Web Host Billing Systems
Every web host uses some sort of web-based billing system to ensure that their customers are able to be notified of new invoices, be able to pay them online as well have the ability to edit and update their contact information; there is a market for web host billing systems, although some companies prefer to build their own in-house solutions. Some of the current market leaders include ModernBill, ClientExec and WHMCS; all these systems contain multiple features, but all vary greatly from each other. Choosing a billing system can be a hard task because almost every system has many features and gateways built into it; however, if you work out which features you need then choosing a system can be made easy. The core features of most systems include automatic WHM account setup, automatic domain registration and invoice generation if a cron is used.
Identifying Your Needs
Identifying your needs is important when looking for a web host billing system; many systems have many features so it is important you know what you want when you are looking. Most web hosts require a billing system which has features such as a helpdesk, knowledgebase, downloads section and a client area where a client can manage things such as packages and invoices. You should also make sure that the systems you look at allow for styling and customisation so that you can change the design to match your site; if you choose to stay with the default design then clients are going to be more cautious about entering their personal details. You should also take security into consideration when choosing a system; some systems have known vulnerabilities, and warez copies are also available meaning that a hacker could easily hack a system by take advantage of one of the vulnerabilities, or by finiding a vulnerability in the package themselves; security should be something that is at the top of your list whilst looking for a billing system as you should always consider the confidentiality of the data which it will be storing. All web host billing systems come at a cost, but there are a few which are free as long as you don’t remove their coopyright notice from the footer of the pages; the following is a list of free web host billing systems:
- PHPCoin - http://www.phpcoin.com
- Adore 2.0 - http://freedownloadscenter.com/Web_Authoring/Automated_Web_Publishing_Tools/Free_Billing_Software_from_Adore.html
The following is a list of the most popular premium web host billing systems which are worth a closer look at:
- ModernBill - http://www.moderbill.com
- WHMCS - http://www.whmcs.com
The Final Choice
You should make your final choice based solely on your requirements; you don’t want to end up buying a package with not enough features, or one too feature packed you don’t know what you’re going to do with half of it. There are some features which all systems come with which can be easily waived, these include helpdesks and built-in knowledgebases; most hosts have another system for support features, such as Kayako or SupportTrio. When trying out billing systems, most web hosts only trial the administrator panel and not the client panel; your final decision should always be based on the client since you want to make sure that you keep your clients happy; it is for this reason that you should always trial the customer control panel as well to see if it is easy to use, if you find it easy to use then your clients will most likely find the same, which should keep them happy. If you are to use the built-in support solutions then you should always make sure that it is easily accessible from the client control panel; you should also ensure that you have email piping and cron jobs setup so that you are able to support your clients in a organised and respectful manner.
