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BigQuery: How to Enable Billing (Error 403)

Symptoms

When trying to run a pipeline with a BigQuery destination, the pipeline fails with the following error message:

403 Billing has not been enabled for this project

Or variations such as:

  • Access Denied: BigQuery BigQuery: Billing is not enabled for this project
  • Billing has not been enabled for this project. Enable billing at https://console.cloud.google.com/billing

This error occurs when the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) project does not have billing enabled, which prevents BigQuery from processing data.

Cause

BigQuery offers a Sandbox mode that lets you use the service without setting up billing. However, the Sandbox has important limitations:

  • Tables automatically expire after 60 days
  • Limit of 10 GB of storage
  • Limit of 1 TB of query processing per month
  • API write operations (INSERT, LOAD) may be blocked

Kondado needs to perform write operations to load data into BigQuery, which is why billing must be enabled on the GCP project.

Solution

Step 1: Access the Google Cloud Console

  1. Go to console.cloud.google.com
  2. Sign in with the same Google account you used to create the BigQuery project
  3. Select the correct project from the project selector (top menu)

Step 2: Enable billing

  1. In the side menu, click Billing
  2. If no billing account is linked, click "Link a billing account"
  3. If you don't have a billing account yet:
    • Click "Create billing account"
    • Fill in the payment details (credit or debit card)
    • Confirm the creation
  4. Select the billing account and link it to the project

Step 3: Verify activation

  1. After linking, go back to the BigQuery Console
  2. Check that the project appears without billing warnings
  3. In Kondado, click Test Connection on the BigQuery destination to confirm

Step 4: Re-run the pipeline in Kondado

  1. Go to app.kondado.com.br
  2. Navigate to the pipeline that had the error
  3. Wait for the next automatic execution, or trigger it manually

BigQuery costs

Enabling billing does not mean you will be charged immediately. Google Cloud offers:

  • Monthly free tier: 10 GB of storage + 1 TB of query processing for free
  • Initial credits: New customers receive $300 in credits to use within 90 days
  • On-demand billing: You are only charged when you exceed the free limits

For most Kondado customers, using BigQuery as a destination stays within the free tier or generates very low costs (less than $5/month).

FAQ

Do I need to pay to use BigQuery with Kondado?

You need to enable billing (register a card), but Google Cloud's free tier is usually sufficient for most use cases. Enabling billing does not automatically generate charges.

What if I use BigQuery with a Service Account?

Billing must be enabled on the project, regardless of the authentication method (OAuth or Service Account). See our article on BigQuery Service Account for setup details.

The error appeared suddenly — it was working before!

Possible causes:

  • The payment method expired or was removed from the billing account
  • The billing account was unlinked from the project
  • The project was moved to an organization with different billing policies

Check your GCP billing dashboard to confirm the project is linked to an active account.

Related articles

Still having issues? Open a support chat with your pipeline ID and a screenshot of the error.