Billing + Helpdesk Software Recommendations

Ok, here’s the deal:

Originally, I had been using the WHMAP software for my customers as a form of billing software to accept new signups for hosting packages. I was relatively pleased with the WHMAP software, support seemed decent, and we didn’t have any problems with bugs and what not.

However, recently (while our site is undergoing a complete redesign,) we had made the decision to move away from WHMAP and hire a programmer to develop a custom script for us which we would then use in conjunction with the CDGCommerce merchant gateway.

Unfortunately, the programmer had jumped ship, taking the money and basically disappearing. Unfortunate to say the least.

So we’re back to the drawing board concerning billing software. And I’d like some advice and what not concerning the following billing scripts:

ClientExec
WhoisCart
ModernBill
WHMAP
PerlBill

Now obviously I have done plenty of searches here on WHT, and additionally I have spoken with several people I know using the various companies listed above – however I am looking for *more* suggestions and advice, and a few answers to a couple of questions I have.

Questions: Do any of the above come with “e-mail piping” for their included helpdesks? This feature is VERY useful, and would be ideal.

How does WhoisCart compare to ClientExec? These are the two “budget” solutions and as always, conserving money is a good thing. So these happen to be very appealing. However, we do not want to sacrifice quality for a lower cost – so if these two scripts are incapable of effectively proving a billing and helpdesk solution, then we would scrap them and move on to the most costly solutions.

WHMAP or ModernBill?

ModernBill RIGHT NOW offers more features then WHMAP, but apparently the upcoming version of WHMAP is supposed to have pretty much the same features, and to be 100% honest, I really liked the WHAMP interface, and thought their customizable order forms were brilliant.

Could PerlBill be compared to WHMAP + ModernBill? Or is it an inferior solution?

Does ClientExec support automated invoicing? Someone mentioned to me that you must manually send out all invoices, which is a bit annoying. What about the “welcome” emails when customers sign up for your services, are these automated? Or do you manually have to create those as well?

If any of you have previously used any of the mentioned companies above, please let me know if you enjoyed the product, and what you liked and didn’t like about it.

I think that’s all for now. THANK YOU for reading this long post and helping me out. It is MUCH appreciated.

***Edit: Which of the listed producst allow you to create multiple levels of staff memebers that way you can have staff able to access the helpdesk, but not the billing information and control panel and what not?

Lacking this feature is not the end of the world, since we could just add a free helpdesk solution like OSTickets for the helpdesk - but it would be nice.

Hi,
We have used Client Exec, Perlbill and Modernbill at one time or another. With all things being equal Modernbill is the best IMO.

I would rank them as follows:

1. Modernbill
2. Client Exec
3. PerlBill


We originally went with ClientExec and like the program but at that time it was still relatively new and lacked some of the features we needed. Overall it was easy to setup and use although adding alot of packages was kind of a hassle.. The version we used did not support auto invoicing either.. :(

Perlbill: We used next, Not a bad program but lacked the polish of either MB or CE. The invoicing system never worked quite right and constantly sent out the wrong invoices or on the wrong days. Support was an exercise in frustration... We ended up hiring someone to look at it for us and to this day never figured out what the problem was... I have talked with a few hosts that use Perlbill and have heard the same types of problems haunt them as well..


Modernbill: We are currently using modernbill and while it was never designed for game hosting it works very well for our needs. The only major thing I never liked is the built in support desk. Out of the box it is a disaster. Once it is tweaked a bit it is at least functional. I would recommend if you like MB then go find a addon support desk. (Kayako etc)

Modernbill does have access levels you can assign per tech which is nice but the levels are either very restricted (can only view and reply to tickets) or too loose ( can see all clients packages and can change settings..) Not a great feature since in order to tech a server the support guys need to know who the client is and have his information handy but with the next level of access they are able to not only see the clients information they can also change internal system settings such as payment gateway info, invoices etc...


For a 'budget' solution I would go with CE. If you want something you know will scale with your business go with MB.

Hope this helps!

:D Thank you, that was VERY helpful, and just the kind of response I’m looking for.

If anyone else has further input, please share. :D

Firstly regarding Perlbill - the Perlbill makers are bringing out a new product in php called LogicBill - dedicated host billing software with similar pricing to modernbill. Licenses start at $99 for 100 clients, so it does start in the budget end of the market :) If you visit the forums at www.logicnow.com/forum then you'll find more information on it :) I've seen the demo, and boy does it rock - Well worth hanging back and waiting for imo!

Clientexec - I picked this myself to begin with because of its price, however, the price really has resulted in corners being cut! You can't charge for domains through it - that is a huge problem and basically makes it useless to all but the smallest webhost! The latest version has also been in beta for about 2 months, and still isn't stable. Best to avoid it in my opinion. No email piping.

Whoiscart - no experience with it, have heard good things about it though :)

Modernbill - its what I run now, and it simply is the most complete and most feature packed billing software available at the moment. It integrated with a ton of payment processors, loads of control panels, and plenty of domain registrars, and has loads of options :) You may need a degree in it to get the most out of it though ;) I def. recomend it, as it quite simply will do everything you want (just about anyway), but don't be put off by the huge number of features. Integrates well with www.kayako.com Kayako eSupport which is probably one of the best helpdesks out there, which includes email piping.

WHMAP - If your running WHM/cpanel and don't want to handle any billing aspects, this is for you :) Completely automates signup, and then bills clients again every month. Has domain integration with enom. Inbuilt helpdesk is pretty basic, v3 brings a huge improvement there, and everywhere else. Not quite as powerful as Modernbill at the moment, with v3 it should be (which is why I haven't sold my license for it yet :))

Overall:
1. Modernbill
2. WHMAP
3. Logicbill
4. Clientexec
(I can't rate whoiscart or Perlbill as I've no personal experience with it)

Hope that helps :D

Thank you, another great review.

Just so you guys know that are recommending Kayako though, I used the eSupport helpdesk as well, and moved away form it because you can really get the same basic features out of a completely free helpdesk as I was from eSupport.

Here’s a question -> With ModernBill and the other products that support domain name registration -> Can you simply charge the client X amount of money if they’d like a domain registered, but not necessarily have the script go ahead and register the name for you, but rather do it yourself when you have received the order? I used to do that with WHMAP. Reason being that I didn’t have an enom reseller account, and wanted to register the domains with RegisterFly. It worked out fairly well.

And please – some more comments on whoiscart! :D

Yes, ModernBill is highly customizable. You have over 350 configuration options to choose, and you can disable/enable modules as you wish. It is really a solution for anyone who thinks about future, and takes his business seriously.

We use a combination of:
Modernbill
WHMAP
Kayako
PHPLive

You guys need to take a look at DRAMS also. I uses WHM AP and Drams does everything it does and more - including domain management.

Modernbill is the best!

Originally posted by Shoey
Modernbill is the best!

Whys that then Shoey.. care to share your reasons?

Yes I looked at DRAMS also.

Does anyone know any sites (and they are willing to share – clearly not obligated,) that are using Whoiscart?

Modernbill + kayako nothing compares.

Originally posted by sysc
Modernbill + kayako nothing compares.

Again, what are your reasons sysc? Why does "nothing compare"?

IP Based Fraud Screening! Save precious time as the system automatically matches client IP to reported country and reports mismatches using a complex and lightning fast IDX lookup table.

Does anyone know how this works?

This is a direct quote from the Whois.Cart website.

Can you set it so that all orders that report mismatches do not go through?

I am curious.... what is DRAMS missing? I want to know what I missed.

Originally posted by Lucid-Felix
Does anyone know how this works?

From my guess, it does a lookup of the IP address of the ISP used by whoever placed the order.

For example, if someone who is using an *.com.au ISP, they can be assumed to be from Australia so if their billing information is that of a United States address then the script will be able to flag it.

I suppose it's a fairly good idea although there are negative impacts of completely blocking such orders. And there are also ways to fool such a system if the person is so apt on ordering.

The best way to go about finding out is to contact them directly as they know their software inside out while I only tried translating the meaning of the feature.

Thank you John, I have also posted on the Whois.Cart forums.

And Patrick, I never said DRAMS was "missing" anything - I just mentioned that I had looked at it before you posted that suggestion.

Originally posted by X-Gaming
Hi,
Modernbill: We are currently using modernbill and while it was never designed for game hosting it works very well for our needs. The only major thing I never liked is the built in support desk. Out of the box it is a disaster. Once it is tweaked a bit it is at least functional. I would recommend if you like MB then go find a addon support desk. (Kayako etc)



I hear eSupport (from kayako) can be completely integrated to work woth ModernBill, and so replacing the support desk feature of ModernBill. I have not used eSupport, but in my reviews so far it seems to the most feature rich HelpDesk system out there (in its price category).

Originally posted by sysc
Modernbill + kayako nothing compares.

Sysc,

Have you integrated ModernBill to work with eSupport (kayako)? If yes, how well does it work together?

Originally posted by sysc
Modernbill + kayako nothing compares.

Sysc,

Have to integrated ModernBill to work with eSupport (kayako)? If yes, how does it work well together?

PHP Invoice can handle your solutions if you need billing systems and email piping gateway. Check out their demo at http://www.phpinvoice.com also their price is make sense ($215).