I've been searching around this forum for software to manage my new hosting business and can't quite find what I was after. I thought it easier to try and knock it over in one thread.
Here goes...

Do people buy templates for their hosting companies or do you code them yourself?

Do templates have the required 'backend' to managed customers orders?

I also need some suggestions on billing software that will automatically send out emails a month or so before my clients "time is up".

I have purchased web space from a reseller in the past and noticed an automatic email sent to me with all my login details for cpanel and ftp. Any ideas on where I would get such an animal? or is this generally part of the back end of the web site?


I think thats about enough questions from the newbie for now.

Thanks in advanced
Matt

Hi
Well the templates depend on what type of templates you are talking about there are full site templates just templates for a web content mangers like (phpwebsite). Then there is a program that I have on my site called sitestudio which is a full site building program that uses templates.

Account software there is 3 standalone that I have read about but I use clientExec which is not completly auto send you have to run a script thought admin once a day to ensure emails are sent.

I myself have been doing some templates for phpwebsite so yes some web host do do template.

Originally posted by Silverwolfe
Hi
Well the templates depend on what type of templates you are talking about there are full site templates just templates for a web content mangers like (phpwebsite).

Sorry, I should not have said template. You can buy completed sites that you just need to add your logo to and some text. I'm not sure what to call them, it's more than just a skin.

Hi again

Then you may want to look at phpcoin it will do auto emails and can be themed to look just they way you want it to but you will have to work at it. It is not one of the more easer programs to work with but it can be done. One more thing you have to buy a license for it.

Hi mattsummons,

I also need some suggestions on billing software that will automatically send out emails a month or so before my clients "time is up".

I have purchased web space from a reseller in the past and noticed an automatic email sent to me with all my login details for cpanel and ftp. Any ideas on where I would get such an animal? or is this generally part of the back end of the web site?
There are many options of softwares to do all that things. You can find scripts that help you with your billing and management and aditionally some of them can create your accounts in the server, send the welcome email to the client and more...

Some of the options are: WHMAutopilot (My personal favorite), Modernbill, LPanel, ClientExec and E-bills..

Hope it helps!

myiBizPanel is fully automated. It has automated setup, billing, payments with check, merchant account or Pay Pal and it has separate welcome letters for resellers and direct clients.

It also has functionality like a shopping cart, where you can add other products besides hosting and domains, and generate links for your website, where people can click to buy that product. So you could use it to setup payment accounts for all your clients, on iBizPanel, cPanel, or any other server you have.

It can be fully branded and the software license includes up to 5000 websites at no additional charge.

Originally posted by mattsummons
I also need some suggestions on billing software that will automatically send out emails a month or so before my clients "time is up".

I'd highly recommend against having that type of a billing setup. Do all of your billing through subscriptions where your clients are billed automatically. This will reduce your customer churn rate, eliminate any time you'll have to spend tracking down people to make hosting payments, and remove an unnecessary hassle for your clients.

PayPal.com and 2Checkout.com :)

Hi mattsummons,

It sounds like you don't have too much experience in the industry - at least not on the business side. I would recommend going with a reseller partner that can provide everything you would need so you can learn as much as you can without getting in over your head. Resellers Panel (http://www.resellerspanel.com) would be a good pick.

I agree. Find a reseller plan that offers you automated client billing & notification features. Especially if you are new to reselling. Why spend time on trying to import something and integrate it into your control panel when you can get plans where it's all setup for you?

I'm using a plan with hsphere control panel that has all these features. It has proven to be darn near idiot-proof.

Hi, from my experience and getting started is not hard.

1. Find a provider that offers a medium amount of disk space and good amount of bandwidth.

2. Buy a nice billing program. I've always liked modernbill.

3. Experience and play around. Find what works best.

4. Explore hiring a web master to bring your site alive if needed.

5. Learn PHP and MySQL. You will be wanting to add many tools to your site and knowing this is a plus. In addition, your clients will expect you to know this as well when they ask your support questions.

So getting started you will need:

1. A good understanding of the control panel you will be using.
2. A nice looking site.
3. Some kind of support system, email at first is usually ok for a startup company but as you grow so will the amount of support you receive. My sugestion would be to start off with a good trouble ticket system.

And sometimes, ask your host many questions as they are experienced in this field. Everybody starts off at this point at one time. If you ask your question with respect your host will give you more support and sugestions then you can imagine.

Good luck.