Creating a WHM/Cpanel Package

[infomike]

Hi There,

 

I have WHMCS succesfully creating packages in WHM/Cpanel, however when you List Accounts in WHM/Cpanel they all appear to be owned by root

 

I would like to be able to create a package that is owned by one of my resellers - currently I need to log in and manually change the ownership of the account and then upgrade it to get the right theme.

 

I have a WHM package called 'keysites' and in WHMCS Module settings I have the matching 'keysites' package in there. This seems to be working but is there a way I can automatically assign this newly created package to a particular cpanel reseller?

 

Let me know if I can provide more or clarify the information.

 

Thanks!

 

Mike

[bear]

The account will be set up with whatever credentials used to provision the account. In other words, if you're using root to connect to WHM, that's the account owner. If you set up a reseller account to provision accounts, and set up a "server" using those connection details and package(s), it will be set up as that user owning it.

Steps to take:

1. Set up a reseller in WHM
   
2. Set up packages for that reseller
   
3. Set up products to use those package details in WHMCS
   
4. Set up a new server in WHMCS to use that reseller's info
   
5. Provision account using that reseller/server
   

 

I'd recently taken over a company that had been manually setting up accounts; some used root, and others used one of several resellers on the box. Setting up additional servers within WHMCS using credentials of each reseller (and moving the root based ones to an existing reseller) allowed me to connect and manage those from within WHMCS.

[infomike]

Ah that makes sense now,

 

I am currently connecting as root as that's how the system was originally setup for us.

 

Does it sound ok to keep using root for most of our stuff but for this particular package setup a second "server" with the reseller credentials - in effect make whmcs think you have two servers but its actually the same server with two sets of login details?

 

 

Mike

[bear]

It's preferable to *never* use root to connect, instead opting for a reseller account with elevated privileges, but if you must, using the password hash and secure connections helps secure it a little bit. In the case of provisioning accounts with reseller privileges, we set up the reseller's hosting account, then add reseller privileges through WHM after the fact.

[WHMCS John]

Yup, that's definitely the most secure way to do it bear.

[bridge476]

Sorry, but I am confused. Please help out an old man. Okay, so you have a reseller set up in WHM/cPanel and WHMCS. First questoin - how does the new customer know to set up their account through WHMCS with that reseller?

[WHMCS John]

The client doesn't need to know anything, it's all automated by WHMCS. They just sign up using your order form.

[bridge476]

This may seem elementary to you, What is the key by which WHMCS knows that it is to assign the new customer to a given reseller?

Thanks for the help.

[bridge476]

I'd recently taken over a company that had been manually setting up accounts; some used root, and others used one of several resellers on the box. Setting up additional servers within WHMCS using credentials of each reseller (and moving the root based ones to an existing reseller) allowed me to connect and manage those from within WHMCS.

 

Are yo saying here that a physical server can be set up in WHMCS more than once?

Thanks for the help.

[bear]

This may seem elementary to you, What is the key by which WHMCS knows that it is to assign the new customer to a given reseller? .

By whatever reseller account is used to set up the account. If you set up reseller A in WHMCS, and sell a package that uses that reseller "server" to provision accounts for it, it uses that reseller...

Are yo saying here that a physical server can be set up in WHMCS more than once?

Yes. Let's say you needed a reseller that used your main domain's name servers, and one that offered "white label" anonymous name servers. In WHMCS, you create 2 "servers", one using each reseller's login info, with "reseller 1" being the main domain and "reseller 2" the anonymous nameservers.

They are both located on the one physical server.

 

Sell account A as 'regular', using reseller1, and sell account B as a "white label" account using reseller2.

Account A is owned by reseller1, using the main reseller domains name servers.

Account B is owned by reseller2, with anon name servers.

[bridge476]

Thanks for the info, bear. Is there anyway to email or PM for more info? Thanks.

[bear]

You can PM me, but I'm just a user like you are, and in no way connected to WHMCS other than helping on the forum. Most often it's best to keep discussion about the script(s) public in the forum, since it might help someone else.

[bridge476]

Thanks, bear. I understand. With that being said, my next question is why would I want to make available a resellers packages on my site? In that case, I don't see a need for the reseller.

[bear]

Only a reseller or above can create an account in WHM (for instance), so you need to have reseller privileges or above to utilize WHMCS for creating accounts. You should avoid using root, because it's an unnecessary risk connecting with that level of access. That leaves creating a reseller account for the creation and management of accounts on your server(s). If you don't have a need to offer separate package types or anonymous nameservers and so forth, make one reseller, and use that for creating accounts on the server.

 

My situation needed more than one. Yours may not.

[bridge476]

Is there a step by step guide for creating a complete reseller account in WHM/cPanel and WHMCS, from start to finish? There is nothing in WHMCS docs that I can find, and scarcely little here in the forums.

 

Any help and/or direction would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[bear]

Simply create an account in WHM (through WHMCS or directly) and in WHM look for the link to the "reseller center". Find the account, and use that to add reseller privileges.

 

No documentation?

WHMCS:

http://wiki.whmcs.com/Main_Page

 

WHM/Cpanel:

WHM user guide: http://docs.cpanel.net/twiki/bin/view/AllDocumentation/WHMDocs/

Account functions: http://docs.cpanel.net/twiki/bin/view/AllDocumentation/WHMDocs/AcctFunctions

Create new account: http://docs.cpanel.net/twiki/bin/view/AllDocumentation/WHMDocs/CreateAccount

Reseller info: http://docs.cpanel.net/twiki/bin/view/AllDocumentation/WHMDocs/WhmResellers

Add reseller privileges: http://docs.cpanel.net/twiki/bin/view/AllDocumentation/WHMDocs/AddPrivs

[bridge476]

Thanks anyway.

 

Stewart

[bear]

Thanks anyway.

Maybe I've misunderstood your meaning, but "thanks anyway" seems to imply I didn't help you at all.

 

I gave you links to documentation that explains it completely and perfectly. What more did you want, someone to do this for you, or to spell out the steps one by one?

[bridge476]

bear -

 

Not at all. You have been a good source of info. It is just that the links you supplied, I am familiar with already. I have read them until the words are about to fall off the monitor.

 

I am sure that the documentation does explain it completely and perfectly for some. I have just not been able to put it together yet.

 

I must apologize, as I did not mean for you to infer that I meant anything other than I know you are trying to help, but it was not what I was looking for.

 

And yes, I requested a step-by-step instructional guide as I am not getting anywhere otherwise. I just assumed that it was written somewhere, but I hadn't been able to find it. I have been struggling with this software (reseller is just the lasted hurdle) for quite some time. I am envious of those to whom it seems to come so easily.

 

Again, my apologies.

[bear]

No harm done, the written word sometimes gets taken the wrong way.

 

In WHM, locate "create account" in the left column and do so; then locate "reseller center" and grant reseller privileges to the account you'd just made; done.

 

Not meaning to impugn you in any way, but if you're having that much difficulty learning how to create a reseller account in WHM, are you sure you're ready to be selling hosting? It's a point and click, two or three step process at most. There's a lot more to hosting than simply selling and setting up an account; you also need to support that account and the users that are on your server(s). It's a complicated job some days, and many people will be relying on you. Are you prepared to support them, and are only having trouble with this one thing?

[bridge476]

I have done the WHM end of the task. I think that I have completed the work in WHMCS as well. What I do not get right now (among other things), is how the resellers clients sign up. I am certainly not going to show both my products and the resellers products on the same order page.

 

BTW, I have customer support, server admin for 5 servers and client referrals outsourced. I coded most the the template work myself. That was a piece of cake. I want to get past this, so I can market again.

[bear]

I have done the WHM end of the task. I think that I have completed the work in WHMCS as well. What I do not get right now (among other things), is how the resellers clients sign up. I am certainly not going to show both my products and the resellers products on the same order page.

For one, you can create a page to highlight the packages that are for shared hosting, and another page for resellers. You link from each page to the packages that represent that type of hosting.

In WHMCS, you would set up a product, and specify it's a reseller or shared "type". I created a group for each, to help isolate things from each other and make them easier to differentiate. So I made a reseller group, then created packages for that group. I then made a separate page/section on my site to display those packages.

 

BTW, I have customer support, server admin for 5 servers and client referrals outsourced. I coded most the the template work myself. That was a piece of cake. I want to get past this, so I can market again.

Terrific. As long as you have the care of your customers sorted, I don't have any personal complaints or comments to add. Credit to you for having thought of it so thoroughly.

[bridge476]

I would have thought that the reseller would have their own site, to sell my server space, through the provisioning that they purchased from my site. In other words, The reseller would operate their business independently, creating accounts on my server using the assets they purchased. The resellers "hardware" would be the space on my HDD.

 

For the reseller to purchase that space, would require a page on my site that they could sign up from. Just like any other product that I offer. Their site would carry the sales pages, billing pages, etc. for their own clients. Independent.

 

It would appear that this is what is confusing me.

[bear]

Ah, I get it.

Your resellers don't use your WHMCS install to sell their own accounts. It's up to them to set up a way to sell shared accounts from their reseller account with you. WHMCS is a top level sales product, not (natively) a tiered product that you have subsellers under you with their own login to WHMCS.

 

This may present an opportunity for you to become a WHMCS partner and resell the script to your resellers...

[bridge476]

So you see my confusion. Now that I am getting the jist of "how things are", it doesn't seem to me, that that would present any benefit to the "hardware holder".

 

To me the idea would be to get more than one sales page out there, selling the same product. That's why the automobile manufacturers have dealers, "resellers" if you will. It doesn't make much sense to me, to put all the resellers on the mfr's property, using the same phones, secretaries, break rooms - assets, to make a sale.

 

I understand now why I couldn't find the info that I thought should have been out there.