Using WHMCS for billing only

[Prosperous]

Hey there guys, I just wanted to discuss a simple aspect regarding WHMCS.

 

I have used it before however I want to know whether I am able to disable specific features of the WHMCS installation. Reason-being is because I specifically want to use WHMCS solely as a billing system instead of a support and billing system. I have a forum set up which is where I want all support tickets and customer issues to be posted and really want to use WHMCS to deal with automated invoices and what not.

 

Can this be done? If not, does anyone know of a software that this can be achieved?

 

Before anyone recommends PayPal; you need to create a verified business account to be able to get the automated invoices feature. I currently have a normal verified PayPal account but if I choose to do it that way I'd have to generate manual invoices to every customer using my hosting service which could most definitely be time-consuming. PayPal business accounts also charge depending on how much you earn.

 

Thanks everyone and I hope to hear from you soon.

[b.ahmed]

You can't really disable functional in WHMCS admin area. But if you want to use it only for billing and support then you can "Remove" specific links from the client area by editing template files.

 

If you are using NO Branding WHMCS and you are good at customization the your members will never know that you are using WHMCS . you can just send them invoice or they can login to client area to pay their bill or for support.

 

PayPal verified business account is good if you really want o do some business and build trust.

they only charge 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction and automated invoice generation or billing doesn't require PayPal business account.

[Prosperous]

Can the removal of specific links from the Client Area be done easily and can I do it without voiding terms and conditions provided by WHMCS? I will be using the branded version of WHMCS I think; I'm a reseller from HostGator and they provide a free WHMCS installation so I have to dig a little deeper and see whether it is branded or not.

 

The only downfall with verified PayPal business accounts is that if I am charging small amounts of money, I would lose out a small chunk in comparison with larger sums of money, as well as the fact that I'd like to receive payments from PayPal, credit cards, bank transfers, debit cards, etc, without something having to have PayPal themselves. For example, if I charge a client $20 per month for hosting, I would receive $19.12 in total. However if I am charging $2 a month for hosting, I would receive $1.64 in total. I've also noticed that I'd have to open and register for a payment gateway which leads up to hundreds of dollars.

 

Are you sure that automated invoice generation or billing can be done on verified personal PayPal accounts? I've looked into it and I've noticed that you can only send invoices manually, which for a hosting service wouldn't be practical at all.

[b.ahmed]

WHMCS won't allow you to change the PHP code, It's also encoded so you can't even touch it

 

I'm talking about .tpl files. Templates files can be customized very easily without have much knowledge of PHP.

 

If you bought reseller plan from hostgator then you have a branded WHMCS. (with copyright link). Yes verified PayPal will work with automated invoice generation. Basically automated billing is feature of WHMCS not PayPal.

 

If you want to accept credit cards then you should visit : http://www.whmcs.com/partners.php you will find Quantum Gateway and it's only $10 per month for US based merchants another way to accept credit cards is PayPal website payment pro and it costs $35 Monthly.

[Prosperous]

Ah ok, so I wouldn't be able to remove anything from the installation itself, solely the header and footer.

 

I did indeed purchase the reseller plan from HostGator. Isn't invoice generation going to be the same as automated billing in the end? I know that the main difference is that it can be automatically done in the end in regards to receiving payment, however my hosting service isn't massive yet and I will still be able to manage the invoices prepared by PayPal. It's just a matter of whether the customer will pay on time before their accounts get suspended due to non-payment.

 

In regards to Quantum Gateway; you mentioned that they are only for US-based merchants right? Does this mean that they go by where the hosting servers are located, in my case, in Texas via HostGator? Or are they relating to me as a person, therefore living in Australia?

 

Another thing in relation to PayPal. Why would I have to use Website Payments Pro/Payflow Pro when I can use PayPal Payments Standard? Don't they both do the same thing aside from the fact that Website Payments Pro/Payflow Pro offers the service without the customer ever knowing about PayPal?

 

Thanks for all the help so far guys. I really appreciate it.

[b.ahmed]

The Quantum gateway is ONLY for people who live in US and have a valid Social Security Number.

 

Paypal Website Payments Pro/Payflow Pro is useful because the buyer never leaves your website during checkout and you will be able to accept credit cards directly on your website. There is no other difference.

 

Invoice generation and automated billing are same thing according to me. All the invoices will be generated automatically and if you have enabled the subscription option then the clients who selected to subscribe during checkout will be automatically billed.

[Prosperous]

Thanks very much for clearing it all up for me Bilal Ahmed, I appreciate it. I'll keep everything in mind that's been posted on here once I start figuring out what should be done with my hosting service.

[b.ahmed]

Welcome, let me know if i can help you with any other thing and what do you mean by "once I start figuring out what should be done with my hosting service"

[Prosperous]

Will do, thanks again.

 

I actually meant that in regards to organisation. I'm not sure what I should use and whether I should continue to run a forum and things like that. I've even considered becoming a free hosting service but I wanted to research on ways going about it.

[b.ahmed]

Running a forum is much easier than Free Hosting....

[Prosperous]

I meant the forum that's on my hosting service to begin with.

 

And if it's free hosting, I'm going to need a forum for some of my plans.

[b.ahmed]

ohhhh ok.

[zomex]

Hello,

 

I know you're question has already been answered but I just wanted to add some suggestions:

 

- Remove the links to the contact form and submit tickets from the homepage.tpl file located in the folder of the template you're using.

 

- Create a file called robots.txt inside the public_html directory of your website. Add the following code:

 

User-Agent: *
Disallow: /whmcs/contact.php
Disallow: /whmcs/submitticket.php

 

Add a new line for every support page you wish to tell the search engines not to index.

 

Regards,

Jack

[Prosperous]

Awesome, thanks very much for the suggestion zomex. I appreciate it.