VPS Billing Platforms: Expand Your Reseller Capabilities

Reseller VPS hosting can be a lucrative market, but the key to your profitability lies in being able to control both what is offered and keeping track of when and how it is paid for. If your business is looking to make the jump to reseller hosting, or already has the groundwork in place with a Plesk or cPanel/WHM control panel and stable VPS server, there are a number of ways that you can make better use of your time by automating portions of your billing process.

The World of VPS Billing Platforms

Just like control panels, billing platforms for your VPS exist in order to help you manage how you charge for your slices of virtual real estate, when you send out reminders, as well as tally and record the payments that you process. Both Parallels and WHMCS offer dedicated billing platforms that are designed to streamline and automate many of the billing tasks that you have to perform, and do so in such a way that it is easy to see, at a glance, what is being done and when.

Plesk Billing Options

A Plesk Billing VPS installation comes with a number of benefits for your business, starting with a simple and intuitive installation. Using your Plesk control panel, you can easily install and setup Plesk Billing within minutes, and once running it can take orders for service in real time as well as give you the ability to manage each customer's needs individually and provision services in real time. In addition, this billing platform will allow you to manage you entire billing process in one simple, end-to-end path, lessening the number of steps from selling VPS real estate to getting paid.

WHMCS Billing Choices

If you're running cPanel/WHM, then a WHMCS VPS may be the best choice for your reseller needs. Version 4.5 of this platform offers a number of improvements over previous versions, including mulch-currency billing as well as automated provisioning of services to clients. In addition, WHMCS comes with integrated support, allowing you to submit tickets about usability problems and receive answers in real-time from billing platform experts. WHMCS has also recently updated their order forms, making them more visually appealing and easier to use for both clients and for your own record keeping.

Added Value with Billing Platforms

One feature that both Plesk Billing and WHMCS share is the ability to offer your customers value-added services in addition to basic VPS hosting. Plesk and WHMCS have agreements with partner companies, which will allow you to sell additional products and services to clients. Not only can you choose to offer more hard drive space or RAM to customers on your server who need it, but commercial applications for email services, web design, SEO link building and marketing are all available for customers to purchase through Plesk or WHMCS and through your billing platform. By integrating these features into your hosting offering, you are able to create flexible plans that work for a wide variety of customers, and give your clients the chance to purchase what they want directly from you, rather than seeking it elsewhere.

Billing is an essential part of reseller VPS hosting, and if not managed properly can limit the profitability of your business. A billing platform such as Plesk Billing or WHMCS can automate many of the tasks that are required to produce a complete billing cycle, and remove the need for you to micro-manage every aspect of your reseller hosting, allowing you to concentrate on offering your clients flexible service plans that include the latest in commercial applications.