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If you are a non profit organization you will need to provide your IRS tax ID and organization registration number.

I wasn't aware that WHMCS offered not for profit licensing, but I'd be interested in learning how someone does not for profit hosting (intentionally, anyway).

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I wasn't aware either, but if Matt agreed to it (being the warm hearted person he is), the person requesting such "freebie" or at least a discount will need to provide details about the organization. So assuming his "organization" is registered, I don't see there being much of a problem.

 

But then it comes to what you pointed out - "non-profit hosting". This is quite funny really. Setting one up is a complete waste of time and how they will cope with paying necessary bills associated with the business when being a "non profit", I have no idea. Salaries, servers, licenses etc etc... has the world gone barmy? lol

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Yeah lol, I know, but in the end, is it really worth it? Sure, it's great being able to offer low cost services, but with domains and hosting, there's not a huge difference in pricing from one host to another. So there's not really a need for a "not for profit" running a hosting business, pricing wouldn't be much different and clients will wonder to think whether the host can be reliable...... hmm... would be interesting to see how well it does lol.

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Yeah lol, I know, but in the end, is it really worth it? Sure, it's great being able to offer low cost services, but with domains and hosting, there's not a huge difference in pricing from one host to another. So there's not really a need for a "not for profit" running a hosting business, pricing wouldn't be much different and clients will wonder to think whether the host can be reliable...... hmm... would be interesting to see how well it does lol.

 

Well I could imagine an organization that has a bunch of local chapters, or maybe a parent religious organization that might want to offer some kind of pre-configured website to their local congregations / chapters, at cost. I'm also aware of at least one (I'm sure there are others) ISP, located in a rural area that operates as a non profit. If the population is too sparse for big cable or telcos to offer internet service, a coop kind of arrangement might be the only option, other than satellite.

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Even in those cases, it is somewhat hard to fathom not being able to budget the cost of the software needed to do this work. Surely if you need a billing app you're charging something, and if you're charging something you can afford to earmark the cost of a license from that money?

 

you will need to provide your IRS tax ID and organization registration number

The IRS doesn't operate in Glasgow, to my knowledge. ;)

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Even in those cases, it is somewhat hard to fathom not being able to budget the cost of the software needed to do this work. Surely if you need a billing app you're charging something, and if you're charging something you can afford to earmark the cost of a license from that money?

Being able to fit it into a budget isn't necessarily the only reason for asking. Most senior citizens can probably afford a full price bus ticket, but it's not unreasonable for them to ask if there is a discount. If a charitable organization comes to me for hosting, I generally give them a discount. I don't imagine that 10% off makes or breaks their budget, but it's a few more dollars that they have, to do whatever good works they are in the business of doing. I'm sure most non-profits are more likely to need web hosting than a package like WHMCS, but that doesn't preclude the possibility that it might be useful in a few cases, rare though they may be.

 

I suspect it's this person again.

Maybe so, but it's a legitimate, pre-Sale question, that deserves a yes, no, or we evaluate it on a case by case basis, answer

 

I have no idea what a charity would do with a WHMCS installation.

While it might not be something frequently needed by most charities, I previously cited several examples, and to go a step further, it might be useful in one of those examples, even if no funds were involved, for allowing the child organization to manage the services provided by the parent organization, providing helpdesk services etc.

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I suspect it's this person again.

 

She seems to just trawl the hosting world, looking for free stuff. I have no idea what a charity would do with a WHMCS installation.

 

Nice one lol, thanks for pointing that out. And whoever you are (yes you, the one who's trying to get a freebie), go away and stop creating new accounts! If you want WHMCS, then buy it. It's only $15.95 per month. In my eyes, this is a bargain. Sadly yes, it does sound like you're only 13 and while I understand your issue with money, I do feel that you should give up. If you haven't got the money for a license then maybe you shouldn't be in the hosting business (or any other business for that matter).

 

Weirdly, I do actually have one girl who has a reseller account with me and it turns out she's only 8 or 9 (yes, you heard me right lol). And because this came to my attention, I will be making sure that all resellers are at least 16 years of age. I honestly think it should be a law because after all, they are running a business. Sigh.

 

Mate, whoever you are, purchase a license or move on lol

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whoever you are (yes you, the one who's trying to get a freebie), go away and stop creating new accounts!

Let's not be making assumptions. The two requests were not identical, though there was a small (repeat small) similarity between the two accounts. Nothing concrete it's the same person, so you might want to put out those torches...

 

it turns out she's only 8 r 9

You'd be amazed how many 'hosts' there are out there that are that age and even younger. I run into all sorts as a moderator on several forums, and the amount of well under legal age providers (some rather well known) is staggering. While it's a young person's technology, there should be laws to protect the buying public, IMHO.

 

Somewhere there are lawns that need cutting. Try that until you've reached 16-18.

Kids. :roll:

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I don't run a non-profit hosting company (although it seems like it), but the main reason that I started hosting was to give non-profit youth oriented groups an affordable solution. I do have several accounts that are free, (depends on the group) and some that pay a minimum, but that does not mean that I would apply for a free or discounted WHMCS. Mine is through my reseller and I am very happy to have started using it.

I guess it depends on how you look at things. (Still a bit confused with it, but learning)

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Not sure if I agree with non profits getting free licenses (if this indeed happens.)

 

It's fine for Matt to give a non profit a free license, at his discretion, out of his own pocket. But if it's an official WHMCS policy, then somewhere along the line it will become a 'tax' paid for by other users. In which case I prefer we all donate to a charity of our choice directly instead.

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  • WHMCS Support Manager

AS far as I'm aware minors can be tried in court under the various consumer protection acts, provision of goods acts etc. So in that way you are protected. But when it comes to entering into an actual contract then I think they would need to be 18+. However most hosting companies don't involve contracts in any case.

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At the time of signup, most providers have an agreement you need to adhere to to order, and in most (I know I have it) you have to check a box that you've read and understand those terms. That's as close to a contract as you can get on line, and it's binding enough to terminate an account and stand up in court if needed, so I'd suggest that in itself is a contract. Entering into one illegally because of being under the age of legal consent would be seen as breach of contract, nullifying (well, executing it's terms, if it includes age clauses) the agreement. In addition, these are often paid via Paypal, and they have restrictions on the age of account holders that would preclude many of these users if they didn't lie.

 

Chances are if there's abuse or financial fraud involving a minor and a host, the parents would be the ones on trial, as legal guardians. They are responsible for the actions of their children, or at least should be. I can't imagine any parent that's paying attention would allow or condone their 7-10 year old to open a hosting business and be selling in this manner. To me this feels more like they aren't paying attention.

 

It harms the industry, and there ought to be laws like regular labor laws that keep it from happening, but no one is regulating it. Example from actual labor laws: For regular employment, anyone under 16 can't work past a certain hour on school nights/days, and can't exceed something like 20 hours per week at work. Not a chance you can run a hosting business like that, but without anyone watching...

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Yeah, I guessed it would be like that. Many of us never read the terms and agreements anyway, and for those people under the age of 18 or even 16, they are even more unlikely to read them. The girl who has a reseller account with me, she's only 8 and her parents aren't even aware of her hosting people, collecting payments and so on.

 

It's the parent or guardians responsibility to ensure youngsters are not involved in things which may cause problems for other people, either personal or in the business world. A good example of why young people shouldn't be allowed to purchase reseller hosting - I recently obtained 102 clients from a girl under the age of 18 who had her own server, and she was desperate to get rid of her clients, she didn't have time for it and if she couldn't find new hosting for her clients in time, she would of had no option but to take all sites offline.

 

If parents don't know what's going on, things like this can't be prevented. Sadly there's nothing anyone can do, and suing a minor isn't something many people would end up doing. I will allow young people to have reseller accounts with me as I know I will support them all the way, but for other hosts it's a different story.

 

I don't blame people asking for free licenses, I would if I was running a "not for profit" organization, it's all for a good cause, right? I would imagine that 99% of places you ask would be more than happy to provide free or discounted licenses. Even advertising companies offer discounts, so Matt should think about offering at least a 50% discount to all "not for profit" organizations - a win - win for both.

Edited by dkent
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