlimited renewals” Fit the first term and every renewal into 84 months. Fours checks the renewal count to match: at most 6 on a 12-month offer. **Last-day changes** Google’s Producer Portal guide: “If the offer expires in 24 or less hours, you can’t modify or replace the offer” Make changes with more than a day to spare. **Reseller plan start** Fours’ documentation: GCP starts a plan “at 07:00 UTC on the chosen day” Fours accepts today as a start only before 07:00 UTC, and otherwise names the earliest date you can use. **Time zone** Google’s Producer Portal guide: “UTC-8.” Google’s API reference: “day boundaries in the America/Los\_Angeles time zone.” Google’s payments guide: invoices on Pacific month boundaries, “UTC-8 or UTC-7, depending on daylight saving time” Count Pacific calendar days and convert in the America/Los\_Angeles zone, never at a fixed offset. ## How far out can the acceptance deadline be? **No more than three months after you publish.** Google’s API reference sets the cap: “When publishing an offer the deadline must be set to a time in the future not more than 3 months from the time of publishing. For example, if the offer is published on 03/05 at 1PM, then the deadline must be at or before 06/05 12AM America/Los\_Angeles time.” **The acceptance deadline is** the date by which the buyer must accept; in the API reference’s words, “A published offer not accepted by this time will expire.” Producer Portal reads a deadline date as the end of that day, so 12:00 AM on June 5 is a June 4 deadline: publish on March 5, and June 4 is the last date you can pick. Fours states the same limit as “today plus three months, minus one day, on Google’s Pacific calendar.” Four more rules can pull the date earlier or limit what an extension buys: - **It comes before the start.** In Producer Portal, a scheduled start “must be later than the date that you entered as the offer acceptance deadline.” The API states it from the other side: the deadline is “Before or equal to the scheduled start time of this offer.” - **On a replacement, it comes before the running offer moves.** “If you’re replacing an existing offer, the deadline must be before the current offer’s end date,” and if that offer has installments, “before the start date of the current offer’s next installment.” - **Extending it.** You can give the buyer more time without a new link: “The URL remains the same, and you don’t need to send a new URL to the customer.” Google’s two pages count the extension from different moments. The Producer Portal guide says the new deadline “must be within three months of when you extend the offer”; the API reference says “the extension is still limited to be at most 3 months from the time of publishing.” Until they agree, plan on the earlier date, three months from publishing. - **Leave a day’s margin.** Google’s guide to modifying an offer opens with “If the offer expires in 24 or less hours, you can’t modify or replace the offer,” so don’t leave changes to the last day. ## Why does a Google Cloud private offer’s end date look a day off? **Because Producer Portal and the API name the same moment from opposite sides of midnight.** Producer Portal reads a date in an end field as the end of that day, and the API records the midnight that follows, in Pacific time. Google’s example: “if you set the deadline to 2026-12-31, the effective deadline is 12:00 AM Pacific Time on 2027-01-01. The API displays the date as 2027-01-01, which means the UI and API dates don’t match.” Start dates don’t drift: a start-time field represents “the start of the day,” so “the dates in the UI and the API match.” A term reads the same way. Set in months, it “will end on the same day of the month after this duration,” so Globex’s 12-month term from January 1, 2027 ends on January 1, 2028 in the API. The contract names the last day covered, December 31, 2027; the API names the day the term stops. Three more details come from the same arithmetic: - **Month ends.** When that day doesn’t exist, “the offer will end on the last day of the month.” Google’s example starts on 01/31/2024 and, after 13 months, ends on 02/28/2025. - **Fifteen minutes.** Google’s Producer Portal guide says the offer “expires at 11:45 PM US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8)” on the deadline date, while its API guide puts a 2026-12-31 deadline at 12:00 AM the next day. Give buyers the earlier time. - **UTC-8 isn’t always Pacific time.** Google’s Producer Portal guide writes “UTC-8”; the API reference supports only “day boundaries in the America/Los\_Angeles time zone,” and Google’s payments guide gives Pacific time as “UTC-8 or UTC-7, depending on daylight saving time.” During daylight saving time the two are an hour apart, so count Pacific calendar days and convert with the America/Los\_Angeles zone. ## What does proration do on a Google Cloud private offer? **Proration is** Google’s option to bill a monthly offer’s first installment for part of a month. In Producer Portal, “When proration is turned on, Cloud Marketplace automatically prorates the charges for the first installment,” and “you choose whether Cloud Marketplace prorates based on the anniversary date of the offer or the first day of the month.” - **Monthly billing only.** Google’s API reference has one prorated interval, `MONTHLY_PRORATED` (“Monthly installments with proration”), beside `MONTHLY_NOT_PRORATED`, `QUARTERLY_NOT_PRORATED` and `YEARLY_NOT_PRORATED`. - **The first installment.** That is the installment Google’s guide says proration changes. It says nothing about the last. - **In Fours,** the Proration switch “Appears only with Monthly recurrence, and not for the Usage Discount Only pricing model.” Off, the default, “keeps every installment on the offer’s anniversary date”; On “prorates the first installment against the start date so billing lines up with calendar months.” Those are Fours’ words for its two settings; the choice between the anniversary date and the first day of the month is Producer Portal’s. ### A worked example, with and without proration Move Globex’s start to April 15, 2027, a scheduled start in a 30-day month, and keep the 12-month term at $3,000 a month. The proration-on column follows Fours’ description of On, with billing lined up with calendar months: Proration off Proration on **First installment** April 15 to May 15: $3,000 April 15 to May 1, 16 of April’s 30 days: $1,600 at a straight day count **Second installment** May 15 to June 15: $3,000 May 1 to June 1: $3,000 **Each later installment** Starts on the 15th: $3,000 Starts on the 1st: $3,000 **End of the term** April 15, 2028 April 15, 2028 Three cautions come with it: - **The $1,600 is illustrative.** Google’s private-offer pages give no formula for the prorated amount, and Producer Portal generates the schedule itself: “If you chose Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually for your offer’s billing frequency, you aren’t able to edit the fields of the installment schedule.” Read the amounts in its Payment installment schedule before you publish. - **Check the last stretch.** Both terms end on April 15, 2028, because a term in months ends “on the same day of the month after this duration.” Google’s guide doesn’t say how a prorated offer bills April 1 to April 15, 2028, so read that in the generated schedule too. - **A start on acceptance moves the first installment.** Without a scheduled start, the first installment starts when the buyer accepts, so its length isn’t known until then. Google marks the revenue share as an estimate “for offers with start dates based on customer acceptance that have proration turned on,” until the customer accepts. ## Should you turn proration on? **Turn it on when the buyer wants installments on calendar months; leave it off when they want every installment on the offer’s anniversary date.** Four questions decide it: 1. **Is the offer billed monthly?** If not, there’s nothing to choose: Google has no prorated quarterly or yearly interval. Fours also hides the switch on Usage Discount Only offers. 2. **Does it start on the 1st?** Then calendar months and the offer’s own months coincide, and there’s no partial month to prorate. 3. **Does the buyer’s finance team work in calendar months?** Then turn it on. Google creates customer invoices “on month boundaries in the US and Canadian Pacific Time zone,” and installments that start on the 1st follow the same calendar. 4. **Does it start when the buyer accepts?** Then the first installment’s length, and Google’s revenue-share figure, wait on the acceptance date. If the buyer needs the first amount fixed in advance, set a scheduled start or leave proration off. Decide it on every monthly offer. Fours’ documentation is explicit that “Fours always sends your choice to Google, so Google’s own plan default never decides it,” and a cloned offer keeps the setting. **On a replacement,** Google’s API allows a monthly offer to switch between prorated and not prorated unless the replacement is set to end when the offer it amends ends, where “The proration policy must not change”; a Postpay replacement in Fours carries the original’s setting over, read-only. When to replace an offer at all is covered in [renewing a Google Cloud Marketplace private offer](/resources/blog/google-cloud-marketplace-private-offer-renewal/). ## What does Fours check before an offer reaches Google? **Fours checks the acceptance deadline when you create or submit a Google Cloud private offer, before anything reaches Google, and names the last date you can use.** Its other checks cover proration, the term and the dates on a resale authorization. From [Fours’ documentation on Google Cloud private offers](https://doc.fours.com/gcp-marketplace/create-private-offer/#step-3-set-pricing-information): - **The deadline.** The latest Expiry Date is “today plus three months, minus one day, on Google’s Pacific calendar.” A later date is refused with a message naming the date you picked and the last one you can use, as in the documentation’s example: “the offer expiration date (January 5, 2027) is too late. Google Cloud Marketplace requires offers to expire within 3 months, so choose a date on or before December 22, 2026.” Saving a draft doesn’t check the date, and a replacement gets the same cap. - **Proration.** Your choice is always sent to Google, and the offer’s detail page shows it as On, Off or Not set (GCP default). - **The term.** An offer runs 1 to 84 months. With auto-renew on, the form checks the renewal count against Google’s 84-month cap on the first term plus every renewal: at most 6 renewals on a 12-month offer, 20 on a 4-month offer, and none on an offer longer than 42 months. - **End dates.** A monthly, quarterly or yearly offer can’t also carry a scheduled end date. Google refuses the combination, so Fours reports it on submit. - **Pacific dates.** Expire, accept, start and end dates show in Pacific time with a PST or PDT label for every viewer, matching Producer Portal. When an active entitlement’s end date drifts from its offer’s term, “usually by a day,” Fours moves it to match on its next sync. For a resale authorization, Google’s reseller private offer plan, [Fours’ documentation on Google Cloud resale authorizations](https://doc.fours.com/gcp-marketplace/cppo/#step-1-create-the-reseller-private-offer-plan) adds two date checks. The Start Time accepts today only before 07:00 UTC, because “GCP starts a plan at 07:00 UTC on the chosen day,” and Fours checks it again at submit, naming the earliest date you can use. The Acceptance Due Date counts today as a UTC calendar date, can’t fall after the End Time, and is refused after today plus three months, minus one day, on Google’s Pacific calendar. ## Frequently asked questions ### How far out can a Google Cloud private offer’s acceptance deadline be? No more than three months from publishing. In Google’s API reference, an offer published on 03/05 at 1PM must have a deadline at or before 06/05 12AM America/Los\_Angeles time. Fours refuses a later Expiry Date before anything reaches Google, naming the last date you can use. ### What time does a Google Cloud private offer expire on its deadline date? Google’s Producer Portal guide says 11:45 PM US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8) on the date you select. Its API guide describes a 2026-12-31 deadline as 12:00 AM Pacific Time on 2027-01-01. Give buyers the earlier time. ### Why does the API show a private offer ending a day after the contract? Because Google’s API names the day a period stops, while a contract, like Producer Portal’s deadline field, names the last day covered. A 12-month term from January 1, 2027 ends on January 1, 2028 in the API, the day after the contract’s December 31. ### What does proration do on a Google Cloud private offer? It prorates the charges for the first installment of a monthly-billed offer, based on the offer’s anniversary date or the first day of the month, as you choose in Producer Portal. Google’s API has no prorated quarterly or yearly option. ### Can you extend a Google Cloud private offer’s acceptance deadline? Yes, without sending a new URL. Google’s Producer Portal guide says the new deadline must be within three months of when you extend; its API reference limits an extension to three months from publishing. Plan on the earlier date. ### How long can a Google Cloud private offer run? Up to seven years including every renewal term, Google’s API reference says, and it has allowed no unlimited renewals since May 2024. In Fours, an offer runs 1 to 84 months, with the renewal count capped so the term and its renewals fit. ## Takeaways - Google caps the acceptance deadline at three months from publishing: January 7, 2027 for an offer published on October 8, 2026. Fours refuses a later date before anything reaches Google and names the last one you can use. - A scheduled start must fall after the deadline date and within a year of publishing, and a term in months ends on the same day of the month it started. - The API names the day a term stops, so a contract that runs through December 31 and an API end date of January 1 describe the same term. Tell buyers 11:45 PM Pacific for the deadline, and count in the America/Los\_Angeles zone, not at UTC-8. - Proration exists only on monthly billing and changes the first installment. Decide it on every monthly offer, and read the schedule Google generates before you publish. Fours builds Google Cloud private offers linked to the deal in Salesforce or HubSpot, checks the deadline and the renewal count, and always sends your proration choice, before anything reaches Google. For the rest of the Google Cloud motion, from fees to channel partners and co-sell, see [the complete guide to selling on Google Cloud Marketplace](/resources/guides/google-cloud-marketplace/). ## Sources Primary sources for the platform rules cited above. Last verified October 8, 2026. Cloud providers change fees, eligibility, and program terms without notice — check the source before relying on a figure. - [Google Cloud Commerce Producer API: REST Resource: projects.locations.privateOffers](https://docs.cloud.google.com/marketplace/docs/partners/commerce-producer-api/reference/rest/v1beta/projects.locations.privateOffers) — Last updated 2026-07-13: an acceptance deadline not more than 3 months from publishing, with the 03/05 at 1PM to 06/05 12AM America/Los\_Angeles example; an extension still limited to 3 months from publishing; deadlines only on day boundaries in the America/Los\_Angeles time zone, at or before the scheduled start; a scheduled start no more than one year from publish; a term in months ending on the same day of the month, or the month's last day, with the 01/31/2024 to 02/28/2025 example; 7 years including all renewal terms; no unlimited renewals as of May 2024; MONTHLY\_PRORATED beside the not-prorated monthly, quarterly and yearly intervals; switching proration on a monthly amendment, except under MATCH\_AMENDED\_OFFER, where the proration policy must not change - [Google Cloud Marketplace: Set up your offer's pricing](https://docs.cloud.google.com/marketplace/docs/partners/offers/set-up-pricing-model) — The offer expires at 11:45 PM US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8) on the deadline date; a replacement's deadline before the current offer's end date and next installment; proration of the first installment, based on the anniversary date of the offer or the first day of the month; a scheduled start later than the acceptance deadline, selectable once automatic offer approval is on; a duration required for monthly, quarterly and annual billing; the generated installment schedule, not editable for those frequencies - [Google Cloud Marketplace: Create and manage private offers using the API](https://docs.cloud.google.com/marketplace/docs/partners/offers/commerce-producer-api) — UI start-time fields mean the start of the day and match the API; UI end-time fields such as the acceptance deadline mean the end of the day, so a 2026-12-31 deadline is 12:00 AM Pacific Time on 2027-01-01, the date the API displays - [Google Cloud Marketplace: Modify a published offer](https://docs.cloud.google.com/marketplace/docs/partners/offers/modify-offer) — No modification or replacement if the offer expires in 24 or less hours; an extended acceptance deadline keeps the offer URL and must be within three months of when you extend the offer - [Google Cloud Marketplace: Review and publish your offer](https://docs.cloud.google.com/marketplace/docs/partners/offers/review-offer) — The revenue share is marked as an estimate for offers with start dates based on customer acceptance that have proration turned on, until the customer accepts - [Google Cloud Marketplace: Receiving payments from Google](https://docs.cloud.google.com/marketplace/docs/partners/receive-payments) — Customer invoices are created on month boundaries in the US and Canadian Pacific Time zone, UTC-8 or UTC-7 depending on daylight saving time - [Fours docs: Create Private Offer on Google Cloud Marketplace](https://doc.fours.com/gcp-marketplace/create-private-offer/) — Fours behaviour: an Expiry Date later than today plus three months, minus one day, on Google's Pacific calendar is refused at create and submit, before anything reaches Google, with a message naming the last valid date, and is not checked on draft save; the same cap on a replacement; Offer Duration from 1 to 84 months and the renewal cap; Proration shown only with Monthly recurrence and not for Usage Discount Only, Off by default, always sent to Google, and inherited read-only on a Postpay replacement; standard-interval offers refused with an end date; dates in Pacific time with a PST or PDT label, and entitlement end dates resynced to the offer's term - [Fours docs: CPPO on Google Cloud Marketplace](https://doc.fours.com/gcp-marketplace/cppo/) — Fours behaviour: a resale authorization's Start Time accepts today only before 07:00 UTC, when Fours' documentation says GCP starts a plan, and is checked again at submit with the earliest valid date named; the Acceptance Due Date counts today as a UTC calendar date, can't fall after the End Time, and is refused at submit after today plus three months, minus one day, on Google's Pacific calendar ## Keep reading - [GCPGoogle Cloud Marketplace Disbursement ReportOct 19, 2026](/resources/blog/google-cloud-marketplace-disbursement-report/) - [GCPGoogle Cloud Marketplace Sign-Up: Verify the JWTOct 15, 2026](/resources/blog/google-cloud-marketplace-signup-jwt/) - [AzureSell Professional Services on Microsoft MarketplaceOct 12, 2026](/resources/blog/sell-professional-services-on-microsoft-marketplace/) - [GCPGCP Private Offers: Committed Use DiscountsSep 30, 2026](/resources/blog/gcp-private-offer-usage-pricing-models/) [Browse every post on the Fours Blog](/resources/blog/) ### Stay Updated New posts, product updates and marketplace strategy are shared on LinkedIn as they publish. 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