Hi,
I'm just wondering, when a client terminates a product (hosting package / domain / dialup account / VPS / etc), do you keep the terminated product on his account, or do you delete it?
For one, the eNom sync script gives an error for every terminiated domain, since it doesn't exist in eNom anymore, yet still in WHMCS.
For another, I have some clients who had a dialup account, and since they don't have it anymore, they don't appreciate getting emails targetted at the dialup clients. And a few clients who had a shared hosting account, and now has a reseller account (under a different domain), also don't like getting emails not meant to go to them.
So, do you delete the terminated product, or do you keep them? And why?

We delete them after so many months.
--Tina

We delete them, too. We also delete former customers after a month, though to date we've only had one cancellation and that was because they no longer needed the service.

Delete as soon as they request it, but a backup is kept for 6 months (space-permitting, no guarantees unless they request it).

Delete as soon as they request it, but a backup is kept for 6 months (space-permitting, no guarantees unless they request it).
He's not referring to the actual account. He's referring to the billing record.
--Tina

He's not referring to the actual account. He's referring to the billing record.
--Tina
Oh, lol. In that case, permanently. (its a custom billing system, however.)

We delete them -- what's the point in having them on the billing system when they will never login again. Around 1 month after they have cancelled should be fine.

For one, the eNom sync script gives an error for every terminiated domain, since it doesn't exist in eNom anymore, yet still in WHMCS.
If thats the eNom sync script - it no longer does that for the new version of WHMCS. It will skip any domain that is expired.
The only thing we remove is expired domains. Terminated packages are kept as part of the accounts history.

The only thing we remove is expired domains. Terminated packages are kept as part of the accounts history.
What he said, it is all recorded and just canceled.

We delete them after so many months.
--Tina
I'm talking about client's products which they don't want / need anymore, not clients.
Delete as soon as they request it, but a backup is kept for 6 months (space-permitting, no guarantees unless they request it).
But what's the point in keeping it, if the client doesn't want it anymore?
If thats the eNom sync script - it no longer does that for the new version of WHMCS. It will skip any domain that is expired.
The only thing we remove is expired domains. Terminated packages are kept as part of the accounts history.
Sure, but my point is, why keep the domain in WHMCS if it doesn't exists anymore, or even worse, belongs to someone else now?

Sure, but my point is, why keep the domain in WHMCS if it doesn't exists anymore, or even worse, belongs to someone else now?
I didn't disagree. I said, we remove expired domains.

It's all recorded and canceled.

But what's the point in keeping it, if the client doesn't want it anymore?
You would be amazed how often clients come back and decide they want it after all. Clients often times don't know what they want or don't want, and they like it if you can catch them when they fall, so to speak.
Also, there have been a few instances in the past where backups were needed for evidence, such as DMCA violations that were reported after the client had closed the account. It is good to have that information to protect yourself, as well as to protect the client if it turns out they are innocent.
The logic behind this is the same as for keeping records. You never know when you might need some information about something from the past. Storage is cheap these days, so it is well worth the investment to keep any potentially useful data around until you are absolutely sure you won't need it any more.

I follow the same principle as everity. Whether it be a simple contact, billing record, or account files.. I keep everything for at least two years. You just never know what might come down the line a few months later.

I do delete them but after 6 month's of not activity. And save a back up for 1 month if not requested i delete. Unless asked to be saved.

Yes we keep it for up to 12 months, it remains as canceled though.

Yes, we do keep them. Even though the client got his account terminated with us due to reasons such as unpaid invoice, they might come back in the future. However, I have not piled up enough accounts yet to actually consume a lot of space. When I do, I actually might consider removing the account after 1 month of termination.

We have a custom billing system and we terminate accounts without services every 2-3 months.

I would personally give it a month or two and delete them.

For accounting purposes we keep the record and mark it as cancelled. For legal reasons we are required to keep payment receipts for a 7 year period, so we need the account information on that too.
Often we get users back with us (who left in the past). It's nice to be able to see their older accounts and know that they were here in 1999-2003, left for 2004-2005, and then back with us again 2006-present.

We normally flag the services as canceled but leave the records in the system.

I think it is best to keep the product records. But you do need billing software that can support this without too much fuss (e.g. not giving you errors).
-mike

If you use WHMcs I would recommend just closing their account as it "cancels" all their products with you and they also don't receive your emails.
And a plus, you get to keep their records for legal reasons etc.