Unpaid domain renewals being processed

[Juanzo]

At WHMcs, if autorenew is enabled, WHMcs will generated an invoice for the client to pay if he wants to indeed renew the domain.

 

With for example Realtime Register, the domain will renew if autorenew is enabled, without caring if the invoice was paid or not (I'm still figuring out if this happens with Enom as well).

 

This way, we found several domains being renewed while the client haven't paid for it.

 

Do you guys cope with this in any specific way?

[brian!]

by not using Realtime Register?

try not to get confused by how WHMCS uses the word "autorenew" in this context - as you say, WHMCS uses it to decide whether to send a renewal invoice to a client... but a registrar will use it to mean that a domain should be automatically renewed with the registry.

 

http://docs.whmcs.com/Domains_Configuration#Domain_Renewals

 

you should be able disable the autorenew setting at Realtime Register by domain (or in bulk) ?

 

https://www.realtimeregister.com/faq#question3

 

with all our registrars, we have autorenew disabled with them - so until the renewal invoice is paid, the domain isn't renewed.

[Juanzo]

Thanks for the feedback brian.

 

I didn't notice https://www.realtimeregister.com/faq#question3. I've just tested it and it disables autorenew for all domains without any trouble.

 

I really like them as a registrar, and their WHMcs module works very well.

 

Are you aware if Enom for example, or any other registrar, does not sync WHMcs autorenew with their setting?

 

I believe this is the specific problem with it, since I understand WHMcs setting only determines if the renewal invoice will be generated.

[brian!]

Are you aware if Enom for example, or any other registrar, does not sync WHMcs autorenew with their setting?

I believe this is the specific problem with it, since I understand WHMcs setting only determines if the renewal invoice will be generated.

I'm not aware of any registrar that syncs the WHMCS setting with their own autorenew setting... though I suppose it would be possible to write a hook that would do it (depending on the registrar API).

 

i'm sure that somewhere in the documentation (though can't find it) is says to have auro-renew disabled with the registrar to avoid the situation that occurred to you - so now that you have done that with the registrar, it should solve your renewal issue.

[PascM]

If you have the autorenew (with enom) on, domain will renew, even if your client's invoice remains unpaid, so basically it's the same, have renew in enom, disabled and if your client needs to have this auto renew he/she needs to pay the invoice on time.

[twhiting9275]

If you have the autorenew (with enom) on, domain will renew

 

That's not controlled by WHMCS, that's an Enom thing, but correct.

[Juanzo]

It seems this problem might be affecting several clients that might not be aware of this.

 

If this happens with Enom as well, I believe a setting to disable "Autorenew" sync at WHMcs would solve this problems with any registrar.

 

Do you agree, or is there any other simple workaround about this? I'll create a feature request if so.

[brian!]

take a look at the WHMCS setup guide for Realtime...

 

https://www.realtimeregister.com/static/downloads/WHMCS_set_up_guide.pdf

 

on page 6, when talking about cron options...

 

Synchronize Auto Renew (syncautorenew)

it might be worth contacting realtime support about that to confirm that it syncs the auto renew status.

Edited June 27, 2016 by brian!

[PascM]

That's not controlled by WHMCS, that's an Enom thing, but correct.

 

Yes that's controlled by Enom but the rest ...from whoever runs WHMCS

[WHMCS John]

Hi,

We recommend ensuring any auto-renew options are disabled at your domain registrar and let WHMCS handle the domain registration entirely.

 

The auto-renew option in WHMCS controls the generation of the domain's renewal invoice: http://docs.whmcs.com/Domains_Management#Domain_Renewals

[Juanzo]

Just to confirm, Realtime Register has a fix for this since they are able to disable the synchronization of autorenew settings.

 

You need to call the cron like this:

 

modules/registrars/realtimeregister/cron/all.php?syncautorenew=0

[smithygotlost]

Sorry to jump on a thread but this is a real thing we have been discussing today. So with WHMCS auto renew on does that mean if they pay for the domain after receiving an invoice the API to whatever Registrar will then auto renew it automatically ?

[brian!]

if the domain is assigned to a registrar, it should attempt to - whether it succeeds might also depend on if you have the necessary credit balance with the registrar.

[smithygotlost]

Ok so by turning off the Registrars auto renew you dont get charged UNLESS the customer pays their invoice at which the API triggers the renewal their end Subject to credit... So in terms of registrars is it best to pick one and stick or can you move around ?? are there any down sides to moving or sticking ?

[brian!]

Ok so by turning off the Registrars auto renew you dont get charged UNLESS the customer pays their invoice at which the API triggers the renewal their end Subject to credit...

not quite.

with regards to domain renewals, there is an option in the settings that enables auto-renew on payment.

 

http://docs.whmcs.com/Domains_Tab#Auto_Renew_on_Payment

 

Enabling will renew domains automatically at the registrar (eNom, ResellerClub etc) when the renewal invoice is paid.

if this option is enabled, and if the domain in question is currently assigned to a registrar, then WHMCS will attempt to renew with the registrar on invoice payment.

if the option is disabled, or the domain is not assigned to a registrar, WHMCS will not attempt to renew the domain.

 

there's also a second semi-related function in the settings too - Create To-Do List Entries

 

http://docs.whmcs.com/Domains_Tab#Create_To-Do_List_Entries

 

When enabled, entries will be created automatically in the To-Do List when a domain-related action occurs that requires manual intervention. For example if a domain registration fails due to an error, with this option enabled an entry will appear.

so if auto-renew on payment is disabled, but this is enabled, you'll get an entry in the to-do list reminding you to manually renew the domain - the to-do list is visible from the admin homepage as a widget.

 

So in terms of registrars is it best to pick one and stick or can you move around ?? are there any down sides to moving or sticking ?

depends on your business and which TLDs you want to offer...

 

I guess in some ways, for some it's easier just sticking to one - but then it's finding the most suitable for your business in terms of pricing, support etc... we currently use 4 registrars to cover our TLD needs, but you also have to remember that some registrars will charge you to join them and that their pricing will vary, e.g to register a .com with privacy from OpenSRS would cost about $14; to do the same with resell.biz would be closer to $10 - which is around a 30% difference.

 

you can move your client domains between registrars to save money or get new features, but you'd have to transfer them - which, from a practical point of view, is usually easier to do closer to renewal... as some TLDs will add another year when transferred, so you can transfer and effectively renew at the same time.